If the (hang on, let me count) 16 different Lego sets in my office alone are any indication, then PC gamers and Lego fans have a big overlap in the middle of their Venn diagram. Alienware knows this, and has released an official, adorable set that lets you recreate an Area 51 gaming desktop in miniature. According to the promotional page, the set is made of authentic Lego bricks. I assume the company is sourcing them wholesale, since the packaging doesn’t have any Lego logos on the box. It’s 5.3 inches (13.2 centimeters) long and contains 318 bricks. But it’s a pretty cool little kit, replicating the exterior features of the case and a nicely detailed rear panel, with a transparent window showing off the motherboard, CPU, GPU, and even some tiny round pieces that stand in for cooling fans. There are even some piping elements that show off liquid cooler lines going to the “radiator.” Dell If you want one, you’ll need to engage in a little band loyalty. The Dell subsidiary isn’t selling the kit on its own, instead exchanging it for 3500 Alienware Reward Points (ARP). You can earn ARP by installing the Alienware Arena app and competing in various challenges and community activities. It doesn’t look fun, frankly, and I’d rather just send Dell $30 for a teeny-tiny gaming desktop kit. Alternately, if you’ve got a shoebox full of spare Lego parts like I do, you could just throw together your own. There are plenty of examples to choose from out there.

NVIDIA's RTX 5060 GPUs have been causing blank/black screens, as has been reported by numerous users, for which NVIDIA has released a new firmware. Numerous RTX 5060/5060 Ti Black Screens Reports are Piling up; NVIDIA Releases UEFI Firmware Update, Which Works "Only" if Blank Screen Occurs on Reboot No RTX 50 series GPU has been spared from the black screen issue, and the RTX 5060 series is the latest victim. Reports of bricked RTX 5060 Ti are very common these days, and while the RTX 5060 is relatively new, the GPU will likely suffer the same fate. We have been seeing many reports emerging on social media and NVIDIA's forums about the issue, and it seems to be pretty complex. Some users have been unable to operate their systems normally since their systems crash or freeze on a black screen unexpectedly. Unlike what you would think is a result of intensive workloads, the black screen can occur at any point, regardless of what and how intensive the process is. In some cases, users aren't even able to reach the BIOS screen, which is bizarre. One of the very recent responses from one of NVIDIA's employees involved troubleshooting with multiple steps, but at the end of the day, if the problem doesn't get fixed, you will have to send the crash dump file to NVIDIA. Yesterday, NVIDIA released a new firmware in hopes of fixing the blank/black screen issue RTX 5060 series owners are facing. This is the GPU UEFI Firmware Update Tool v2.0, which aims to update the GPU firmware for users who are facing issues when they reboot their systems. NVIDIA says that this update should "only" be applied if the black screen occurs after the reboot, which essentially means that it is not a permanent fix for all users. Many have been unsuccessful in getting the boot, even the first time after installing the RTX 5060 Ti. Some have reported that the GPU doesn't work with the driver installed, and others have reported that they were successful in booting to the OS only in safe mode. In the release notes, NVIDIA also recommended a few steps in order to troubleshoot the problem as follows: Completely power down your system before booting Ensure you are using the latest SBIOS from your motherboard vendor Ensure you are in UEFI boot mode and not Legacy/CSM Boot using an alternate graphics source (secondary card or integrated graphics) After powering on your system, wait for your operating system to load with the graphics driver installed It asks users not to use the Legacy/CSM boot mode, but if their motherboards don't support the UEFI boot mode, they will have to contact the customer service of their GPU manufacturer for a Legacy VBIOS update. Deal of the Day

Who owns what? Why console makers can legally brick your game console "If the ability [to brick a console] is there, someone will want to 'see how it goes.'" Kyle Orland – May 22, 2025 6:09 pm | 13 The martial artist is a console maker. The brick is your console. Credit: Getty Images The martial artist is a console maker. The brick is your console. Credit: Getty Images Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more Earlier this month, Nintendo received a lot of negative attention for an end-user license agreement (EULA) update granting the company the claimed right to render Switch consoles "permanently unusable in whole or in part" for violations such as suspected hacking or piracy. As it turns out, though, Nintendo isn't the only console manufacturer that threatens to remotely brick systems in response to rule violations. And attorneys tell Ars Technica that they're probably well within their legal rights to do so. Sony's System Software License Agreement on the PS5, for instance, contains the following paragraph of "remedies" it can take for "violations" such as use of modified hardware or pirated software (emphasis added). If SIE Inc determines that you have violated this Agreement's terms, SIE Inc may itself or may procure the taking of any action to protect its interests such as disabling access to or use of some or all System Software, disabling use of this PS5 system online or offline, termination of your access to PlayStation Network, denial of any warranty, repair or other services provided for your PS5 system, implementation of automatic or mandatory updates or devices intended to discontinue unauthorized use, or reliance on any other remedial efforts as reasonably necessary to prevent the use of modified or unpermitted use of System Software. The same exact clause appears in the PlayStation 4 EULA as well. The PlayStation 3 EULA was missing the "disabling use... online or offline" clause, but it does still warn that Sony can take steps to "discontinue unauthorized use" or "prevent the use of a modified PS3 system, or any pirated material or equipment." Microsoft, if anything, is even more straightforward in its Xbox Software License Agreement. Efforts to "install Unauthorized Software" or "defeat or circumvent any... technical limitation, security, or anti-piracy system" can mean that "your Xbox Console, Kinect Sensor or Authorized Accessory may stop working permanently at that time or after a later Xbox Software update," the company writes. While it's unclear how far back in history this legal clause goes, the mention of the now-defunct Kinect sensor suggests it dates back at least to the Xbox One era. A prototype SX Core device soldered to a Nintendo Switch motherboard. Credit: Team Xeceuter A prototype SX Core device soldered to a Nintendo Switch motherboard. Credit: Team Xeceuter While console makers routinely ban players and consoles from online play and services, remotely bricking a game console's offline capabilities for EULA violations seems exceedingly rare in practice. Even when cases of public console hacking have led to protracted legal fights—such as George Hotz's saga with the PS3 or Team Xecuter's Switch jailbreaks—console makers don't seem to have used technical means to completely disable offline functions for specific consoles. In 2015, Microsoft even went so far as to actively deny reports that it had bricked a console associated with a leak of an early Gears of War beta. "To be clear, if a console is suspended from Xbox Live for a violation of the Terms of Use, it can still be used offline," Microsoft said at the time. "Microsoft enforcement action does not result in a console becoming unusable." That said, it appears console makers sometimes take steps to remotely brick consoles after they've been reported stolen. It's not hard to find online reports of people buying used consoles only to find that they had been rendered entirely useless due to a prior theft. As always with secondhand hardware, let the buyer beware. They have the (legal) power Just because the major console makers don't tend to make use of the "brick switch" on their hardware doesn't mean they don't have the legal right to do so. "Although users own the hardware, the software that's needed to run it is subject to a license agreement," attorney Jon Loiterman told Ars. "If you violate the license terms, Nintendo has the right to revoke your access to that software. It's less common for software makers to revoke access to software in a way that disables hardware you bought from them, but the principle is the same." While these kinds of "bricking" clauses haven't been tested in court, lawyers who spoke to Ars felt they would probably hold up to judicial review. That's especially true if the facts of the "bricking" case centered around software piracy or some other method of getting around digital rights protections baked into the console itself. Consoles like these may get banned from Nintendo's online services, but they tend to still work offline. Credit: Kate Temkin / ReSwitched Consoles like these may get banned from Nintendo's online services, but they tend to still work offline. Credit: Kate Temkin / ReSwitched "Unfortunately, 'bricking' personal devices to limit users’ rights and control their behavior is nothing new," Electronic Frontier Foundation attorney Victoria Noble told Ars Technica. "It would likely take selective enforcement to rise to a problematic level [in court]," attorney Richard Hoeg said. Last year, a collection of 17 consumer groups urged the Federal Trade Commission to take a look at the way companies use the so-called practice of "software tethering" to control a device's hardware features after purchase. Thus far, though, the federal consumer watchdog has shown little interest in enforcing complaints against companies that do so. "Companies should not use EULAs to strip people of rights that we normally associate with ownership, like the right to tinker with or modify their own personal devices," Noble told Ars. "[Console] owners deserve the right to make otherwise legal modifications to their own devices without fear that a company will punish them by remotely bricking their [systems]." The court of public opinion In the end, these kinds of draconian bricking clauses may be doing their job even if the console makers involved don't invoke them. "In practice, I expect this kind of thing is more about scaring people away from jailbreaking and modifying their systems and that Nintendo is unlikely to go about bricking large volumes of devices, even if they technically have the right to," Loiterman said. "Just because they put a remedy in the EULA doesn’t mean they will certainly use it either," attorney Mark Methenitis said. "My suspicion is this is to go after the people who eventually succeeded in jailbreaking the original Switch and try to prevent that for the Switch 2." The threat of public backlash could also hold the console makers back from limiting the offline functionality of any hacked consoles. After citing public scrutiny that companies like Tesla, Keurig, and John Deere faced for limiting hardware via software updates, Methenitis said that he "would imagine Nintendo would suffer similar bad publicity if they push things too far." That said, legal capacities can sometimes tend to invite their own use. "If the ability is there, someone will want to 'see how it goes.'" Hoeg said. Kyle Orland Senior Gaming Editor Kyle Orland Senior Gaming Editor Kyle Orland has been the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica since 2012, writing primarily about the business, tech, and culture behind video games. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He once wrote a whole book about Minesweeper. 13 Comments

hemul75/Getty ImagesOkay. Deep breath. This is surreal. I just added an entire new feature to my software, including UI and functionality, just by typing four paragraphs of instructions. I have screenshots, and I'll try to make sense of it in this article. I can't tell if we're living in the future or we've just descended to a new plane of hell (or both).Let's take a step back. Google's Jules is the latest in a flood of new coding agents released just this week. I wrote about OpenAI Codex and Microsoft's GitHub Copilot Coding Agent at the beginning of the week, and ZDNET's Webb Wright wrote about Google's Jules. Also: I test a lot of AI coding tools, and this stunning new OpenAI release just saved me days of workAll of these coding agents will perform coding operations on a GitHub repository. GitHub, for those who've been following along, is the giant Microsoft-owned software storage, management, and distribution hub for much of the world's most important software, especially open source code. The difference, at least as it pertains to this article, is that Google made Jules available to everyone, for free. That meant I could just hop in and take it for a spin. And now my head is spinning. Usage limits and my first two prompts The free access version of Jules allows only five requests per day. That might not seem like a lot, but in only two requests, I was able to add a new feature to my software. So, don't discount what you can get done if you think through your prompts before shooting off your silver bullets for the day. My first two prompts were tentative. It wasn't that I wasn't impressed; it was that I really wasn't giving Jules much to do. I'm still not comfortable with the idea of setting an AI loose on all my code at once, so I played it safe. My first prompt asked Jules to document the "hooks" that add-on developers could use to add features to my product. I didn't tell Jules much about what I wanted. It returned some markup that it recommended dropping into my code's readme file. It worked, but meh. Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNETI did have the opportunity to publish that code to a new GitHub branch, but I skipped it. It was just a test, after all. My second prompt was to ask Jules to suggest five new hooks. I got back an answer that seemed reasonable. However, I realized that opening up those capabilities in a security product was just too risky for me to delegate to an AI. I skipped those changes, too. It was at this point that Jules wanted a coffee break. It stopped functioning for about 90 minutes. Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNETThat gave me time to think. What I really wanted to see was whether Jules could add some real functionality to my code and save me some time. Necessary background information My Private Site is a security plugin for WordPress. It's running on about 20,000 active sites. It puts a login dialog in front of the site's web pages. There are a bunch of options, but that's the key feature. I originally acquired the software a decade ago from a coder who called himself "jonradio," and have been maintaining and expanding it ever since. Also: Rust turns 10: How a broken elevator changed software foreverThe plugin provides access control to the front-end of a website, the pages that visitors see when they come to the site. Site owners control the plugin via a dashboard interface, with various admin functions available in the plugin's admin interface. I decided to try Jules out on a feature some users have requested, hiding the admin bar from logged-in users. The admin bar is the black bar WordPress puts on the top of a web page. In the case of the screenshot below, the black admin bar is visible. Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNETI wanted Jules to add an option on the dashboard to hide the admin bar from logged-in users. The idea is that if a user logged in, the admin bar would be visible on the back end, but logged-in users browsing the front-end of the site wouldn't have to see the ugly bar. This is the original dashboard, before adding the new feature. Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNETSome years ago, I completely rewrote the admin interface from the way it was when I acquired the plugin. Adding options to the interface is straightforward, but it's still time-consuming. Every option requires not only the UI element to be added, but also preference saving and preference recalling when the dashboard is displayed. That's in addition to any program logic that the preference controls. In practice, I've found that it takes me about 2-3 hours to add a preference UI element, along with the assorted housekeeping involved. It's not hard, but there are a lot of little fiddly bits that all need to be tweaked. That takes time. That should bring you up to speed enough to understand my next test of Jules. Here's a bit of foreshadowing: the first test failed miserably. The second test succeeded astonishingly. Instructing Jules Adding a hide admin bar feature is not something that would have been easy for the run-of-the-mill coding help we've been asking ChatGPT and the other chatbots to perform. As I mentioned, adding the new option to the dashboard requires programming in a variety of locations throughout the code, and also requires an understanding of the overall codebase. Here's what I told Jules. 1. On the Site Privacy Tab of the admin interface, add a new checkbox. Label the section "Admin Bar" and label the checkbox itself "Hide Admin Bar". [Place this in the MAKE SITE PRIVATE block, located just under the Enable login privacy checkbox and before the Site Privacy Mode segment.] I instructed Jules where I wanted the AI to put the new option. On my first run through, I made a mistake and left out the details in square brackets. I didn't tell Jules exactly where I wanted it to place the new option. As it turns out, that omission caused a big fail. Once I added in the sentence in brackets above, the feature worked. 2. Be sure to save the selection of that checkbox to the plugin's preferences variable when the Save Privacy Status button is checked. This makes sure Jules knows that there is a preference data structure, and to be sure to update it when the user makes a change. It's important to note that if I didn't have an understanding of the underlying code, I wouldn't have instructed Jules about this, and the code would not work. You can't "vibe code" something like this without knowing the underlying code. 3. Show the appropriate checked or unchecked status when the Site Privacy tab is displayed. This tells the AI that I want the interface to be updated to match what the preference variable specifies. 4. Based on the preference variable created in (2), add code to hide or show the WordPress admin bar. If Hide Admin Bar is checked, the Admin Bar should not be visible to logged-in WordPress front-end users. If the Hide Admin Bar is not checked, the Admin Bar should be visible to logged-in front-end users. Logged-in back-end users in the admin interface should always be able to see the admin bar. This describes the business logic that the new preference should control. It requires the AI to know how to hide or show the admin bar (a WordPress API call is used), and it requires the AI to know where to put the code in my plugin to enable or disable this feature. And with that, Jules was trained on what I wanted. Jules dives into my code I fed my prompt set into Jules and got back a plan of action. Pay close attention to that Approve Plan? button. Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNETI didn't even get a chance to read through the plan before Jules decided to approve the plan on its own. It did this after every plan it presented. An AI that doesn't wait for permission raises the hairs on the back of my neck. Just saying. Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNETI desperately want to make a Skynet/Landru/Colossus/P1/Hal kind of joke, because I'm freaked out. I mean, it's good. But I'm freaked out. Here's some of the code Jules wrote. The shaded green is the new stuff. I'm not thrilled with the color scheme, but I'm sure that will be tweakable over time. Also: The best free AI courses and certificates in 2025More relevant is the fact that Jules picked up on my variable naming conventions and the architecture of my code and dived right in. This is the new option, rendered in code. Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNETBy the time it was done, Jules had written in all the code changes it planned for originally, plus some test code. I don't use standardized tests. I would have told Jules not to do it the way it planned, but it never gave me time to approve or modify its original plan. Even so, it worked out. Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNETI pushed the Publish branch button, which caused GitHub to create a new branch, separate from my main repository. Jules then published its changes to that branch. Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNETThis is how contributors to big projects can work on those projects without causing chaos to the main code line. Up to this point, I could look at the code, but I wasn't able to run it. But by pushing the code to a branch, Jules and GitHub made it possible for me to replicate the changes safely down to my computer to test them out. If I didn't like the changes, I could have just switched back to the main branch and no harm, no foul. But I did like the changes, so I moved on to the next step. Around the code in 8 clicks Once I brought the branch down to my development machine, I could test it out. Here's the new dashboard with the Hide Admin Menu feature. Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNETI tried turning the feature on and off and making sure the settings stuck. They did. I also tried other features in the plugin to make sure nothing else had broken. I was pretty sure nothing would, because I reviewed all the changes before approving the branch. But still. Testing is a good thing to do. I then logged into the test website. As you can see, there's no admin bar showing. Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNETAt this point, the process was out of the AI's hands. It was simply time to deploy the changes, both back to GitHub and to the master WordPress repository. First, I used GitHub Desktop to merge the branch code back into the main branch on my development machine. I changed "Hide Admin Menu" to "Hide admin menu" in my code's main branch, because I like it better. I pushed that (the full main branch on my local machine) back to the GitHub cloud. Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNETThen, because I just don't like random branches hanging around once they've been incorporated into the distribution version, I deleted the new branch on my computer. Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNETI also deleted the new branch from the GitHub cloud service. Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNETFinally, I packaged up the new code. I added a change to the readme to describe the new feature and to update the code's version number. Then, I pushed it using SVN (the source code control system used by the WordPress community) up to the WordPress plugin repository. Journey to the center of the code Jules is very definitely beta right now. It hung in a few places. Some screens didn't update. It decided to check out for 90 minutes. I had to wait while it went to and came back from its digital happy place. It's evidencing all the sorts of things you'd expect from a newly-released piece of code. I have no concerns about that. Google will clean it up. The fact that Jules (and presumably OpenAI Codex and GitHub Copilot Coding Agent) can handle an entire repository of code across a bunch of files is big. That's a much deeper level of understanding and integration than we saw, even six months ago. Also: How to move your codebase into GitHub for analysis by ChatGPT Deep Research - and why you shouldThe speed with which it can change an entire codebase is terrifying. The damage it can do is potentially extraordinary. It will gleefully go through and modify everything in your codebase, and if you specify something wrong and then push or merge, you will have an epic mess on your hands. There is a deep inequality between how quickly it can change code and how long it will take a human to review those changes. Working on this scale will require excellent unit tests. Even tools like mine, which don't lend themselves to full unit testing, will require some kind of automated validation to prevent robot-driven errors on a massive scale. Those who are afraid these tools will take jobs from programmers should be concerned, but not in the way most people think. It is absolutely, totally, one-hundo-percent necessary for experienced coders to review and guide these agents. When I left out one critical instruction, the agent gleefully bricked my site. Since I was the person who wrote the code initially, I knew what to fix. But it would have been brutally difficult for someone else to figure out what had been left out and how to fix it. That would have required coming up to speed on all the hidden nuances of the entire architecture of the code. Also: How to turn ChatGPT into your AI coding power tool - and double your outputThe jobs that are likely to be destroyed are those of junior developers. Jules is easily doing junior developer level work. With tools like Jules or Codex or Copilot, that cost of a few hundred bucks a month at most, it's going to be hard for management to be willing to pay medium-to-high six figures for midlevel and junior programmers. Even outsourcing and offshoring isn't as cheap as using an AI agent to do maintenance coding. And, as I wrote about earlier in the week, if there are no mid-level jobs available, how will we train the experienced people we're going to need in the future? I am also concerned about how access limits will shake out. Productivity gains will drop like a rock if you need to do one more prompt and you have to wait a day to be allowed to do so. Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNETAs for me, in less than 10 minutes, I turned out a new feature that had been requested by readers. While I was writing another article, I fed the prompt to Jules. I went back to work on the article, and checked on Jules when it was finished. I checked out the code, brought it down to my computer, and pushed a release. It took me longer to upload the thing to the WordPress repository than to add the entire new feature. For that class of feature, I got a half-a-day's work done in less than half an hour, from thinking about making it happen to published to my users. In the last two hours, 2,500 sites have downloaded and installed the new feature. That will surge to well over 10,000 by morning (it's about 8 p.m. now as I write this). Without Jules, those users probably would have been waiting months for this new feature, because I have a huge backlog of work, and it wasn't my top priority. But with Jules, it took barely any effort. Also: 7 productivity gadgets I can't live without (and why they make such a big difference)These tools are going to require programmers, managers, and investors to rethink the software development workflow. There will be glaring "you can't get there from here" gotchas. And there will be epic failures and coding errors. But I have no doubt that this is the next level of AI-based coding. Real, human intelligence is going to be necessary to figure out how to deal with it. Have you tried Google's Jules or any of the other new AI coding agents? Would you trust them to make direct changes to your codebase, or do you prefer to keep a tighter manual grip? What kinds of developer tasks do you think these tools should and shouldn't handle? Let us know in the comments below. Want more stories about AI? Sign up for Innovation, our weekly newsletter.You can follow my day-to-day project updates on social media. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly update newsletter, and follow me on Twitter/X at @DavidGewirtz, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DavidGewirtz, on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, on Bluesky at @DavidGewirtz.com, and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV.Featured

Macworld Apple unveiled iOS 18 at WWDC on June 10, 2024, and it’s arrived on our iPhones in September 2024, but the beta development continued and registered developers and those registered as public beta testers, could continue to get the latest updates and try out new features still not available to the general public for months following the release. The iOS 18 beta process is now drawing to a close with the release of iOS 18.5 to the public, but Apple’s about to start a new cycle as development of iOS 19 starts after WWDC in June 2025. Following June 9’s WWDC25 keynote, at which Apple will reveal the next version of iOS (as well as macOS 16, iPadOS 19 and more), the beta cycle will start up again. If you want to try out iOS 19 before its release, you will be able to download the developer beta or public beta—the developer beta is released first, with the public beta coming in July. Just know that you can expect significant problems: There will be crashes, some apps may not work, battery life may be poor, and so on. If you want to try our the next version of iOS when it arrives, and you don’t mind some bugs you can join Apple’s beta program. Apple always runs an iOS beta-testing program throughout the summer in order to produce a more polished release at launch and to give developers a chance to test and update their apps. If you are a beta tester you will continue to receive beta updates even after the final version launches. Development of iOS will continue after the September release with a number of “point releases” (e.g. iOS 19.1, iOS 19.2, etc.) that add additional features that weren’t available at launch and fix bugs/address security flaws. If you don’t want to continue to get the beta we cover that here: How to remove iOS beta. What’s new in the latest iOS beta Apple just finished work on the iOS 18.5 beta. Any further development of iOS 18 is unlikely to include new features, but there may be updates to allow Apple to make security-related fixes. How to get the iOS beta If you are keen to try out the new features, we recommend waiting for the public beta—the first developer beta releases tend to be quite buggy and unreliable. Just beware that any beta, public or developer, is likely to be buggy and cause issues with your iPhone, so our advice is not to run it on a secondary iPhone or have some backup plan in place. If you do want to revert back to an older version of iOS read: How to remove an iOS beta from your iPhone. Anyone with an Apple developer account can get access to the developer beta—it is no longer necessary to be a paid-up member of the Apple Developer Program. You can join Apple’s beta programs on Apple’s website. We explain how to get a free Apple developer account in How to become an Apple beta tester. How to get the iOS Developer Beta Each stage of iOS’s development cycle is rolled out to developers first, and then to public beta testers afterwards. If you’re a developer and need to test your apps against the most up-to-date version of iOS possible, this is the version to run. You no longer need a paid developer account to run the beta (just to publish apps to the App Store)—any Apple Developer account will do. You can create a free Apple Developer account using your Apple ID. First you need a developer account, then you will be able to download the beta on your iPhone. Follow the steps below. How to get an Apple Developer account If you want a free Apple Developer account so you can access the developer beta you can get this via Xcode, the Apple Developer app on iOS, or the Apple Developer enrollment site. Here’s how to do it via the Apple Developer app (which is the simplest way): Download the Apple Developer App from the App Store. Open the app. Tap on Account. Sign in using your usual Apple ID.  If you want to sell applications to the App Store and sell them you’ll need to pay $99/£79 per year for a paid account. Sign up for the Apple Developer Program (here) or through Apple’s Developer App. You can register as an individual or a company. You will be required to add various bits of information and agree to the program license agreement, then enter your payment details (it’s an annual subscription that you can end up to a day before it renews). It can take a few days to verify you and make the account live. You can compare the free and paid accounts here. All set with your Apple developer account? Okay! Now to install the beta… How to install the iOS developer beta Back up your iPhone (because this is a beta you are testing!) Open the Settings app. Tap General. Tap Software Update. In the Beta Updates section, select the iOS Developer Beta. Now wait a while while the beta installs. Foundry Developers can choose to get the Public Beta instead by selecting iOS Public Beta in the Software Update screen. Prior to iOS 16.4, it was necessary to download and activate a beta profile on your device. From iOS 16.4 onwards, Apple will simply check to see if your Apple ID is a registered developer and provide access in the Software Update menu. You may need to restart your iPhone for the option to appear. How to install the iOS Public Beta The developer beta is, as the name suggests, intended for developers only, but Apple does offer a beta testing program for members of the public who would like to try out new features and find bugs. Beginning with iOS 16.4, you no longer need to download and activate a profile to get the beta. You simply need to enrol and select the beta from the software updates section in Settings. You can install the iOS public beta using the following instructions. Click Sign Up on the Apple Beta page and register with your Apple ID. Log in to the Beta Software Program. Click Enroll your iOS device. Open the Settings app, tap General, then Software Update. In the Beta Updates section, select the iOS Public Beta. Foundry If you want to uninstall the beta and stop receiving beta updates read this: How to remove an iOS beta from your iPhone. The beta includes a Feedback app that you can use to submit bug reports and broken features. Make use of it! It’s the best way for Apple to get well-documented, reproducible bug reports directly to developers, along with things like telemetry and screenshots that make it easy for them to figure out what’s wrong. Using the Feedback app every time you encounter a problem is the best way to make sure the final release of iOS 19 is a smooth upgrade for everyone. What’s a beta? Betas are pre-release testing versions. Nearly every iOS update goes through the beta phase before it’s officially launched, from small tweaks such as 18.5 to full-version game-changers like iOS 19. There are developer betas (for registered software developers only), and public betas. Both types go through multiple versions—probably half a dozen—before a major launch. Risks and precautions Note first of all that betas are test versions of upcoming software. They are by definition unfinished, and while they should include most or all of the features in the finished product, there will be cosmetic differences and, inevitably, some glitches and problems that will need to be fixed. The glitches and problems are why Apple bothers to beta-test iOS in the first place. In other words, don’t expect a perfect user experience. In particular, don’t expect existing apps (including ones that you may rely on) to work perfectly with the new version. In extreme cases, you may even find that your device is bricked by the beta, and cannot be used until the next beta comes along and hopefully fixes the problem. It’s not uncommon for early beta software to exhibit excessive battery drain, too. The closer we get to the final launch, the more polished and feature-complete the betas become. The counter to that, of course, is there will be less time left to wait for the official launch, so you won’t gain much by installing a beta. Assuming you decide to go ahead, we can’t stress enough how important it is to back up your iPhone before you install an iOS beta, or better still, use a secondary device rather than your main iPhone. You won’t lose everything if something goes wrong while the beta is installing, and you’ll be able to go back to the last version should you find that you don’t like the new software after all, or that it’s too buggy.

Image: 8BitDoAccessory firm 8BitDo has announced it is launching a brand-new arcade controller for the Nintendo Switch, and by Jove, it looks absolutely glorious. Shipping from 15th July 2025 across North America and from 15th August 2025 across Europe with pre-orders commencing today, the controller will come in two variants: an Xbox branded version, and the standard version. It's the latter we're interested in here, with 8BitDo stating the controller is "built for professionals, competitive gamers and fans of arcade style controllers". It's said to be "impossibly slim", measuring in at 1.6cm thick, and is about the same size as an A4 piece of paper. You can play either wirelessly via an included adapter, or connect a cable for minimum lag during tournament play. A rechargable battery is also included for those who wish to play wirelessly. Since the controller is compatible with both Switch and PC, users can flip between Switch (S-Input) and PC (X-Input) mode, essentially altering the controller's dynamic layout to suit your chosen platform. Competitive play is also catered for with SOCD (Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Directions) cleaning and tournament lock. Finally, pricing is confirmed at €89.99 / £74.99 for the standard controller. The Xbox version is slightly more expensive at €99.99 / £84.99 and comes with optional RBG lighting, which... okay, not a big deal. Images: 8BitDo Images: 8BitDo Images: 8BitDo Images: 8BitDo Images: 8BitDo If you want to check out the Xbox version, our pals over at Pure Xbox has this covered in the below article: Pure XboxThey Call Me 'Captain Combos' Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information. What do you make of this new arcade controller from 8BitDo? Will you be picking one up? Let us know with a comment. Share:0 0 Nintendo Life’s resident horror fanatic, when he’s not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Nintendo Updates Its User Agreement To Crack Down On Emulation Offenders may find their Switch bricked Nintendo Unveils Diddy Kong's Brand New Design Cap's off The First Review For Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Is In A fantasy score? Review: Capcom Fighting Collection 2 (Switch) - A Cracking Collection Of Top-Class Arcade Fighters A Dream(cast) collection

Image: NintendoAs you might recall, Nintendo will be releasing "free updates" for select Switch games on the Nintendo Switch 2. It's already revealed the specific titles that will be getting this treatment and now it's detailed what exactly you can expect. Once again, these updates will enhance the overall gameplay experience with visual enhancements, frame rate improvements, additional feature support, and more. "By connecting your Nintendo Switch 2 to the internet and performing a system update, you can download free updates for selected games that may improve graphics or add support for features such as GameShare. The contents of these free updates will differ depending on the game."Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube812kWatch on YouTube Here's the full rundown, courtesy of Nintendo's official website. All of these updates will be available on 5th June 2025 alongside the launch of the Switch 2. On this page: 12 Switch Games Are Getting Free Switch 2 Upgrades, Here's What You Can Expect ARMS Updates included: Visuals: Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality. Frame rate: Optimized for Nintendo Switch 2 for smoother movement (even when playing with 3 or more players). HDR support. Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain GameShare support: Up to four people can play in Party Mode. Share locally or share online via GameChat. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker Updates included: Visuals: Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality. HDR support. GameShare support: Two people can play all of the courses. Share locally or share online via GameChat. Club House Games: 51 Worldwide Classics GameShare support: Up to four people can play 34 games. Share locally or share online via GameChat. Game Builder Garage Updates included: Visuals: Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality. Supports Joy-Con™ 2 mouse controls. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe Updates included: Visuals: Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality. Pokémon Scarlet Updates included: Visuals: Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality. Frame rate: Improved for smoother movement on Nintendo Switch 2. Pokémon Violet Updates included: Visuals: Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality. Frame rate: Improved for smoother movement on Nintendo Switch 2. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury Updates included: Visuals: Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality. Frame rate: Optimized for smoother movement on Nintendo Switch 2 (including Bowser's Fury). HDR support (Bowser’s Fury only). GameShare support: Up to four people can play Super Mario 3D World. In Bowser's Fury, two people can play together, with one player controlling Mario and the other controlling Bowser Jr. Share locally or share online via GameChat. Super Mario Odyssey Updates included: Visuals: Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality. HDR support. GameShare support: Two people can play together, with one player controlling Mario and the other controlling Cappy. Share locally or share online via GameChat. Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Updates included: Visuals: Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality. HDR support. Zelda: Link's Awakening Updates included: Visuals: Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality. HDR support. Next-gen TLC What do you think of these updates for these Switch games? Let us know in the comments. [source nintendo.com] Related Games See Also Share:0 0 Liam is a news writer and reviewer across Hookshot Media. He's been writing about games for more than 15 years and is a lifelong fan of many iconic video game characters. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Nintendo Updates Its User Agreement To Crack Down On Emulation Offenders may find their Switch bricked PSA: My Nintendo Store Switch 2 Invites Are Starting To Roll Out Refresh that inbox Nintendo Switch 2 Final Tech Specs Have Been Confirmed GameChat has a "significant impact on system resources"

Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube812k Fighting game and Rare fans are in for a treat today with Nintendo adding Killer Instinct Gold to the Switch Online + Expansion Pack service. As long as you have an active subscription to the Expansion Pack tier, you'll be able to update your Switch app and play it right now. Here's a bit more about it, courtesy of the official Nintendo description: "The Killer Instinct tournament is back in this classic 1996 fighting title originally released for the Nintendo 64™ system. Pick from a roster of 10 killer fighters, and test your instincts across multiple explosive game modes. Battle other fighters in classic Arcade mode, pit your favorite characters against a friend's in Team mode, or face off in the round-robin-style Tournament mode with up to eight players! There's even a Training mode where you can sharpen your techniques, and with hundreds of thousands of moves and killer Combos at your fingertips, a little training goes a long way. You'll need all the practice you can get to have a chance at landing a 70-hit Ultra Combo—and that's if you're not interrupted by a C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!"Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube812kWatch on YouTube Nintendo's Switch Online + Expansion Pack service in Japan today has added Ridge Racer 64. This game was added to the Switch's N64 service locally in a previous update. Every retro game available with an NSO sub (plus the Expansion Pack) Will you be revisiting this Killer Instinct game on the Switch? Let us know in the comments. Related Games See Also Share:0 0 Liam is a news writer and reviewer across Hookshot Media. He's been writing about games for more than 15 years and is a lifelong fan of many iconic video game characters. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Nintendo Updates Its User Agreement To Crack Down On Emulation Offenders may find their Switch bricked Nintendo Reconfirms Release Windows For Major Switch 2 Games And original Switch, of course The First Review For Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Is In A fantasy score? Nintendo Shares More Footage Of Zelda: Wind Waker On Switch 2 Available via Nintendo Switch Online

Macworld Will the iPad ever become a true laptop replacement? The answer to that question heavily depends on who you ask. For certain students and professionals, the iPad Pro’s superior display, Apple Pencil input, and portability have made it the ideal productivity device. In fact, I earned my BA in English Language and Literature and worked as a TV script translator, all while relying solely on an iPad. However, it’s a different story for those with advanced workflows. Today, flagship iPads pack Apple’s M-series chipsets, similar to those powering the latest Macs. Nonetheless, the mobile operating system’s software limitations prevent the tablet from performing a range of desktop-class tasks. iPadOS 19 is rumored to address some of these shortcomings by improving multitasking, productivity, and window management. I’m all for that, but Apple needs to think big—these nine macOS features need to be at the centerpiece of the update to truly unlock the iPad’s full potential. App sideloading support macOS is the only Apple operating system that permits users to install apps outside the App Store without jumping through endless hoops. If an application fails the App Store’s unforgiving screening process, developers can still distribute it independently to users all over the world, which enables Mac users to install third-party apps that don’t necessarily comply with Apple’s guidelines.  I understand why Apple wants to keep sideloading away from the iPhone, but the iPad is a different animal. If your workflow depends on a noncompliant or niche app, there’s no straightforward way to obtain it on your iPad—and that’s a dealbreaker for many. To truly match desktop flexibility, iPadOS 19 should support direct .IPA file installation. Maybe then people can stop looking at it as a giant iPhone. Mac software compatibility The highest-end iPads now use the same processors as Mac computers. Yet, while macOS can run iPad apps, iPadOS still can’t run Mac software. Consequently, those relying on desktop-exclusive apps, such as Xcode, can’t completely ditch their computers. Similarly, those who already bought lifetime licenses for Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro on macOS can’t access these tools on their tablets (without paying recurring subscription fees for the mobile editions). Since the iPad has a cursor when connected to a Magic Keyboard, Apple could realistically address this limitation and expand the iPad’s app library by supporting Mac software on iPadOS 19. An improved cursor Speaking of the cursor, the one iPadOS has is significantly larger than that of macOS and features a magnetic effect that pulls it toward UI elements. I understand why it behaves that way, since iPadOS is a touch-first OS with large targets to accommodate human fingers, but it’s not conducive to getting serious work done. With iPadOS 19 and macOS 16 rumored to adopt similar looks, now is Apple’s chance to finally develop a more intuitive pointer for its tablet.  Window management needs to be priority No. 1 for iPadOS to be more like macOS.Foundry Enhanced window management Likewise, while iPadOS currently supports resizable app windows via Stage Manager, the feature is extremely limited compared to the Mac’s window management. The execution feels wonky and pushes me to use the traditional Split View and Slide Over multitasking features. iPadOS 19 is rumored to be getting a multitasking upgrade, and I can’t think of anything better than adopting a macOS-like approach that’s fully optimized for tablets. Upgraded built-in apps Ever since iOS and iPadOS split in 2019, Apple has been distinguishing its own iPad apps by offering new UIs exclusive to the larger displays. Nevertheless, in terms of functionality, these apps continue to mimic, even mirror, the iPhone and its limitations. So, macOS features such as Smart Playlists in Apple Music and system file browsing in Finder are absent from the iPad. To lure power users, iPadOS 19 should upgrade its stock apps by bringing over some of what we love about the Mac versions. Extended work environments Speaking of power users, the premium M4 iPad Pro still limits you to a single external monitor. Meanwhile, Macs support multiple physical screens and virtual desktops. This lets users jump between different sets of opened apps by creating several environments with distinct layouts based on the tasks they’re focusing on. Similar capabilities in iPadOS would help make it a much better platform for getting serious work done. Virtual desktops are a great thing for productivity and organization on the Mac, and they’d be just as good on the iPad.Foundry iPhone backup tools With a Mac and a USB-C cable, you can back up, restore, or update your iPhone just by plugging it in. While newer iPads can repair your bricked iPhone wirelessly, they’re incapable of creating local, full-device backups. Similarly, they can’t update your iPhone’s OS when it doesn’t have sufficient storage to download the package over the air. If Apple wants the iPad to be a true productivity device, it needs to have full control over the iPhone like the Mac. Multiple user profiles This is one that we’ve wanted forever. Many households have a single iPad shared by several people, but iPadOS is still tied to a single user. Apple has already built and shipped multi-user profiles, but confoundingly, it’s limited to iPads managed by educational institutions. We don’t know why Apple refuses to allow multiple users on the iPad, but that needs to change if Apple’s tablet wants to be more like the Mac. Continuity features Lastly, the Mac offers special Continuity features that work seamlessly with iOS. With macOS Monterey 12, Apple added support for AirPlay receiving, letting you cast media from your iPhone to the computer’s larger display. And with macOS Sequoia 15, the company introduced iPhone Mirroring, enabling users to fully control their iPhones, view iOS notifications, and more. Both of these features are missing from iPadOS, further chaining its potential. We don’t need to mirror our iPhone on the iPad as often as we do on our Macs, but it would be cool if we could.Foundry Could this be the year? The iPad seems to be stuck in limbo, and I struggle to figure out where it’s heading. There’s no denying that every annual OS update makes the device more capable, but ultimately, the new features all hit the same obstacles. For example, I had high hopes when Stage Manager was first announced, only to be disappointed by the same main set of limitations soon after trying it. When compared to Windows tablets such as Microsoft’s Surface, the iPad has a long way to go. But while I’m still skeptical, the iPadOS 19 rumors are a glimmer of hope. I’m doubtful that many of the features here make it to the iPad this year (or anytime soon for that matter), but iPadOS 19 is a chance for Apple to elevate the tablet above its iPhone roots and carve out a productivity niche for people who want something more versatile than a Mac. We’ll see if it happens.

Image: Nintendo LifeWhatever will we do when Switch 2 comes out and the Nintendo Today! app can't drip feed us random bits of info any more, eh? Today's info drop is a small one, we'll admit, but gosh, are we keen to see what the musically talented folk out there can do with it. The app has today revealed some "fun little touches" in the Switch 2's 'Change Grip/Order' menu — yep, the little display where you connect your Joy-Con. On the new console, each connected controller will play a sound when you press the rear buttons, and if you line them up in a row and press them in order, you have a musical scale on your hands. It might not be the music-filled Nintendo of old, but it's another sign that things are getting back to a touch of personality on the Switch 2. And come on, we give it a week before we see fans playing Zelda's Lullaby, the Overworld theme and probably a touch of Rick Astley via the controller menu. You can hear the new feature in action on the Nintendo Today! app, or check out Nintendo's demonstration in the following BlueSky post from @Stealth40k: Nintendo revealed there is an easter egg in the 'change grip/order' section of the Controller settings. Sounds will play when you press the L/R buttons and you can even create a musical scale.— Stealth40k (@stealth40k.bsky.social) 2025-05-15T15:18:59.047Z Just yesterday, Nintendo used its news app to showcase how easy it is to map inputs to the Pro Controller 2's new GL and GR buttons. Heck, if we can get a musical note out of those too, it'll only be a matter of time before we hear someone play Megalovania on the Joy-Con... what a world we live in. Map skills Room for more What do you make of this neat little secret? Let us know in the comments. [source bsky.app] Related Games See Also Share:11 0 Jim came to Nintendo Life in 2022 and, despite his insistence that The Minish Cap is the best Zelda game and his unwavering love for the Star Wars prequels (yes, really), he has continued to write news and features on the site ever since. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Nintendo Updates Its User Agreement To Crack Down On Emulation Offenders may find their Switch bricked PSA: My Nintendo Store Switch 2 Invites Are Starting To Roll Out Refresh that inbox Palworld Dev Announces "Disappointing" Game Changes Resulting From Nintendo's Lawsuit "We have had to make certain compromises"