Surprise! We're still here, and not just here - we have a whole year's worth of content coming to you! NFS turns 30 this year, and with that huge legacy, we couldn't stand idle. However, this year will be a bit different from the previous one. Because here's the thing—the NFS legacy signifies different things to each and every one of you. Some of you were there at the start of it all on Road and Track. Some of you will remember taking on the Eastsiders in Olympic City or smashing your way through the Blacklist in Rockport. Or you might have started playing more recently. Hustling by day and risking it all by night in Palm City. No matter your memory, we all have a shared love of NFS, and we want to build new memories over the next 12 months.

But, we'll be honest and admit we can't build everything everyone wants right now, but we can decide together what NFS should be in the future. Our vision is that through our second year of live service, you can, for the first time, begin to play the ultimate NFS experience in one place. Your feedback and gameplay will help shape the future of this iconic franchise. As you play, we will be listening, observing and reacting to the things you want to see and those you don't. It's an approach that we're calling Kaizen.

AMD kicks off the 2024 International CES with its new Advancing AI PCs event, and we are live-blogging it! AMD is locked in an arms race with Intel to bring local AI acceleration to PCs in the form of on-chip NPUs. The vast majority of PCs lack discrete GPUs, and so the expectation is that NPUs becoming standard to PC processors will help the software industry respond with a host of AI accelerated client applications, all running locally on the machine. If 2023 was the year of the cloud-based AI, 2024 promises to localize it. AMD in today's event is expected to give us an overview of its AI acceleration portfolio, and possibly launch some new products for the PC.15:00 UTC: The show is underway, and as always, it's good to see Dr Lisa Su. It's never a CES without her.

15:02 UTC: We were the first to processor-based NPU: Lisa

MSI has done it yet again, that is to leak Intel confidential information about upcoming products. In a live stream earlier today, the company put on a slide clearly marked "NDA, do not share!" which confirms the specs of some of Intel's upcoming 14th Gen Core CPUs, also known under the Raptor Lake-S Refresh code name. That said, the only thing that really needed confirmation that is on the slide is that the Core i7-14700K is getting an additional four E-cores.

That said, MSI does provide some insight on what to expect in terms of performance gain over the 13th Gen Core processors and it's not a whole lot. According to MSI, we should expect an average performance boost of around three percent compared to the same SKU from the previous generation. That's possibly one of the worst performance gains ever from Intel, generation to generation, although it is only a refresh, but the question is, why did Intel even bother? The Core i7-14700K does on average get a 17 percent performance boost in multi-threaded applications thanks to the extra E-cores, but this is hardly going to make anyone with a Core i7-13700K going to want to upgrade. Note that the video has been taken down by MSI as of the time of this article being posted.

Over the last few months, we have communicated details about customization, Endgame offerings, moment-to-moment gameplay, and given players a first-hand taste of Sanctuary through Act I during our Early Access and Open Beta Weekends. But what about the post-launch experience, and how do we plan to increase the heat? We'll answer this question by explaining our approach to Seasons, Season Journeys, Battle Pass, and the Shop, and how they work in unison to enhance and diversify the robust campaign and Endgame offerings available to players at launch. There was also a Diablo IV Developer Update Livestream today (see below) that further expands on the aforementioned areas—give it a watch after reading this blog.

Stoking the Flames of Hell: Seasons
Seasons are quarterly releases that will add additional gameplay features, questlines (with new and old faces alike), Battle Passes, Legendary Items, class balance changes, quality-of-life improvements, and much more. Seasons will introduce fresh concepts and ideas into the world of Sanctuary, for all wanderers to enjoy while simultaneously iterating upon your baseline experience. Above all, we want Seasons to be celebratory moments; something to look forward to and enjoy with your friends and other members of the Diablo community. Season 1 will begin in mid to late July, and to embark on this next chapter, you must first complete the Campaign. Because of this, we recommend you begin your pursuit of Lilith in advance so you can jump into the first Season as soon as it becomes available.

At the start of 2023, EMEET previewed its first-ever self-created streaming camera, the EMEET StreamCam One, at CES 2023 in Las Vegas. Now EMEET, as a global leader in professional audio and video conferencing solutions, is proud to announce the launch of EMEET StreamCam One. This self-created streaming camera has been designed for both personal and enterprise users. This product offers high-quality video and audio, multiple features, and easy-to-use operation.

The StreamCam One is the latest wireless network camera they have launched, which represents an innovation in the field. With this product, users can take advantage of its multi-camera support, high-quality audio, support for multiple platforms, user-friendly operation, and quality assurance.

Today, GoPro (NASDAQ: GPRO) announced three versions of its all-new HERO11 Black camera: HERO11 Black, HERO11 Black Creator Edition and HERO11 Black Mini. All three cameras feature a new, larger sensor that delivers the highest resolution, highest 10-bit color depth, highest level of video stabilization and widest field of view ever featured natively in a HERO camera.

All three HERO11 Black cameras also take GoPro's subscription service to a new level by delivering automatic highlight videos to your phone. As a GoPro subscriber, you need only plug-in your HERO11 to charge and the camera will upload your footage to your GoPro cloud account where it's automatically edited into a highlight video that is sent to your phone via the GoPro Quik app. It's now that easy.

Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers, today announced the Razer Stream Controller, an all-in-one solution that streamlines content creation and places all the functionality that creators will ever need right at their fingertips. The Stream Controller offers endless shortcuts, easy multi-tasking, and instant access to any function, with near limitless software compatibility through its fully customizable touchscreen, commands, dials, and more.

Streamers and content creators alike can let their creativity flow with the Razer Stream Controller, with its user-interface specifically designed for intuitive organization by prioritizing multi-tasking and customization. The 12 haptic switchblade keys are bindable to an infinite number of commands and macros while the customizable icons allow for easier visual navigation. Powered by Loupedeck, nearly every aspect of the controller is customizable, all the way down to the haptic feedback range, allowing for the ideal level of tactile response. The 6 tactile analog dials provide on-the-fly audio adjustments to conveniently tweak the levels of audio, media, and other channels, as creators manage it all at a glance using the controller's dynamic LCD touchscreen. The 8 programmable buttons also let creators seamlessly toggle between multiple workspaces or activate common commands.

Microsoft is today holding a virtual Windows Event to showcase what is next for Windows. As we have made reports earlier in the past few weeks, the Redmond giant has shown-off the next-generation Windows 11 operating system, which will make a major improvement compared to Windows 10 both internally and as far as looks are concerned. We were live-blogging all of that, and at exactly, 11 am Eastern Time. You can find the whole live blog below, and check out the new Windows 11 OS features.

14:43 UTC: The event is about to start...

Today we are welcoming GIGABYTE's AORUS to present the latest innovations in the PC space with the newest product announcements. Join us in the live blog coverage of the "Performance Above All" virtual launch event and find out what AORUS has been working on in the meantime.Update 17:45 UTC The event is starting...

Xilinx, Inc., the leader in adaptive and intelligent computing, today introduced two real-time computing video appliances for easy-to-scale, ultra-high-density video transcoding applications. Based on the new Xilinx Real-Time (RT) Server reference architecture, these new appliances will enable service providers delivering applications such as eSports and game streaming platforms, social and video conferencing, live distance learning, telemedicine and live broadcast video to optimize video quality and bitrate at the lowest cost per channel for significant TCO savings over both software-based and fixed-architecture approaches.

Designed for edge and on-premise compute-intensive workloads where video channel density, throughput and latency are critical requirements, the new Xilinx Real-Time Video Appliances feature optimized hardware architectures and software to deliver the industry's highest channel density and lowest latency performance. The appliances are available in two pre-configured options integrating Xilinx Alveo data center accelerator cards - the High Channel Density Video Appliance and the Ultra-Low Bitrate Video Appliance.

TechPowerUp today released its latest version of TechPowerUp GPU-Z, the lightweight graphics sub-system information and diagnostic utility that no enthusiast can leave home without. Version 1.16.0 comes with an improved GPU Lookup mechanism, which can catch cards that use the same GPU and PCB, but different clocks, like some Sapphire RX 470 and RX 480 cards. Also, it can now properly tell DDR3 from DDR4 memory type on machines with Intel "Skylake" integrated graphics. Memory clock reading on AMD Radeon R9 Fury, R9 Fury X, R9 Nano, and Pro Duo, running Radeon Crimson ReLive drivers, is fixed.DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 1.16.0 | GPU-Z 1.16.0 ASUS ROG Themed

The change-log follows.

TechPowerUp begins its year with the planet's hottest technology expo, the International CES, held in Las Vegas USA, each January. The 2015 International CES is expected to bring together some of the newest, strangest, and most out of the box creations in the world of tech, under one roof. We'll be out there, bringing you our latest finds! Stay live, and chat with us, on this page.

Sega is continuing to reach into its back catalog, and fans are loving it. The latest HD remaster from the house of Sonic is the Saturn classic, Nights into Dreams. The digital re-release will be available on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and Windows PC this fall. The updated version adds widescreen HD graphics, as well as support for leaderboards, trophies, and achievements. The original game will be available to play in "Saturn Mode," just in case you're not fond of the sharper graphics and textures.

A new trailer of Batman: Arkham City GOTY Edition revealed a new DLC in the works, dubbed "Harley Quinn's Revenge". Slated for May 29, the GOTY (game of the year) Edition package will feature the previously released Catwoman, Nightwing and Robin DLC, as well as the Skin and Challenge map packs, and what the trailer calls "final chapter, Harley Quinn's Revenge." Find its Christian Audigier-esque logo below. Unfortunately, the May 29 release only targets Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3; and the UK edition won't arrive until September 7. Does it take that long to cross the big pond?The GOTY Edition trailer follows.

Shortly before launching its next-generation game console (codenamed "Durango"), Microsoft is said to be working on a new product (SKU, rather), called Xbox Lite. This new console will cost as little as $100. According to a source, Xbox Lite will be ARM-based, and scheduled for "late 2013 which does Arcade-style games & all the current & future media apps with Kinect (with near-mode)." What makes the rumor plausible is that ARM chips advancing faster than ever, and so is the ecosystem of casual games on Xbox Live Arcade, which don't have very high graphical detail (and hence, aren't resource-heavy). Many of these casual games, along with Kinect-enabled games, could make up the ecosystem around Xbox Lite.

Microsoft's next-generation Xbox game console, codenamed "Durango", will arrive in 2013. More importantly, it is said to completely lack an optical disc drive. The lack of a disc drive could mark a milestone in the evolution of console game distribution. Microsoft already has a high-volume digital distribution platform in Xbox Live, its significance in a post-disc console era will only increase.

This is not to say that Microsoft will completely do away with physical media, an interchangeable NAND flash-based media could also take shape, seeing how prices of NAND flash-storage has come drastically down over the past couple of years. It would be a going back to solid-state game cartridges, for home consoles. Some portable consoles use solid-state media even today.

We've got a good news and a bad news. The good news first: Microsoft will finally embrace the capacious Blu-ray disc format as its media of choice with its next-generation Xbox console. A double-layer Blu-ray disc provides 50 GB of space, letting developers load higher-resolution elements (such as textures), and more importantly, load entire games into a single disc. The 8 GB DVD9 used with Xbox 360 is posing limitations with some titles, forcing publishers to ship games in multiple discs. The new console should also double up as a nice Blu-ray home-video player, complete with multi-channel lossless audio and 1080p playback.

Now on to the bad news: Remember the good old days when you could share your game cartridges and discs with your friends, or resell them? Those are about to be numbered, at least in the case of the Xbox platform. Microsoft is designing its next-generation Xbox console in a way that restricts people from playing "used" games. We would imagine Microsoft doing this by binding each purchased game's activation to a Xbox Live account à la Steam, Origin, and G4WL. This is terrible news to services such as GameStop, which deal in used games and consoles.

CES is officially kicking off on the 10th of January and we are in Las Vegas to bring the latest hardware news. The team is ready to go and eager to jump into the fray, having arrived on the 7th of January. With many manufacturers present, the show is bound to be the busiest one yet and you may follow our coverage on our CES 2012 Live Coverage page - just click the link below!

Cavium, Inc. (NASDAQ: CAVM), a leading provider of semiconductor products that enable intelligent processing for networking, communications, and digital home applications, today announced a technology and marketing collaboration with Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to offer Intel(R) WiDi-based products designed to enable superior wireless display consumer experience. The resulting end-to-end solution will combine Intel(R) WiDi's ease-of-use and innovation with Cavium's super low latency technology and advanced video processing techniques to further enhance Intel(R) WiDi's interactivity and broaden its target applications. As a part of the marketing collaboration, Intel and Cavium will work together to expand and grow the market for wireless display products. A range of OEMs will soon be offering Intel(R) WiDi compatible receivers with Cavium's PureVu(TM) media SoC. Live demonstrations of Cavium's new Intel(R) WiDi receivers are available at Cavium's suite at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, between Jan 10th and 13th.

Windows 8 implements a radical new user interface called Metro for desktop PC's, which has so far received a mixed reception. However, there's many other changes under the hood and one of those is how password security is handled, which we look at here. It's a fact of life, that in today's modern world, we have to remember a plethora of passwords and PIN's, which can be daunting. This leads to security issues as users end up writing down passwords and/or create very insecure ones which can be easily guessed. Windows 8 aims to uphold strong password security, while at the same time, easing the burden on the user. Also, passwords can be obtained in various ways by miscreants, such as phishing, keylogging, guessing, and cracking. Windows addresses each of these problems in three main ways:

Shattering its own day-one sales records, Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, announced that its highly-anticipated Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has become the biggest entertainment launch ever with an estimated sell-through of more than $400 million and more than 6.5 million units in North America and the United Kingdom alone in the first 24 hours of its release, according to Charttrack and retail customer sell-through information.

This marks the third consecutive year that the Call of Duty franchise has set day one launch records across all forms of entertainment, something no other entertainment franchise in any medium has ever accomplished. Last year, in North America and the United Kingdom , Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops had estimated day-one sell-through of $360 million and in 2009, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, set day-one records with estimated sell through of $310 million, according to Charttrack and retail customer sell-through information.

On November 8, 2011, millions of fans attended more than 13,000 midnight openings at retail stores worldwide. According to Microsoft, after just two days, the number of gamers playing simultaneously on Xbox Live set a new peak concurrency record.

The title pretty much says it all, next week Microsoft will start selling a Starter Pack for all Xbox 360 Arcade console fan that have never gone past the casual offline gaming. The pack includes everything you need to jump into Xbox LIVE with the Xbox 360: a spacious 60GB Hard Drive, Headset, 3-month LIVE Gold subscription, and Ethernet cable. The Xbox Live 60GB starter pack can be pre-ordered now from GameStop for $99.99, with an expected U.S. ship date of November 4th. (Ed. note: The same kit should be available on or before Nov. 21st in Europe for 79€)

One day, a dude working for Microsoft checked his G Mail account, and then checked his Live account. He noticed that he could shove a lot more stuff on his G Mail account than he could his Live account. To be precise, Live used to hold 1GB of digital goodies, while G-Mail can hold 6.4GB. And so, this dude brought this issue to the dudes in charge of developing and maintaining Windows Live, and bumped up Skydrive storage to 5GB. This move will make several dudes who subscribe to Windows Live quite happy, and makes Live more competent with the likes of Yahoo, AOL and of course G Mail. Live Skydrive storage is officially out of beta, and available in several countries around the globe.