In a new interview with ‘Rolling Stone,’ the Grammy winner also gets candid about sex and why it’s her ‘favorite topic.’
In a new interview with ‘Rolling Stone,’ the Grammy winner also gets candid about sex and why it’s her ‘favorite topic.’
Steam closes an early-access loophole in its refund policy
Valve has closed a loophole in Steam’s refund policy that effectively allowed players to beat a game before its official release date and get their money back. The company has long had a policy in place whereby users could refund a game, no questions asked, as long as they haven’t played for more than two hours within 14 days. Until now, the refund policy was far more lenient for games in early access or advanced access, but Valve has nipped that in the bud.
“When you purchase a title on Steam prior to the release date, the two hour playtime limit for refunds will apply (except for beta testing), but the 14-day period for refunds will not start until the release date,” Valve’s updated policy reads, as noted by IGN. “For example, if you purchase a game that is in Early Access or Advanced Access, any playtime will count against the two-hour refund limit. If you pre-purchase a title which is not playable prior to the release date, you can request a refund at any time prior to release of that title, and the standard 14-day/two-hour refund period will apply starting on the game’s release date.”
Early access enables players to try an incomplete version of a game. It’s helpful for developers as they can take feedback from players and use that to improve their project before ramping up the marketing campaign ahead of the official release. Supergiant famously used this strategy to tremendous success with Hades (and is perhaps looking to repeat that trick with the sequel). But a game can remain in early access for years. Under the previous policy, players could put many hours into an early access game and still claim a refund on Steam.
As for advanced access, that relates to playing a full version of a game before its proper debut. It’s pretty common for publishers to sell a deluxe edition of a game that lets players dive in a few days early. However, Steam made it possible for someone to beat a game in advanced access and get their money back before the standard version was available to everyone.
Now, the two-hour time limit applies to games in early access and advanced access. There’s also a new advanced access label to make it clear when a game offers that.
There is one other key issue with the otherwise generous two-hour refund policy that Steam hasn’t fully addressed, however. It’s not uncommon for players to roll credits on very short games, typically indie titles. That leaves the game’s developer and publisher out of pocket.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/steam-closes-an-early-access-loophole-in-its-refund-policy-150003143.html?src=rss
Joe Biden signs the bill that could ban TikTok in the United States
The bill that will force a sale or ban of TikTok in the United States is now law. President Joe Biden signed a package of foreign aid bills that included the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” one day after the legislation was approved by the Senate.
In a statement, TikTok said it would challenge the law in court, which could delay an eventual sale or ban. “This unconstitutional law is a TikTok ban, and we will challenge it in court,” the company said. “We believe the facts and the law are clearly on our side, and we will ultimately prevail. The fact is, we have invested billions of dollars to keep U.S. data safe and our platform free from outside influence and manipulation. This ban would devastate seven million businesses and silence 170 million Americans.”
The law gives TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, which is based in China, up to a year to sell the app to a new owner. If the company fails to divest, then TikTok will be banned from US app stores and web hosting services.
In a video shared on TikTok, CEO Shou Chew called it a “disappointing moment” for the company. “Make no mistake, this is a ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice,” he said. “It’s actually ironic because the freedom of expression on TikTok reflects the same American values that make the United States a beacon of freedom.”
Developing…
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/joe-biden-signs-the-bill-that-could-ban-tiktok-in-the-united-states-154106950.html?src=rss
Amber Heard Sips Champagne in Rare Photo While Celebrating Her 38th Birthday
This was the actress’ first social media post in four months since promoting her film ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.’
This was the actress’ first social media post in four months since promoting her film ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.’
Ariana Biermann Reacts to Mom Kim Zolciak’s Social Media Post Implying Kroy Biermann Died
The former ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ star seemingly directed fans to a misleading article after implying her husband was dead.
The former ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ star seemingly directed fans to a misleading article after implying her husband was dead.
Nicki Minaj Hurls Object Back at Audience Member During Concert: Video
While performing her hit ‘Starships,’ Nicki was nearly hit by a bracelet that was thrown by a fan during her concert in Detroit.
While performing her hit ‘Starships,’ Nicki was nearly hit by a bracelet that was thrown by a fan during her concert in Detroit.
Kourtney Kardashian Poses in Bikini After Clapping Back at Fans Over Kim’s Swimsuit Sister Photo
The Poosh founder posed in a colorful bathing suit while celebrating her 45th birthday with a series of fabulous photos from her beautiful celebrations.
The Poosh founder posed in a colorful bathing suit while celebrating her 45th birthday with a series of fabulous photos from her beautiful celebrations.
Windows 11 now comes with its own adware
It used to be that you could pay for a retail version of Windows 11 and expect it to be ad-free, but those days are apparently finito. The latest update to Windows 11 (KB5036980) comes out this week and includes ads for apps in the “recommended” section of the Start Menu, one of the most oft-used parts of the OS.
“The Recommended section of the Start menu will show some Microsoft Store apps,” according to the release notes. “These apps come from a small set of curated developers.”
The app suggestions are enabled by default, but you can restore your previously pristine Windows experience if you’ve installed the update, fortunately. To do so, go into Settings and select Personalization > Start and switch the “Show recommendations for tips, app promotions and more” toggle to “off.”
The new “feature” arrives just weeks after it appeared as an Insider beta, showing how quickly Microsoft can implement things when it wants to. It certainly wasn’t enough time to receive the kind of user feedback the Insider program is designed for.
The update is bound to rub customers the wrong way, considering that Windows 11 starts at $139 for the Home version. While removing it isn’t a huge deal, it may also remind folks of the needless time they spent stripping bloatware from OEM Windows installations. Microsoft previously tested ads in the Windows 11 File Explorer, but ended the experiment shortly afterward.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/windows-11-now-comes-with-its-own-adware-124531977.html?src=rss
Qualcomm is expanding its next-gen laptop chip line with the Snapdragon X Plus
Last fall, Qualcomm revealed a major upgrade for its laptop chips with the Snapdragon X Elite. And while we’re still waiting for those processors to make their way into retail devices, today Qualcomm is expanding the line with the Snapdragon X Plus, which I had a chance to test out ahead of its arrival on gadgets later this year.
Similar to the X Elite, the X Plus is based on the same 4nm process and Arm-based Oryon CPU architecture as its sibling. The difference is that the new chip is meant to be used in slightly more affordable mainstream laptops, and as such it only has 10 CPU cores (vs 12 for the X Elite) and reduced clock speeds (3.4Ghz vs 3.8Ghz for the X Elite). This positioning is a lot like what Qualcomm’s rivals have been doing for a while, with the X Elite serving as the flagship chip (like Intel’s Core Ultra 9 series) and the X Plus sitting just below that (which would be equivalent to the Core Ultra 7 line).
Qualcomm
However, one thing that hasn’t changed is that just like the X Elite, the X Plus’ Hexagon NPU puts out the same 45 TOPS of machine learning performance. This is particularly notable as Microsoft recently suggested that laptops would require at least 40 TOPS in order to run various elements of its Copilot AI service on-device. Qualcomm is also making some big claims regarding power efficiency, with the X Plus chip said to deliver 37 percent faster CPU performance compared to an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H when both chips are running at the same wattage. And when put up against other Arm-based chips, Qualcomm says the X Plus is 10 percent faster than Apple’s M3 processor in multi-threaded CPU tasks.
Photo by Sam Rutherford
Unfortunately, the X Plus is not expected to show up in retail devices until sometime in the second half of 2024. That said, at a hands-on event, I was able to run a few benchmarks on some early Qualcomm-built reference devices. And to my pleasant surprise, the X Plus performed as expected with multi-core scores in Geekbench of 12,905 and multi-thread performance in Cinebench 2024 of 852. (Note: Because the processor has not been released yet, there’s an error in Cinebench that results in the chip’s GPU incorrectly being listed as from the X Elite instead of the X Plus.)
This is a promising showing for Qualcomm’s second and less expensive chip featuring its Oryon architecture. Though as always, the real test will come when the X Plus starts showing up in proper retail hardware. That’s because even if it boasts impressive benchmark figures, these processors will still need to play nicely with Windows, which has not had nearly as smooth a transition to Arm-based silicon as Apple’s macOS.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
But with renewed support for Windows on Snapdragon PCs and Qualcomm recently working with major players like Google to bring “dramatic performance improvements” in Chrome for devices running its laptop chips, things may be smoother this time.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/qualcomm-is-expanding-its-next-gen-laptop-chip-line-with-the-snapdragon-x-plus-130018288.html?src=rss
Kim Kardashian Reportedly ‘Doesn’t Get Why’ Taylor Swift ‘Keeps Harping’ on Feud in ‘thanK you aIMee’
The reality star is reportedly “over” her feud with Taylor Swift, after she released the scathing song “thanK you aIMee” on her new album ‘The Tortured Poets Department.’
The reality star is reportedly “over” her feud with Taylor Swift, after she released the scathing song “thanK you aIMee” on her new album ‘The Tortured Poets Department.’