In a new International Data Corporation (IDC) forecast, the outlook for PCs and tablets continues to get worse. Worldwide PC and tablet shipments are forecast to decline 11.9% in 2022 with volumes shrinking to 456.8 million units, followed by a further decline in 2023. According to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, traditional PCs will see shipments drop 5.6% to 281 million units in 2023 while tablets will decline 6.7% to 148 million units.

Despite the sharp decline, shipment volumes will remain above pre-pandemic levels although the market will continue to be challenged by macroeconomic headwinds, excess channel inventory, and high levels of saturation. While the PC market is expected to fare better than tablets with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of just over 1% expected over the five-year forecast, tablets are expected to have a CAGR of -1.7% over the same period.

Evil Licorice has today released their debut title Retro Gadgets via Steam Early Access. Available for £16.99, $19.99, EUR €19.99, the gadget-creation title lets players make, code, and customise their own gadgets and share them with the world. The first playable demo saw thousands of inventors make all sorts of devices, from fully playable portable consoles to functional MP3 players, and even 3D painting tools.

In Retro Gadgets, players make and customise their own gadgets, which they can code to bring to life before sharing with the community. Working in a tactile interface, tinkerers will press buttons, flick switches, twist dials, and move joysticks to build and interact with any gadget they can think of. The game features full Steam Workshop integration, letting players download, inspect and reverse engineer each other's projects to create their own versions.

During the Snapdragon Summit 2022, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and Adobe announced an expanded collaboration to support creative experiences on Snapdragon powered devices across mobile, compute, and XR platforms. Together, the companies will push the boundaries of creativity and document productivity for Snapdragon users.

Building on the rich experiences already found with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom for Windows on Snapdragon devices, Adobe remains committed to bringing the best of Creative Cloud natively to the Snapdragon platform, including Adobe Fresco and Adobe Acrobat. Bringing the strength of Adobe Sensei, Adobe's artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, alongside the dedicated on-device Qualcomm AI Engine on Snapdragon compute platforms, users can experience enhanced device performance for creative workflows and tasks including super-resolution, background removal and color enhancement, editing content on-the-go, and more.

Atari—one of the world's most iconic consumer brands and interactive entertainment producers—today launches its new title, Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration, commemorating 50 years of success, growth, and progress in the video game industry. Available now on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Series X|S, PlayStation 4|5, and Windows PC, Atari 50 functions as an interactive trek through Atari's historic past, featuring a selection of the publisher's most iconic games, and brands, as well as showcasing the creative individuals who launched the video game industry.

A mix of video game collection-meets-anthology, Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration showcases the history of Atari through a combination of retro and modern playable games, short videos, never-before-seen interviews, early development diaries, and more. Emulating seven separate console platforms, and containing titles spanning five decades, the library-styled interface presents over 100 video games sorted by era in an intuitive linear timeline. Other files and materials are also part of the package, including early development sketches, hardware schematics, internal memos, pictures, films, and other "artifacts," the majority of which have never been made public.

ASUS, a leading provider of server systems, server motherboards and workstations, today announced new best-in-class server solutions powered by the latest AMD EPYC 9004 Series processors. ASUS also launched superior liquid-cooling solutions that dramatically improve the data-center power-usage effectiveness (PUE).

The breakthrough thermal design in this new generation delivers superior power and thermal capabilities to support class-leading features, including up to 400-watt CPUs, up to 350-watt GPUs, and 400 Gbps networking. All ASUS liquid-cooling solutions will be demonstrated in the ASUS booth (number 3816) at SC22 from November 14-17, 2022, at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas.

Worldwide tablet shipments were down 8.8% year over year in the third quarter of 2022 (3Q22), totaling 38.6 million units, according to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker. This was the fifth straight quarter of decline for the tablet market. Chromebook shipments also struggled in 3Q22, falling to 4.3 million units and a year-over-year decline of 34.4%. Both markets have now shifted from supply constrained industries to ones that are demand challenged as consumer and education spending has slowed in the face of economic uncertainties.

Chinese vendors continue to do well in emerging markets where there is low-end demand. Sanctions from many vendors also enabled Chinese vendors like Huawei to perform well in the Russian market. Meanwhile, the emergence of low-priced Chinese OEMs like Realme, Xiaomi, Oppo and others, has fueled strong competition in the lower range devices. However, these gains still couldn't offset the decline experienced by the main tablet vendors.

Leading gaming accessory maker Turtle Beach Corporation today announced the newest addition to the brand's growing lineup of gaming simulation accessories, the VelocityOne Rudder, is now available at participating retailers globally. VelocityOne Rudder further elevates flight simmers' setups to new levels of realism. It perfectly complements Turtle Beach's award-winning VelocityOne Flight Universal Control System and will also be compatible with the recently announced VelocityOne Flightstick following its mid-November launch. For flight sim fans on Windows PCs, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One, VelocityOne Rudder features dual-pedal configurations for both light aircraft and heavy airliner setups. The pedals have a smooth rudder axis and contactless hall-effect sensors on all axes for fluid movements and a longer product life. Differential brakes allow for tight turns and precise runway braking control, while swappable springs and adjustable pedal width and shape provide added realism whether flying a light aircraft, heavy airliner, or fighter jets. Plus, multiple stable mounting solutions keep VelocityOne Rudder firmly planted on a variety of surfaces. Turtle Beach's VelocityOne Rudder is available today at www.turtlebeach.com and participating retailers for $299.99 MSRP.

"VelocityOne Rudder is the next step in our commitment to giving flight sim gamers a modern and realistic flight control experience using the latest technologies," said Juergen Stark, Chairman and CEO, Turtle Beach Corporation. "From our booths at the RIAT and Miramar Air Shows to online flight sim groups - the flying community's early reaction to our new pedals has been overwhelmingly positive. We're thrilled to be on the leading edge of rebooting what consumers should expect in high-quality flight simulation gaming accessories."

Leading gaming accessories maker Turtle Beach Corporation today unveiled its all-new, eagerly anticipated Turtle Beach VelocityOne Flightstick, a universal simulation controller joystick for air and space combat simulation games. Designed for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows PCs, the VelocityOne Flightstick is the gaming flight stick of the future, equipping gamers with immersive, accurate controls for navigating air and space flight sim and combat games. A total of eight axes, including contactless hall effect sensors on the main X&Y axes, provide precise control while two multifunction levers handle main engine power and adjustment of control surfaces. VelocityOne Flightstick's precise nano trim wheel allows for fine tuning of altitude, and an OLED Flight Management Display makes for easy adjustments. With 27 programmable buttons, a rapid-fire trigger, an integrated trackpad, and Bluetooth connectivity to its companion app, Turtle Beach's VelocityOne Flightstick arms gamers on Xbox and Windows PCs with a multitude of controls. VelocityOne Flightstick is available for pre-order now from www.turtlebeach.com and participating retailers for $129.99 (£119.99/€129.99) MSRP and launches November 17, 2022.

"VelocityOne Flightstick melds Turtle Beach's expertise in controller design with the latest technologies to give air and space combat sim gamers a groundbreaking, modern flight stick controller experience," said Juergen Stark, Chairman and CEO, Turtle Beach Corporation. "While our award-winning VelocityOne Flight products continue to impress the flight simulation community, there's a massive audience of gamers who love air and space flight combat, making the Flightstick perfect for games like Microsoft Flight Sim 2020, X-Plane, Elite Dangerous, War Thunder, Star Citizen, Everspace, and Star Wars flight games to name a few. However gamers want to fly - whether casually, or by the seat of their pants with their hair on fire - it'll be a better experience with VelocityOne Flightstick in their hands."

Basemark launched today GPUScore Sacred Path. It is the world's only cross-platform GPU benchmark that includes the latest GPU technologies like Variable Rate Shading (VRS). Sacred Path supports all the relevant device categories - ranging from premium mobile phones to high-end gaming PCs and discrete graphics cards, including full support of the major operating systems, such as Android, iOS, Linux, macOS and Windows.

This benchmark is of great importance for application vendors, device manufacturers, GPU vendors and IT Media. Game developers need a thorough understanding of performance across the device range to optimize the use of the same assets across a maximum device range. GPU vendors and device manufacturers can compare their products with competitor products, which allows them to develop new product ranges with the correct targeting. In addition, Sacred Path is a true asset for media reviewing any GPU-equipped devices.

Today, we shared our vision for the next era of the Windows PC, where the PC and the cloud intersect and tap into innovative AI technology that unlocks new experiences. So that each of us can participate, be seen, heard and express our creativity.

For nearly 40 years, the Windows PC has held a place at the center of our lives. It's contributed to new levels of productivity, kept us all connected, and unlocked our creativity and potential through innovations we couldn't have imagined when we first began this journey. Just think about how far we've come in how people interact with it. From the very first text-based keyboard input to the precision of point and click with the mouse, up to today, where touch, voice, pen and gestures all help people use the Windows PC more naturally and intuitively. From its inception, Surface has been a catalyst for that change.

Declines continued for the traditional PC market as global shipments totaled 74.3 million units during the third quarter of 2022 (3Q22), according to preliminary results from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker. Cooling demand and uneven supply have contributed to a year-over-year contraction of 15.0%. However, shipment volumes remain well above pre-pandemic levels when PC volumes were largely driven by commercial refreshes due to the looming end of support for Windows 7.

"Consumer demand has remained muted though promotional activity from the likes of Apple and other players has helped soften the fall and reduce channel inventory by a couple weeks across the board," said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC's Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers. "Supply has also reacted to the new lows by reducing orders with Apple being the only exception as their third quarter supply increased to make up for lost orders stemming from the lockdowns in China during the second quarter."

Today marks the beginning of a new era for Blizzard Entertainment's award-winning franchise: Overwatch 2 is live now and free to play worldwide with cross-platform play and progression for all players on Windows PC via Battle.net, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch consoles! Setting the stage for years to come, Overwatch 2 will receive substantial seasonal updates, often including features such as new heroes, maps, game modes, cosmetics, and more released at a regular cadence.

Log in today to play as the recently unveiled support hero Kiriko: a fierce protector with a heart of gold. She joins tank hero Junker Queen and damage hero Sojourn as three game-changing women rounding out a playable roster that now includes 35 heroes. And what's a new era without a new look and feel? Going live today are updated appearances for every hero, numerous hero ability kit reworks, a new five-versus-five multiplayer format, six new maps, the new Push game mode, a new ping system, a redesigned competitive mode, and more—all experienced through updated graphics and audio engines. Additionally, the diverse cast of characters has never felt more alive, with over 40,000 new voice lines in the game.

ASUS today announced SmartO Mouse MD200, an ergonomic wireless mouse that includes ASUS Antibacterial Guard, an elastic carrying loop, a high-performance 4200 dpi optical sensor, long-lasting switches and 100% PTFE mouse feet. Connections to devices are made via RF 2.4 GHz or Bluetooth 5.0, with either mode providing high data throughput to ensure accurate, lag-free response. SmartO Mouse MD200 can connect to up to three devices via Bluetooth, for convenient multitasking. Intuitive Armoury Crate software enables various customization options, including the ability to tweak sensitivity levels and polling rate, and it allows users to view battery level.

The innovative concealed carrying loop can be effortlessly slipped over the user's finger, making it especially useful when moving from a workstation to a meeting room. The strap can also be used to hang the mouse when not in use for a neater workstation. SmartO Mouse MD200 also includes a thumb rest to ensure comfort, even after hours of use. The mouse's ASUS Antibacterial Guard protective coat has passed the ISO 22196 international standard and is certified by the Society of Industrial Technology for Antimicrobial Articles (SIAA).

Logitech G, a brand of Logitech and leading innovator of gaming technologies and gear, today announced the PRO Racing Wheel and PRO Racing Pedals, a stunning new professional-grade racing setup designed with and for professional sim drivers. Engineered for the most realistic and immersive racing experience possible, the PRO Racing Wheel features a new, high-performance Direct Drive engine along with TRUEFORCE feedback technology to deliver the most precise and pure connection to racing.

"Logitech's PRO Racing Wheel makes the sim racing experience incredibly realistic. I'm able to feel the conditions of the track and how the car changes during the race, which is game-changing. When using this wheel at home, I feel like I'm right there on track," said Lando Norris, F1 Racer for McLaren.

Today, the Windows 11 2022 Update rolls out in 190+ countries. The last few years have brought enduring changes in the ways we live, work and learn, with the PC playing a more critical role in our daily lives. Online options that didn't previously exist for meetings, appointments, everyday tasks and access to entertainment emerged out of necessity, but remain due to convenience and efficiency. We formed new habits; and they stuck. The PC has fundamentally connected us in more emotional ways than ever before.

The rapid move to more flexible work and life also dramatically increased security threats for individuals and businesses, with 921 password attacks every second. With last year's launch of Windows 11 we gave the PC a modern refresh, making it faster and easier for you to accomplish the tasks you have relied on your PCs for most. We added foundational security built into Windows at home and at work to help keep you safe and with Windows 365, we took Windows to the cloud, empowering organizations to stream the full Windows experience on any device. More people are using Windows and spending more time on their PCs. In fact, Windows 11 is the most used and most loved version of Windows ever.

M-Audio today introduced M-Game, livestreaming audio interfaces and software designed specifically for gaming and content creation. M-Game provides premium quality streaming, elevated performance, and entertainment for any audience. M-Audio's legendary contribution to music performance and audio production is distinguished by a history of sophisticated engineering with an emphasis on versatility and usability. Drawing on our expertise with audio interfaces, and in partnership with our gaming experts, we are proud to debut M-Game.

Powered by M-Audio, the new M-Game livestreaming audio interfaces, RGB Dual and Solo, and M-Game software provide an all-in-one simple solution that delivers unique and innovative features for seamless set-up and customization. Unlike other audio interfaces, M-Game delivers first-of-its-kind dual PC USB connection and the ability to add images to effects and samples allowing for a seamless setup of a livestream.

-Leading gaming accessories maker Turtle Beach Corporation today announced the Stealth 600 Gen 2 MAX and Stealth 600 Gen 2 USB wireless gaming headsets for PlayStation are now available at participating retailers. The Stealth 600 Gen 2 MAX for PlayStation adds longer battery life and expanded compatibility to the acclaimed set of features that have made Turtle Beach's Stealth 600 series headsets award-winning, best-selling products for years. The Stealth 600 Gen 2 USB for PlayStation also extends battery performance while maintaining the 600's original attractive $99 MSRP. The Stealth 600 Gen 2 MAX for PlayStation comes in Black, Midnight Red, and Arctic Camo for $129.99 MSRP, while the Stealth 600 Gen 2 USB for PlayStation comes in Black with Blue trim or White with Blue trim for $99.99 MSRP.

"Our Stealth 600 MAX and USB models for PlayStation give gamers on PS5 and PS4 the premium sound and comfort they desire, plus exclusive Turtle Beach audio features like Superhuman Hearing for a competitive advantage," said Juergen Stark, Chairman and CEO, Turtle Beach Corporation. "The Stealth 600 Gen 2 MAX uses 50 mm speakers compared to 40 mm for most competitors in this price range, and now it delivers the same powerful, lag-free wireless audio for Nintendo Switch and Windows PCs. Combined with an upgraded battery life, we expect the Stealth 600 series to continue to lead the category."

Microsoft's USD $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision-Blizzard is running into hurdles with competition regulators in both the UK and the EU, with both Brussels and London hinting at a thorough investigation into the impact the acquisition will have on competition in their respective markets. Microsoft is already a game publisher under Microsoft Games Studio, and makes at least two leading gaming platforms—the Xbox and Windows PC; whereas Activision-Blizzard own a constellation of dozens of game developers, and a mountain of IP over some of the most valuable game franchises of all time.

Britain's Competition and Markets Authority has hinted that the acquisition warrants a "second-phase investigation" since it has concerns that the deal would "result in a substantial lessening of competition within a market or markets in the United Kingdom." Over in Brussels, the EU market regulators, too, are taking a closer look at what the deal could entail for European consumers. Sony Computer Entertainment is particularly unhappy with the acquisition, and is the primary source of opposition to the deal that's invoked by regulators. Sony fears that with this acquisition, Microsoft will be in a position to deny popular game franchises such as "Call of Duty" to the PlayStation platform, and will have too much control over whether Sony can deliver an experience comparable or better than that of the Xbox.Many Thanks to DeathtoGnomes for the tip.

Tumultuous times are ahead for the PC and tablet markets according to a new forecast from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker. Global shipments of traditional PCs are forecast to decline 12.8% in 2022 to 305.3 million units while tablet shipments will fall 6.8% to 156.8 million. Inflation, a weakening global economy, and the surge in buying over the past two years are the leading causes for the reduced outlook.

Further contraction is also expected in 2023 as consumer demand has slowed, the education demand has been largely fulfilled, and enterprise demand gets pushed out due to worsening macroeconomic conditions. The combined market for PCs and tablets is forecast to decline 2.6% in 2023 before returning to growth in 2024.

Today's consumers need more out of their personal technology to thrive in the world of hybrid work and learning. While portability and mobility are key, the other side of this reality is that the hybrid worker and student are spending less time in offices and classrooms, and more time at home. This evolving consumer behavior has inspired Lenovo's new personal devices designed for the modern family, including Lenovo's first 16-inch Chromebook, the new Lenovo IdeaPad 5i Chromebook, and two new additions to its premium Lenovo Tab P11 tablet lineup: the Lenovo Tab P11 (2nd Gen) and the decked-out Lenovo Tab P11 Pro (2nd Gen).

The sudden switch to remote work and learning two years ago quickly increased people's reliance on technology, but it also ushered in a new and improved wave of remote everything - fitness, concerts, cinema, cooking, even dance parties. People learned to do everything they used to go out for, right in their own homes using their technology. Signs point to those behaviors persisting past the pandemic as consumers plan to spend more time on hobbies like home improvement and many expressing intentions of cooking at home more.

Microsoft is announcing the general availability of the latest Azure Virtual Machines featuring the Ampere Altra Arm-based processor. The new virtual machines will be generally available on September 1, and customers can now launch them in 10 Azure regions and multiple availability zones around the world. In addition, the Arm-based virtual machines can be included in Kubernetes clusters managed using Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). This ability has been in preview and will be generally available over the coming weeks in all the regions that offer the new virtual machines.

Earlier this year, we launched the preview of the new general-purpose Dpsv5 and Dplsv5 and memory optimized Epsv5 Azure Virtual Machine series, built on the Ampere Altra processor. These new virtual machines have been engineered to efficiently run scale-out, cloud-native workloads. Since then, hundreds of customers have tested and experienced firsthand the excellent price-performance that the Arm architecture can provide for web and application servers, open-source databases, microservices, Java and.NET applications, gaming, media servers, and more. Starting today, all Azure customers can deploy these new virtual machines using the Azure portal, SDKs, API, PowerShell, and the command-line interface (CLI).

Turtle Beach Corporation today announced that the all-new Designed for Xbox Turtle Beach REACT-R Controller is now available at retailers in the U.S. The first of Turtle Beach's new controller products to launch in 2022, the REACT-R is an ultra-affordable controller at $39.99 MSRP with many of the same core features as the highly rated Designed for Xbox Recon Controller (MSRP $59.99). This includes delivering the leading console gaming headset maker's exclusive, patented Superhuman Hearing sound setting to any connected wired 3.5 mm headset.

The REACT-R Controller launched in the UK and in Europe last month where it immediately garnered critical acclaim, including from GamesRadar with a 4.5/5 review score, calling it "stunning value for the money," and saying, "This gamepad looks, feels, and plays as a far more premium product." The REACT-R Controller is compatible with Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows PCs and is available in Black, or White with Purple accents. Gamers can get their REACT-R Controller today from Turtle Beach and participating retailers for $39.99 MSRP.

Targus, a leader in laptop cases and mobile computing accessories, announced it has launched a new integrated docking station and dual-display monitor to deliver a clutter-free, productive workspace. "This is the world's first solution that seamlessly connects a monitor, host dock, and optional secondary display, with only one power adapter," explains David Dorantes, director of product marketing, Targus. "It's a must-have addition to any modern professional workspace setup."

The 24-inch USB-C Docking Monitor with 100 W Power Delivery (DM4240PUSZ) merges a performance-driven, ultra-compatible Targus docking station with a 1080p HD LCD display via HDMI or DisplayPort, as well as the option to expand your screen setup with a 24-inch Secondary Monitor (DM4240SUSZ), sold separately.

Today, the AMD GPUOpen announced that AMD developed a new tool for game developers using ray tracing technologies to help organize the model geometries in their scenes. Called Radeon Raytracing Analyzer (RRA) 1.0, it is officially available to download for Linux and Windows and released as a part of the Radeon Developer Tool Suite. With rendering geometries slowly switching from rasterization to ray tracing, developers need a tool that will point out performance issues and various workarounds in the process. With RRA, AMD has enabled all Radeon developers to own a tool that will answer many questions like: how much memory is the acceleration structure using, how complex is the implemented BVH, how many acceleration structures are used, does geometry in the BLAS axis align enough, etc. Developers will find it very appealing for their ray tracing workloads.

AMDRRA is able to work because our Radeon Software driver engineers have been hard at work, adding raytracing support to our Developer Driver technology. This means that once your application is running in developer mode - using the Radeon Developer Panel which ships with RRA - the driver can log all of the acceleration structures in a scene with a single button click. The Radeon Raytracing Analyzer tool can then load and interrogate the data generated by the driver, presenting it in an easy-to-understand way.

Microsoft Corp. today announced the following results for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year:

• Revenue was $51.9 billion and increased 12% (up 16% in constant currency)
• Operating income was $20.5 billion and increased 8% (up 14% in constant currency)
• Net income was $16.7 billion and increased 2% (up 7% in constant currency)
• Diluted earnings per share was $2.23 and increased 3% (up 8% in constant currency)

"We see real opportunity to help every customer in every industry use digital technology to overcome today's challenges and emerge stronger," said Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft. "No company is better positioned than Microsoft to help organizations deliver on their digital imperative - so they can do more with less."