Another rampart of the consumer optical media market has crumbled away. This week, Sony Corporation has drawn a line under its Blu-ray disk recorder business. Kyodo News reports that the final Sony-branded Blu-ray recorders will be shipped this month. Importantly, this unfortunate news will have few repercussions outside of the niche Japanese market, where these devices are hooked up in living rooms to record broadcast TV. Sony will continue to ship Blu-ray players “for the time being,” notes the source.

This news doesn’t catch anyone by surprise. Sony stopped manufacturing the recorders, as well as recordable discs, this time last year, so the operation has just been running on fumes. Moreover, the Sony recorders that are seeing the last shipments this month uniquely target the Japanese domestic TV recording market.

Kyodo says that this particular recording market has finally been “snuffed out” due to the rise of streaming services. We’d guess other broadcast recording tech like HDD recorders will also have contributed to this product segment's demise.

Blu-ray players, movies, PC drives, and media are sticking around

If you are a Blu-ray media enthusiast, there is still no end in sight, though. Sony and others will continue to address the Blu-ray player market. Moreover, the Blu-ray media (movies, TV shows, etc) market appears to be niche but pretty stable. There’s no need to rush out, just yet, to get a backup player for when the manufacturing of the Blu-ray optical mechanisms ceases.

Blu-ray media users among HTPC enthusiasts shouldn’t be too concerned about Sony’s set-top recorder box withdrawal. Firms like Asus, LG, and Pioneer still seem to be making drives available in internal and external USB models. Blu-ray media is also still being produced by brands like Panasonic and Verbatim.

The Blu-ray optical drive/media format recently enjoyed its 20^th birthday. It was first announced for consumers at CES 2006, where it was enthusiastically supported by the majority of the big movie studios. That was just one year ahead of Netflix (founded in 1997) debuting its online streaming platform. In 2026, Netflix’s best quality UHD video streams run at around 16 Mbps, and are still therefore easily outgunned by the up to 100 Mbps video available to Blu-ray aficionados.

“Floppy disks are the best storage media ever invented,” claims tech tinkerer and maker Mads Chr. Olesen. The devoted dad has made it his mission to prove that assertion to his three-year-old son, by making an easy, tactile, Smart TV control system that is fed by these distinctive physical manifestations of the save icon. Say hello to the FloppyDiskCast smart TV remote system for kids.

Modern Smart TV controls are disempowering for toddlers, reckons Olesen. The maker considers the bundled remote control, or using smart device controls, to introduce too much ‘noise’ and distraction to the use of a Smart TV. The tile-based UIs may even cause little ones to develop short attention spans – if they can even successfully navigate the interfaces.

The Smart TV meets toddler problem played on Olesen’s mind, until he decided that kids would benefit from the floppy disk experience of yore. Putting the idea into practice, the first idea of using a floppy shell to enclose an RFID tag was set aside. Olesen wanted the floppy disk remote control device to exhibit the authentic “click, whirrr, brrr brrr,” feedback that veteran users of this portable removable storage media were familiar with.

The maker seems most familiar with retro-Windows ways of loading removable media. That meant “floppy drives basically don’t know if a disk is inserted until the operating system tries to access it.” But those of us who used Apple Macs and Amigas back in the day remember the former’s whirring clicky auto-feed mechanism, and the latter’s constant FDD ticking, ready to sense media, if the slot was empty.

Olesen eventually figured that pin 34 on old floppy drives could relay disk change information. But to get it to work, he needed to make a physical switch to engage when a disk was inserted. When a floppy is detected, the Arduino FDC Floppy library by dhansel comes into play.

Making the insertion of a particular floppy disk fire up the playback of a particular TV show comes down to a short configuration file ‘autoexec.sh’ that Olesen adds to each floppy. Since the disk read bursts are so short, it was feasible to make this floppy disk-driven remote battery-powered, despite the ancient desktop computer tech at its heart.

Different config files reside on different disks, featuring different colors and artwork, and play different shows. It is a highly intuitive Smart TV control method for the toddler. It likely ‘feels’ to the user that the media playing is the disk, but the Arduino code simply fires up the corresponding streams via a Chromecast.

If you are interested in making your own FloppyDiskCast, click this link to head on over to GitHub and get making.

According to a report by Vice, Redditor PoisonWaffle3 shared a new post detailing how he managed to snag one of Netflix's 10-year-old caching servers for free. Even though it is a decade old, it packs some serious hardware even by today's standards and features an impressive 262TB of storage. This post represents one of the very few times we've seen Netflix's server infrastructure up close and personal.

The Redditor says he received the Netflix server courtesy of the company he works for, an internet service provider. Apparently, the ISP has used these Netflix servers for years but is now upgrading its infrastructure with newer hardware, which is how PoisonWaffle3 managed to get this server for free.

According to Vice, this server is known as a Netflix caching server and was part of Netflix's open connect content delivery network (CDN). This system is still in use today and is designed to reduce overall bandwidth demands on the Netflix platform by giving ISPs their own Netflix caching server. This allows popular Netflix content to play directly from the ISP's servers instead of traveling from Netflix's server farms.

The server is painted in bright red and comes in the form factor of a 4U rack-mounted server chassis. An LCD for monitoring server health is on the front, along with a pair of VGA ports and a pair of USB ports. To the left is a pair of thin power supplies that are likely hot-swappable.

Specs feature a Supermicro motherboard packing a single Intel 10-core hyperthreaded Xeon E5 2650L v2 chip, 64GB of DDR3 memory and a 10 GbE card. For storage, the system utilizes six 500GB Micron SSDs and 36 7.2TB 7200RPM drives. We don't know what protocol the drives are running on, but we can presume them to all be SAS drives (including the SSDs).

Even by today's standards, these core specifications aren't bad and were incredibly good back in the early 2010s when this server was first deployed. 64 GB of memory and 262TB of storage is nothing to sneeze at, especially for home use as a network attached storage (NAS).

Putting aside the beefy specifications, the unit is apparently pretty simple on the software side of things. According to Vice, Dave Temkin, Netflix's former VP of NSI says these Netflix servers are just Intel FreeBSD boxes, while some run on Linux. This makes sense, considering the servers were only designed to cache video files coming from Netflix servers and nothing more.

According to the Redditor, his Netflix caching server did need some repairs, including replacing a few noisy fans and one failed drive, but that's about it. He says the server will get a second life operating as a NAS at home.

A Netflix VP has confirmed that the firm has ambitions to offer a cloud gaming service to subscribers. At the TechCrunch Disrupt event on Tuesday, vice president of gaming, Mike Verdu, said that Netflix is "seriously exploring a cloud gaming offering." In related news, further signalling Netflix’s serious intent regarding the gaming industry, the firm opened its fifth games studio, led by former Blizzard Entertainment (Overwatch) executive producer, Chacko Sonny.

There has been talk about Netflix entering the gaming industry before, but its initial venture targeted the mobile games space. It must have gained confidence from the mobile gaming venture, as it sounds like it will follow a similar modus operandi into cloud gaming. “We'll approach this the same way as we did with mobile - start small, be humble, be thoughtful,” explained Verdu, at Disrupt. “The extension into the cloud is really about reaching the other devices where people experience Netflix.” Moreover, the service is hinted to move beyond casual gaming titles.

You may be wondering about the viability of another cloud gaming entrant, with Google Stadia so recently deceased.  Thankfully, the question of the struggles faced by Stadia, and Amazon Luna, were raised at the Disrupt event. Verdu’s response to the failings seen by rivals was that Stadia, for example, was “a technical success,” but that Google’s business model didn’t work out.

Netflix has released 35 mobile games since the service went live, and it let investors know that there are 55 more in the pipeline. The streaming media giant says that 14 of the new titles have come from its four games studios. To bolster its gaming output, and perhaps range, it announced that a fifth studio would be opened in Southern California shortly. The unnamed new studio is to be led by Chacko Sonny, an executive producer who worked on the very popular Overwatch franchise. As for partners, Ubisoft recently announced that it was producing three mobile games for Netflix, based on popular IPs such as Assassin’s Creed and Valiant Hearts.

Nreal is expanding its presence in the United States by launching another pair of augmented reality (AR) glasses. First launched in Asia in 2021, the Nreal Air AR glasses bring the entry price down for consumers to $379, compared to $599 for the Nreal Light, which we reviewed last year.

Compared to the Light, the Air glasses are 25 percent lighter and consume 50 percent less power. Designed to compete with the best VR headsets, The Nreal Air is also cheaper because these new AR glasses don't feature built-in SLAM or RGB cameras. Instead, the Air glasses only use 6 degrees of freedom (DoF) tracking.

Nreal is positioning the Air as a media consumption device for watching videos (i.e., Netflix and Hulu) and playing mobile games. You'll be treated to a 46 field of view with content, and when using the Nebula Mirror Mode, you're treated to a virtual screen that measures 130 to 200 inches. This could be an interesting way to enjoy content from game consoles like the Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5.

In the past, Nreal primarily focused on Android mobile devices and left iOS devices out of the loop regarding support. However, Nreal will now offer a $59 dongle that allows its AR glasses to work with an iPhone. It should be noted that you aren't finished after spending $59 on the dongle. You will also need to purchase the official Apple Digital AV Adapter that plugs into the Nreal dongle, which will cost you another $35. It's a clunky solution for iOS users, and we wish that Nreal offered a more streamlined and cost-effective option. 

Even with all the necessary components in place, you won't have access to Nreal's Nebula AR interface. Instead, you'll only be able to use the screen mirroring option for streaming content.

In addition, Nreal is showing even more love to the Apple ecosystem with the availability of Nebula for select macOS devices. Nebula provides MacBook Pro and MacBook Air users with a virtual user interface that can project multiple displays in front of you, expanding your available productivity workspace. Unfortunately, Nreal macOS compatibility is limited to Macs running on Apple Silicon (i.e., M1- and M2-based SoCs). Nreal did not indicate if or when Intel-based Macs would gain support for Nebula.

"AR glasses will likely first emerge into people's lives as a display technology and then gradually grow into a holistic experience," said Nreal co-founder Peng Jin. "That is why the thinking behind Nreal Air is very focused on the aesthetics, display quality, and its connectivity with other hardware devices."

U.S. customers can purchase the $379 Nreal Air AR glasses from Amazon with an expected delivery of October 6. The $59 Nreal Adapter is also available on Amazon, with delivery as soon as October 2.

Asahi Linux for Apple Silicon has launched for the public. It is the first Linux distribution to offer native support for Apple M1 chips. As this is an alpha release, please be aware of the likelihood of easy to stumble upon bugs and some significant missing features. However, this critical milestone now made, “things will move even more quickly going forward,” promises the Asahi Linux development team.

Asahi isn’t just a beer. It is the Japanese word for ‘morning sun,’ so it is quite an apt name for a pioneering Linux distribution for M1-powered Apple Macs. “We’re really excited to finally take this step and start bringing Linux on Apple Silicon to everyone,” wrote the development team in a blog post. Importantly, installing Asahi Linux on your Mac doesn’t require a jailbroken device. In addition, it won’t affect the security level of your macOS install, so Mac features like FileVault, running iOS apps, and watching Netflix in 4K can continue.

While the team has shared a list of system requirements, an installation guide, and a list of (in)compatible features, this alpha release is intended primarily “for developers and power users.” In other words, “expect things to be a bit rough,” the devs candidly admit.

To use Asahi Linux Alpha at present, you need an M1, M1 Pro, or M1 Max machine (Mac Studio excluded) with MacOS 12.3 or later, and at least 53GB of free space for the desktop install. After running the installer - which will prompt you through tasks like resizing your macOS partition (if necessary) and installing your new OS, you will have access to the Asahi Linux Desktop. The description is a "customized remix of Arch Linux ARM that comes with a full Plasma desktop and all the basic packages to get you started with a desktop environment." Moreover, it includes a setup wizard to get your system ready. There are also install options for a minimal Asahi Linux and a UEFI environment only (so you can boot an OS installer from a USB-connected drive). By default, the install sets up dual-boot mode so you can switch back to macOS as you wish.

Understandably, and given a big red flag by the developers, there are some significant wrinkles with Asahi Linux Alpha. There are a large number of Mac I/O, and hardware features that don't yet work, and the most important of these are:

• DisplayPort
• Thunderbolt
• HDMI on the MacBooks
• Bluetooth
• GPU acceleration
• Video codec acceleration
• Neural Engine
• CPU deep idle
• Sleep mode
• Camera
• Touch Bar

However, the above are balanced against the excellent work by the developers to get this Linux distro working with support for essentials like Wi-Fi, USB, NVMe, screen, power, keyboard, Ethernet (desktops), battery information, and more.

Some apps also have difficulty with this alpha release of the OS. For example, Chromium doesn't work, and Emacs has issues. Still, a fix is already in the pipeline, and other apps using jemalloc and libunwind will not work correctly in this initial Alpha release.

For more info about Asahi Linux Alpha, install notes, and a FAQ, please visit the linked blog post, from where you will find plenty of help and further reading. It is also worth keeping up with the official Asahi Linux Twitter account, which will keep you up to date with all the fixes and features as they are released.

If you aren't already using a VPN, you should be. 

Between ad networks keen on tracking our every move, traffic-snooping Internet Service Providers, and unsecured wireless networks, the state of digital privacy has never been more dire. A VPN doesn't prevent all forms of tracking, mind you. You'll need to pair it with an ad blocker and tweak your settings on social media for that. 

But it does still make you significantly harder to track. 

Let's say, for the sake of argument, that you don't really care about your digital privacy. It doesn't bother you that people can see what you're doing online. You've got nothing to hide, so why should you care about using a VPN? 

Three words: region locked content. 

If you're paying the same amount of money as everyone else for a Netflix subscription, you should have access to the same content as everyone else. Unfortunately, this is not the case. This is largely because, to be blunt, international copyright law is an unmitigated disaster. 

Every country has its own rules and regulations, and streaming services must strike a delicate balance between all of them. Frequently, this means a series of intricate contracts and agreements with content providers. As you might expect, said providers are the real beneficiaries here — and it's the end user that suffers. 

A VPN provides you with a means of getting around these region locks, much to the chagrin of both content providers and streaming platforms. Typically, this comes with a few trade-offs, like traffic slowdown and having your IP address flagged by certain sites. Ivacy suffers from neither of these issues. 

Consistently rated as the fastest VPN on the market, Ivacy is also a pioneer in Split Tunneling Technology. This innovation, exclusive to Ivacy, allows you to configure which traffic is routed through the VPN and which goes through your regular connection. Paired with Ivacy's P2P optimized secure downloading technology, this allows you to connect, download, and browse the way you want on up to ten devices.  

With over 3500 servers in more than one hundred locations, Ivacy also directly unblocks seven major Netflix regions:  

• France
• US
• Japan
• UK
• Australia
• Germany
• Canada

The best part, however, is the price. For a limited time only, Ivacy is on sale for 90% off. That means getting five years of service for just $0.99 a month. 

Get Ivacy VPN

Halloween decor seems to get more intense every year for makers. Hel Gibbons' latest project demonstrates this annual phenomenon with a huge, eerie 3D-printed doll modelled on the "Red Light, Green Light" game from the popular Netflix series Squid Game. Not only is this project beautifully crafted from scratch, but it also features our favorite Raspberry Pi microcontroller, the RP2040.

Inside the 3D-printed body is a Pimoroni Pico LiPo module that's programmed to illuminate the eyes with red LEDs when motion is detected, using a PIR motion sensor.

The Pimoroni Pico LiPo module has a JST connector for power which, in this case, is used to connect an external battery LiPo. The doll is totally portable and can be placed anywhere in your yard (or elsewhere) for a spooky surprise.

The best Raspberry Pi projects are equipped with with user-friendly features. In this case, Gibbons has furnished the doll with a warning system that will cause the eyes to flash when the power is low. The JST connector on the Pico LiPo makes it convenient to swap the battery for a freshly charged one.

To get a closer look at the build process for this creepy Halloween doll, check out the original thread shared to Twitter by Hel Gibbons, and be sure to follow them for more cool projects.

Netflix has been serving up to 200 Gbps of TLS-encrypted video from a single server since 2020. Nonetheless, the company aims to double the bandwidth to 400 Gbps. During his presentation at the EuroBSD 2021 conference (via HardwareLuxx), Andrew Gallatin, Senior Software Engineer at Netflix, detailed the challenges of pushing the bandwidth envelope on its FreeBSD-based servers.

Netflix turned to AMD's EPYC Rome processors to achieve its goal. The company equipped its server with the EPYC 7502P, which wields 32 Zen 2 cores with a 2.5 GHz base clock and 3.35 GHz boost clock. More importantly, the 32-core beast offers up to 128 PCIe 4.0 lanes, good for about 250 GBps of bandwidth or around 2 Tbps in networking units. Netflix paired the EPYC 7502P with 256GB of DDR4-3200 memory, with a total memory bandwidth of up to 150 GBps, or 1.2 Tbps in networking units.

For storage, Netflix's AMD-powered server utilizes 18 Western Digital WD SN720 2TB NVMe SSDs. It's also equipped with a pair of Nvidia's Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx network adapters that communicate through a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface. Initially, Netflix was only getting 240 Gbps out of the server, primarily due to the limitation on the memory.

Netflix experimented with different NUMA (Non Uniform Memory Architecture) configurations to maximize the bandwidth. AMD's EPYC processors support different NUMA nodes per socket, which can either be 1, 2 or 4. Naturally, the processor dictates which modes are available or not. The EPYC 7502P, which is the SKU used in Netflix's server, supports all three NUMA modes. According to Gallatin's slide, a single NUMA node configuration delivers up to 240 Gbps, while a setup with four NUMA nodes bumps the value up to 280 Gbps.

In an attempt to optimize the performance and avoid hardware bottlenecks, Netflix tested offloading the TLS encryption to the Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx, instead of the EPYC 7502P. With a bit of tinkering with the software and some firmware updates, Netflix managed to squeeze 190 Gbps per Mellanox ConnectX-6 Dx adapter or 380 Gbps with two network adapters. The encryption no longer passes through the processor, so it helps free up resources and cuts memory bandwidth by half. The results showed 50% processor utilization, with four NUMA nodes and around 60% without NUMA.

Netflix Server Configurations

Netflix evaluated other processor options from Intel and Ampere, but AMD was clearly the superior option. For example, the EPYC 7502P offered 280 Gbps, while the Xeon Platinum 8352V (Ice Lake) and Altra Q80-30 delivered 230 Gbps and 180 Gbps, respectively. 

The memory was the bottlenecked on the Intel system, since the Xeon Platinum 8352V natively supports DDR4-2933 as opposed to the EPYC 7502P's DDR4-3200 support. Gallatin expects similar performance with the EPYC 7502P if the Ice Lake chip is paired with equivalent memory. While the Altra Q80-30 from Ampere does support DDR4-3200 memory, the chip is limited to 180 Gbps.

Nevertheless, the Altra Q80-30 was the closest competitor to the EPYC 7502P with the TLS offload. The system offered 240 Gbps, but Gallatin noted low processor utilization and many output drops, which could be a PCIe-specific problem. After enabling extended tags, the Altra Q80-30 system pumped out 320 Gbps, just 60 Gbps lower than the EPYC 7502P system. Apparently, the Xeon Platinum 8352V system had the PCIe relaxed ordering option locked out, so Gallatin wasn't able to assess the performance of the network adapter.

While 400 Gbps sounds good and all, Netflix already has a 800 Gbps prototype for testing. Gallatin didn't share the specifications, but he hinted that we may hear about it next year.

Valve's upcoming Steam Deck sees your entire Steam library in the palm of your hands. A dream come true for many gamers but there is a possibility, brought to light by Microsoft's Xbox head Phil Spencer, that Microsoft's xCloud may also be an option.

Microsoft's Own Xbox head Phil Spencer teased the news via a tweet, after a visit to Valve, and speaking to company luminaries Gabe Newell, Erik Johnson and Scott Lynch. In the tweet, Spencer talks of playing Halo and Age (of Empires) and then states that "xCloud works well" before congratulating the Steam Deck team. So has Spencer played those games on xCloud or Steam? For now this a mystery.

Microsoft's xCloud is a game stream service that offloads processing towards Microsoft's Xbox Series X server blades (the company finished the hardware upgrade from Xbox One S consoles back in July) - and then delivers it to your platform of choice. xCloud is currently available via the Xbox app on Android and PC, or via a browser solution - this browser solution was likely the one used to test the Steam Deck with, since it was designed to enable streaming to almost any device featuring a strong-enough internet connection.

While this isn't an official feature confirmation, the fact that xCloud has already been tested on the Steam Deck - and well enough at that, according to Phil Spencer - is a genie that can't be put back inside the proverbial bottle. Microsoft of course wants as many devices as possible to support their xCloud streaming, serving Microsoft's "Play Anywhere" vision - whilst at the same time enticing ever more users towards the Microsoft gaming ecosystem, whether via direct software purchases or via subscription of Microsoft's "Netflix of games" Game Pass Ultimate, which includes access to the xCloud service.

Many Raspberry Pis are pressed into service as home media devices. They are a natural fit given their price, power and size. But one facet of media consumption where the Raspberry Pi needed a little help was streaming content from services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu which use Widevine DRM to deliver protected streaming media. In a recent update, Ventz at vpetkov.net has announced that an official Widevine package is now available for the Raspberry Pi 4 and 400.

Ventz is well known in the community for Chromium Media Edition, essentially the same Chromium executable but using a custom launcher and user agent that tricked sites such as Netflix, Hulu and Spotify to work with the Raspberry Pi. With the release of an official package for the Raspberry Pi we can now install the Widevine support for the provided Chromium browser.

Installation is a breeze, using just three lines of code, the first two to ensure our Pi is up to date before finally running the Widevine package installation.

sudo apt updatesudo apt full-upgradesudo apt install libwidevinecdm0

We tested the installation on a spare Raspberry Pi 4GB connected via Ethernet. Initially Netflix playback was a little choppy, but after a few seconds everything was in sync and playback was certainly comfortable.

Adding Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ to your home media center just got a little easier thanks to Ventz and the Raspberry Pi.

Kernel 5.4.51-v7l+ is the latest kernel for the 32-bit Raspberry Pi OS on the Raspberry Pi 4. But you may want to think before you update, especially if you use the Pi for media consumption.

There is a glitch with kernel 5.4.51-v7l+ when used with Chromium Media Edition, a version of Chromium with support for streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video. The glitch will cause full screen video to corrupt, but normal windowed video will playback with no issue. It is sad to see this issue given that Chromium Media Edition has such great playback with older kernels. 

The issue was identified by leepspvideo as part of his latest video comparing Netflix and YouTube playback with stock and Media Edition Chromium. In our own tests we hit the same graphical corruption in full screen mode. We contacted Gordon Hollingworth, Director of Software Engineering at Raspberry Pi Trading and he confirmed that there was “bug in the firmware which we released with the 5.4 kernel, this has now been fixed and doing apt update will get the latest version in which this isn't a problem.” Gordon later confirmed that the full screen video issue is caused by the Chromium Media Edition script disabling the composite manager, xcompmgr to reduce screen tearing. Restarting xcompmgr will fix the issue but it will see the return of screen tearing. 

One of the biggest problems with any Raspberry Pi, even a top-of-the-line Raspberry Pi 4,  is that it can't handle streaming video very well, at least not by default. When you fire up Chromium, the default browser in Raspberry Pi OS, paid streaming services such as Netflix, HBO Go and Disney+ just won't work, because the DRM (digital rights management) software they use to protect their content is incompatible with the ARM version of the browser.  

YouTube videos don't suffer from DRM issues, but they are sluggish and drop frames when  you try to play them at full screen, no matter the resolution. Amazingly, a developer named Ventz has come up with a way to solve both problems by running a specialized version of Chromium that comes from the Chrome OS source code. Here's how.

How to Stream Netflix, Fix YouTube on Raspberry Pi

1. Enter the following commands, one after the other at the terminal prompt.

curl -fsSL https://pi.vpetkov.net -o ventz-media-pish ventz-media-pi

After entering the second command, you will see some text telling you that "Your Pi is now Ready for all Media" and that it's time to reboot.

2. Reboot your Raspberry Pi.

3. Open Chromium (Media Edition) from the Internet menu.

Using Chromium (Media Edition), you'll be able to play video from DRM-enabled services such as Netflix, Spotify and Disney+. I tested on a Raspberry Pi 4 with Netflix, HBO Go, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video. Of those four, all worked except for Amazon Prime Video.

I also found that YouTube was infinitely smoother and played at full screen without a hitch. Just make sure that you use Chromium (Media Edition). If you launch regular Chromium, you won't get these benefits.

Amazon’s cloud gaming service has been officially announced, and then promptly delayed to adjust for the coronavirus outbreak, the New York Times reported this week. 

Late last year, rumors emerged that Amazon would be the next internet kingpin to launch a cloud gaming service, as CNET reported that the company was hiring key game industry players to work on a gaming-focused initiative within its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud team. This followed news from 2016 that Amazon was working on three original video games of its own, none of which had been announced for existing platforms yet.

• Best gaming laptops of 2020
• Best gaming desktop PCs of 2020

Even as input lag and high bandwidth costs continue to plague game streaming, the allure of being the first company to release the Netflix of video games is strong enough that contenders continue to pop up with new solutions. Although the cloud gaming space was first pioneered by smaller companies, like Liquid Sky and the now defunct Onlive, the past few years have seen industry giants like Microsoft, Nvidia, and Google enter the game streaming ring with their existing infrastructure. 

Now, the New York Times is dropping our first official word on Amazon’s cloud gaming service, as it gears up to follow in the footsteps of Google Stadia’s release last year. Currently named Project Tempo, the idea is not just to offer games, but to allow players to game alongside Twitch streamers in real-time.

“The big picture is about trying to take the best of Amazon and bringing it to games,” Amazon vice president for game services and studios Mike Frazzini told the New York Times. “We have been working for a while, but it takes a long time to make games, and we’re bringing a lot of Amazon practices to making games.”

Detailed information on Tempo is still light -- the service itself only comes up three times in the whole article -- but the New York Times said, “people close to Project Tempo said that the company had hoped to introduce an early version this year,” with the same sources telling the newspaper that they are now expecting the launch to slip into next year, due to COVID-19.

Speaking on delaying the company’s games Crucible and New World from March to May, head of Amazon’s Relentless game studio Louis Castle told said, “We just don’t know where the world is going to be in a couple of weeks,” with the company deciding to push back a few planned launches “rather than put a ton of pressure and onus upon a team that’s worked very hard for many years of their lives when they might be going through some pretty difficult times.”

The same attitudes might be informing the Tempo launch as well, as could recent news that Netflix and YouTube are currently temporarily cutting video quality to reduce strain on ISPs as much of the world’s population stays home.

Amazon’s entry into the cloud gaming space represents a danger to more specialized streaming services, like Playstation Now and Nvidia GeForce Now, especially following lackluster reviews. This is because Amazon’s size allows it to run at small profit margins of lower than 3%, accirding to a late 2019 report, while its dual-focus on its online store and AWS online infrastructure business allow each to subsidize the other should one fail.

Given that Amazon has been able to run effectively for the past 5 years with an average quarterly profit margin of 2.60% against Nvidia’s 24.97% and even Alphabet (Google’s parent company)’s 19.89%, it should be able to undercut competitors (think of how Amazon Basics thrives). 

However, U.S. companies aren’t the only players in the market here. Chinese company Tencent announced last year that it, Huawei and Nvidia are working together on their own cloud gaming solution called Start. As both the world’s largest game publisher and an existing hyperscaler, it has the infrastructure to not only tempt consumers with a third option, but also to allow Nvidia and others to stay in the race...so long as they work for Tencent.

For now, two Amazon-published games- the League of Legends-inspired Crucible and the alternate 17th century MMO New World, are set to launch next month. We’ll likely see Amazon test out Twitch integration that could make it’s way to Tempo in these two titles, so keep your eyes peeled.

The folks over at broadbandnow.com have completed their research for the impact of the Coronavirus on web activity and found that of the top 200 cities in the U.S., 88 (44%) are suffering from reduced download speeds due to increased web activity.

For the testing, the firm measured broadband speeds over the week of March 15 - March 21, comparing the figures to the speeds 10 weeks earlier before the COVID-19 outbreak.

The three worst offenders are Austin TX, with a 44% hit, Oxnard CA, at 42%, and Winston Salem NC with a 41% decrease in download speeds. 

New York City is witnessing a 24 percent drop in download speeds.

What is Causing the Dips?

With the majority of folks stuck at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for web data has increased exponentially over the last two weeks. Many people are working from home, taking classes from home, or unable to go to work and quarantined at home. The result is that home broadband connections are seeing a severe uptake in demand to meet users' needs, with the networks under high strain to keep up.

Meanwhile, Netflix and other content providers are cutting image quality during peak hours in order to ensure that data connections don't end up congested, allowing those that work from home to continue to do their jobs as effectively as possible -- after all, they're a big factor that's keeping the economy above water.

Various ISPs around the U.S. have lifted data caps temporarily, and are expanding free access for low-income customers where possible. The first of these was AT&T, who set an example for the industry to follow.

The EU has warned that broadband connections are being strained, as millions are working from home or seeking entertainment digitally whilst practicing social distancing to fight coronavirus as reported by Financial Times. today. 

One of the first steps the EU is taking to manage the situation is requesting Netflix to reduce its data traffic, along with YouTube and other streaming services. Entertainment is clearly in high demand currently, but simply limiting image quality could reduce broadband traffic significantly.

These steps are meant to ensure that those working from home can continue to rely on their internet connections. Although EU net-neutrality regulations prevent throttling, it's been reported that exceptions may needed during this global pandemic to prioritize work-from-home traffic over entertainment traffic. This is also a logical conclusion -- the economy is already suffering enough, and those working from home are key to minimizing the damage.

The increase in traffic is a clear consequence of recommendations to socially distance yourself from others to help stop the spread of COVID-19, as people flock to remote communication services, such as FaceTime and Skype. for recharging their social battery. Children taking classes from home and increased game downloads, game streaming and content streaming aren't helping either.

Nevertheless, internet and content providers are adamant that the situation is under control, claiming that they have adequate headroom in their networks to deal with such traffic surges. 

Netflix explained that it already stores content closer to its customers, reducing long-distance internet traffic, which also eases the burden. German Internet Exchange Operator DE-CIX witnessed record traffic through its networks to date, though the figures still fall well within its headroom margins.

For the time being, the EU broadband situation appears to be under control. But note that not all countries in the EU have strict stay-at-home policies yet, so internet traffic in the region is expected to rise before it falls. 

Netflix's data center engineering team took on a mission recently to double the encrypted video bandwidth of the video streaming company from 100 Gbps to  about 200 Gbps. The company reached its goal on both Intel and AMD-powered servers, with the AMD Epyc servers seeing triple the bandwidth compared to before. 

Intel Xeon Server Improvements

As detailed by Netflix senior software engineer Drew Gallatin at the EuroBSDcon 2019 conference and detailed by Phoronix, Netflix  was serving 100 Gbps of encrypted video data from a single server since 2016 using Intel Broadwell Xeon CPUs to power its FreeBSD servers. The Broadwell CPUs feature a memory bandwidth of 60 GBps and 40 PCIe 3.0 lanes supporting 32 GBps of I/O bandwidth. 

The company’s newer server processors include Intel Skylake and Cascade Lake with 90 GBps memory bandwidth and 48 PCIe 3.0 lanes with support for 38 GBps I/O bandwidth. But in order to get to its encrypted video bandwidth goal of 200 Gbps, Netflix needed at least 64 PCIe 3.0 lanes.

How could Netflix achieve that? The answer was to “throw another CPU socket” at the problem, according to Gallatin's presentation, doubling the CPU sockets per server.  

As a result, Netflix's Intel server went from 105 Gbps to 191 Gbps. The new dual-socket Intel-based server has a 180 GBps memory bandwidth, 96 PCIe 3.0 lanes and about 75 GBps of /IO bandwidth. 

AMD Epyc Server Improvements

Netflix also uses AMD's "Rome” Epyc server chips for encrypted video data. With AMD’s chips, there wasn’t a need to do dual-socket, as Netflix could use a “quad chiplet” Epyc CPU per server. The AMD CPUs support 120-150 GBps memory bandwidth, 128 PCIe 3.0 / PCIe 4.0 lanes with 100 GBps I/O bandwidth (200 GBps for PCIe 4.0). 

AMD CPUs started out significantly slower than the Intel counterparts, serving only 68 Gbps of encrypted video data per server. This was likely due to FreeBSD not having as many optimizations in place for the new Zen architecture and Epyc server chip platform. 

Once the Netflix team applied all the optimizations they could, the single-socket Epyc server was able to catch-up and even slightly surpass the dual-socket Xeon server, tripling its initial performance from 68 Gbps to 194 Gbps (compared to an ultimate 191 Gbps for Xeon). 

The Netflix team did criticize AMD for not yet having well-developed tools for server operating systems, such as Linux. However, with the rise in popularity of AMD’s Epyc server chip platform, we can expect AMD to invest much more aggressively in the development of its tools.

CyberGhost is a VPN provider founded in 2011 in Bucharest, Romania. Its team, catering to more than 30 million users worldwide, consists of professionals based in Romania and Germany.

With a three-year plan it offers some of the best pricing in the market. But its sometimes slow connection times may have you looking elsewhere.

CyberGhost VPN Specs

Pricing

CyberGhost has one four pricing plans. They begin with the monthly plan that costs $12.99, continue with the 1-year plan at $5.99 per month and the 2-year subscription at $3.29 per month. Finally, the best value option is the 3-year subscription that costs $2.75 a month. An additional dedicated IP is available for $5.00 a month.

You can pay for your subscription using major credit cards, PayPal and Bitcoin.

If you’re disappointed with any element of CyberGhost’s services, you can ask for a refund within 45 days of payment. Obviously, this generous 45-day money-back guarantee isn’t available if you choose the monthly option, which instead has a 14-day money-back guarantee.

There’s a one-day free trial when signing up via Windows and a 7-day free trial if you do so via an iOS platform. Android users are also eligible for a 7-day free trial and don’t even have to sign up; just download and install the app.

Features

CyberGhost has more than 3,600 servers in over 60 countries across the world. It also comes with a long list of features focused on user anonymization. These include a data compression option on Android devices, torrent filtering according to the purpose (streaming, torrenting, et cetera), as well as a solution that blocks ads, trackers and malicious websites from hampering your online experience.

The provider’s services can be installed and used on a wide array of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Fire OS, Linux, Raspberry Pi, VU+ Solo 2, Chrome OS, routers and more. CyberGhost also has browser extensions for Firefox and Chrome. Clients for the major platforms can be downloaded from the website, which also has a large collection of guides, troubleshooting articles and FAQ if you need help with installation or usage.

CyberGhost facilitates access to services and websites restricted in certain regions, including streaming platforms like Netflix, BBC iPlayer, VUDU, Hulu and Amazon Prime. Although not all of the provider's servers are capable of streaming Netflix content, finding those that are is a piece of cake, thanks to the list of streaming-optimized servers for Netflix U.S. and certain localized versions.

CyberGhost also supports torrenting and even has a list of the most suitable servers for torrenting in its apps.

The provider enables simultaneous connections on up to 7 devices, which is a generous amount among VPN providers; although, some, like Surfshark, let you connect an unlimited number of devices. What’s more, if you install CyberGhost on your router, then you can connect as many devices as you want. However, make sure that your router supports this provider before making a commitment. You can’t access the same server at the same time with different devices - you have to choose a different server for each device. This rule doesn’t apply to routers as they count as one device.

In addition to a large library of product guides, troubleshooting articles, answers to FAQs and service updates, CyberGhost has a team of experts available to you 24/7. You can contact the customer support using live chat on the website or by sending an email.

Privacy

In terms of security, this VPN vendor applies the usual 256-bit AES encryption algorithm, as well as OpenVPN, IKEv2, PPTP, IPSec and L2TP transfer protocols. An essential part of every VPN service is a kill switch, and CyberGhost is no different. When activated, it blocks all internet traffic on your device if the VPN connection unexpectedly drops. This safeguards your private data from all prying eyes. Unfortunately, this mechanism isn’t available on Android or iOS; although, Android phones now come equipped with their own kill switch that you can enable with some tinkering in your device’s settings.

Android devices also have the benefit of the split tunneling option, which allows you to choose which of your apps you want to run under VPN and which you want to leave on your regular Internet connection.

CyberGhost has a special category of servers called NoSpy servers. The NoSpy system is located in Romania, a country that isn’t part of any intelligence-sharing agreements or alliances. In addition to added security, this system promises better performance in terms of speed and bandwidth, and it has backup generators that ensure it will never go down, not even if there’s a power shortage.

Your sensitive information is also protected by the company’s no logs policy. The policy states that CyberGhost has no intention to monitor or store any kind of traffic data, connection logs, or IP addresses when using its platform.

Every year since 2011 the company publishes a transparency report, which lists its qualities, all the DMCA complaints, malicious activity flags and police requests for data it gets that it cannot comply with as there are no logs to deliver.

Performance

CyberGhost delivers very good performance, although not as great as some of the other VPN services out there.

Download speeds were excellent, though sometimes they suffered some latencies for servers further away from your device’s location.

Connection times were also a bit longer than with some competitors. It could take up to 30 seconds while, for example NordVPN, usually takes around 15 seconds. But this didn't affect the overall experience terribly.

Bottom Line

CyberGhost is an affordable VPN service that offers all the qualities that most users demand. It enables access to many geo-limited services, allows torrenting and effectively hides your identity and protects your data with premium privacy mechanisms. Furthermore, its 7-device per account limit is generous one.

As disadvantages are concerned, we only had slight issues with the platform’s performance and short free trial periods.

Image Credits: CyberGhost

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Based in the British Virgin Islands, the Surfshark VPN service is not as well-known as some of its high-profile rivals. But with an interesting lineup of unique features, it’s worth taking a closer look at, unless you’re looking for something to use on a monthly basis.

Surfshark Specs

Pricing

Surfshark offers three different pricing plans. All plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

The first and the most expensive one is the 1-month plan for $11.95. The second-best is the 1-year subscription, which costs $5.99 per month, while the most cost-effective is the 2-year option at $3.49 monthly. Overall, the service is cheaper than competitor ExpressVPN although IPVanish has the advantage in monthly plans and flexibility.

As of this writing, when visiting the sign-up page for Surfshark for the first time, you’re immediately met with a coupon that reduces the price of the 2-year plan to just $1.99 per month.

In terms of payment methods, Surfshark accepts credit cards, PayPal, Google Pay and even some cryptocurrencies through CoinGate and CoinPayments provider.

To test the service out, you have to sign up for a subscription, since the company doesn’t offer a free trial. However, Surfshark says it can issue a full refund within 30 days of payment, “even if you’re 100% satisfied.”

Features

Surfshark has over 800 servers placed in over 50 countries across the globe. Unlike most other VPN providers, including the more expensive ones, Surfshark puts no limits on the number of devices you can put under its VPN protection simultaneously.

Torrenting and access to geo-restricted services, like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and BBC iPlayer, are among this VPN’s top qualities. If you also need access to specific services and websites while in countries with strict censorship mechanisms in place, the NoBorders mode makes this easier for you. It provides unlimited access to Facebook, Instagram, VoIP apps and more anywhere in the world.

Surfshark also boasts features most other providers don’t have, such as the MultiHop option, which supports connection to multiple locations at once for additional anonymity.

Another unusual privacy feature is Camouflage mode, used for tricking all potential snoopers and third parties (including even your own ISP) into believing you’re not using a VPN service.

This VPN service can be set up on a wide selection of devices, including Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and even smart TVs and some gaming consoles. Chrome and Firefox are covered with Surfshark browser extensions.

In addition to an outstanding blog and help section offering resources and assistance on a wide range of topics, Surfshark also has an excellent customer support team available 24/7. You can contact them by accessing the live chat option in the lower right corner of the website or by filling in the contact form to reach them via email.

Privacy

Surfshark’s privacy features include all the classics - a kill switch, an AES-256-GCM encryption algorithm, as well as IKEv2/IPSec and OpenVPN protocols.

The kill switch can be activated if there’s an unexpected VPN connection drop, protecting all your sensitive data from outsiders by blocking all internet traffic on your device. It uses two connection protocol combinations: IKEv2/IPSec is available by default, but you can switch to OpenVPN if preferred.

The company also has zero-knowledge DNS on all its servers, which acts as an additional mechanism protecting your privacy. Speaking of DNS, the provider also employs its DNS leak protection technology when using IPv4 stack.

The Whitelister feature basically does what other providers call split-tunneling - it lets you choose which apps and websites can stay on your regular internet connection, while the rest is covered by the VPN.

Surfshark’s no logs policy lists all the usuals - no logging of the IP address, browsing history, connection timestamps, network traffic, session information or the amount of bandwidth used. No one in the company will even know whether you’re using their apps or not. The provider doesn’t hide the fact that it does collect certain, non-sensitive information necessary for the creation of your account, like your email address and encrypted password, basic billing information and order history.

The British Virgin Islands doesn’t have laws requiring organizations to keep any data, which is one less thing to be concerned about with your VPN.

Although Surfshark’s no-logs policy is yet to be fully verified, the security features of Surfshark’s extensions for Chrome and Firefox underwent an audit by Cure53, which it passed with flying colors.

Performance

Surfshark’s performance is in line with most VPN providers on the market.

The connection times, download speeds and latencies are within the standard range. During our testing, we experienced no connection failures whatsoever.

Bottom Line

Surfshark isn’t as flashy as some other VPN providers but offers a robust security and anonymity platform for all your VPN requirements. It supports unlimited torrenting and access to popular geo-limited services, with some interesting privacy features not seen with its competitors.

While its pricing plans are limited, it’s still cheaper than others, including ExpressVPN, while allowing for more simultaneous connections.

If you’re planning on connecting a lot of devices and are looking to save some cash while doing so, Surfshark is a good fit.

Image Credits: Surfshark

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You can call the forthcoming Google Stadia platform many things, but don't call it a "Netflix for games."

Via Reddit, Andrew Doronichev, director of product for Stadia at Google, said "a closer comparison would be like Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus."

Doronichev issued the clarification to one user's question about how the system's selection of free games would work. The user claimed that, in conjunction with the service's paid subscription service with a wide selection of games, the idea of free ones was "confusing due to mixed messages."

He explained further that Pro subscribers will get 4K resolution / HDR streaming, game discounts and and access to a selection of some free games as well as 5.1 sound. That equates to around a free game each month, "give or take, starting with Destiny 2 (yay!)" he noted.

It's simple to misunderstand what you get when you sign up for Stadia, however. The Stadia Pro option costs around the same price per month as a Netflix subscription, except you have to pay full price for new games that arrive on Stadia. In addition, the official Stadia website points out that Pro subscribers unlock an "ever-expanding library of games at no extra cost."

To many, that appears to indicate a selection of games you can simply browse through and play at your leisure, much like how you can pay a flat fee each month to access a listing of Xbox One titles via the Xbox Game Pass, which recently opened up to allow users to play some titles on PC in addition to their consoles.

"But hey," said Doronichev. "Stadia Base gives you free access to the state-of-the-art gaming hardware in our datacenter ;) You spend your money to buy games you want." Yes, but that is, indeed, how other models and platforms work already.

However, if you look on the bright side, games will continue to debut each month until a small cache has been created, meaning subscribers will eventually have multiple titles to choose from.

Stadia is poised to drop in November 2019 for early adopters, and for those who pony up $130 for the "Founder's Edition" version, it will launch with several titles, including some exclusive to the platform. The Founder's Edition come with a limited-edition dark blue version of the proprietary Stadia controller as well as a Chromecast Ultra to plug into your TV so you can begin streaming. Both are $70 purchased separately, so you'll save a bit of cash and will also get to select a username on the service before everyone else.

We've yet to see how Stadia will perform or what it will end up looking like, but it'll be interesting to see just how much it actually is removed from being the "Netflix of games" in the future.

VPN remains the most popular and reliable way for maintaining your privacy online. One of the most popular VPN platforms is ExpressVPN. It’s a strong and nicely designed tool that truly stands out from the crowd with a wide range of features, top-notch security and a large number of servers.

Specifications

Pricing

ExpressVPN offers a 7-day trial period to test its services on mobile apps but does not have a free trial for other devices. However, it does have a no-questions-asked, 30-day money back guarantee.

As for pricing plans, it has three:

These prices are a bit on the high side in comparison to other VPN services. For example, NordVPN’s one-month plan is $11.95, IPVanish’s is $10 and Windscribe’s is $9 a month.

Features

ExpressVPN has over 2,000 servers in 160 cities across 94 countries. Some of the locations covered include countries in South America, Africa and the Middle East that you won't find on the node lists of many other VPN services. ExpressVPN also has effective means of bypassing VPN restrictions in countries such as China and the United Arab Emirates.

You can select your preferred server or opt for the Smart Location feature, which automatically connects you to the server nearest to your current location.

Privacy is guaranteed with a 4096 SHA-512 RSA certificate (for server and client authentication in SSH connections), along with strong AES-256-CBC encryption and HMAC (Hash Message Authentication Code) protection against regular data alteration. Users can select one of the four protocol variations: OpenVPN/UDP, OpenVPN TCP, L2TP-IPSec and PPTP. There is also a default Automatic setting, which allows ExpressVPN to choose the most appropriate protocol for your network.

In addition, ExpressVPN has a few extra features to sweeten the deal. One of them is a Network Lock (essentially a kill switch) that keeps your data secure from leaking by terminating all traffic in case of a sudden VPN connection interruption. The integrated kill switch is also present in ExpressVPN mobile apps.

The second interesting feature is split-tunneling, which allows some of your apps to run on a normal internet connection while maintaining the VPN connection for others.

Furthermore, ExpressVPN provides DNS leak protection and even runs its own 256-bit encrypted DNS on each of its servers for an additional layer of protection.

This robust service supports a comprehensive list of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux and more, accompanied by custom firmware for routers and manual setup walkthroughs for Apple TV, Fire TV Stick, PlayStation and others. It also has a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox.

ExpressVPN is a great choice when trying to access geo-restricted services, such as Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime, Spotify, YouTube and Hulu. Additionally, the provider supports torrents with no limitations on bandwidth or data usage.

Although ExpressVPN allows 5 simultaneous connections per account, this limitation can be bypassed via the router support, which allows you to connect as many devices as you want. Setting up VPN on your router will automatically protect all your devices. You will not be going against any of ExpressVPN’s policies by doing this.

In case you run into any problems when using the service, support is available via 24/7 live chat and email. That is in case the vast troubleshooting section fails to address your issues.

ExpressVPN has a strict no-logs policy. That means it It does not keep any kind of logs that can be used to identify you, such as traffic data, IP address, VPN IP address, connection times and DNS queries.

That said, it does collect information such as dates (but not times) when you connected to the service, the total amount of data transferred per day, which apps were successfully activated and which VPN server locations you used. In ExpressVPN’s Policy Towards Logs page, the company states that it only uses this very limited amount of information to help tweak performance.

“None of the above data enable ExpressVPN or anyone else to match an individual to specific network activity or behavior. We are unable to answer questions related to data that we do not possess, such as how a customer has utilized our VPN service,” the page reads.

Performance

After intensive testing from locations in the U.S. and UK, we were left very satisfied.

Connection times were pretty consistent, with servers connecting within 2 to 5 seconds. As expected, latency depended on the proximity of the server location, as well as the infrastructure that is less than ideal in some places. In general, the latency did not affect our browsing experience, and there were virtually no issues with servers in close locations.

Bottom Line

ExpressVPN continues to uphold its status as a worthy contender for the VPN throne. With a wide range of handy features, including user-friendly software for almost any platform and geo-restricted service, sturdy security, an honest privacy policy and professional assistance available at all times, this provider offers everything you need for safe internet activities.

Of course, ExpressVPN is a paid-for service. If you’re not willing to pay for VPN, Windscribe VPN is currently our favorite free VPN service. However, download times can be slow, and mobile devices will miss their own client software.

But if you can overcome 5-connection limitation (without router support), then ExpressVPN is a splendid choice.

Image Credits: ExpressVPN

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AMD today released the Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.4.2 driver with improved support for World War Z and Anno 1800.

Adrenalin Edition 19.4.2 is said to offer a performance boost for World War Z of up to 19 percent on the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 graphics card and up to 24 percent on the AMD Radeon VII. The actual improvements will vary from PC to PC, of course, but AMD's figures at least offer an estimate for how much better the 19.4.2 driver performs in the title compared to its predecessor. The company didn't offer an estimated improvement for Anno 1800.

Improved support for World War Z and Anno 1800 follows the general trend of graphics companies releasing drivers for the latest titles. Both games debuted today, so it makes sense for AMD to make sure its graphics cards offer the best performance at launch. One can't shoot their way through hordes of zombies (World War Z) or build the greatest city imaginable (Anno 1800) if they're managing frame drops and weird graphical glitches.

Nvidia recently expanded this concept outside gaming with the introduction of its Creator Ready Driver program. That initiative sees the company optimizing its drivers for tools creative professionals use, whether it's by offering better performance for existing programs or improving support for major updates. It would be interesting to see AMD do the same. Gamers simply aren't the only people buying high-end GPUs anymore.

Unfortunately the Adrenalin Edition 19.4.2 release isn't limited to in-game performance improvements. AMD also warned of the following issues:

• AMD Radeon VII users may experience screen flicker in multi-monitor setups on desktop or while applications are running.
• The Netflix Windows Store application may exhibit display flicker during video playback on some HDR-enabled monitors.
• Performance metrics overlay and Radeon WattMan gauges may experience inaccurate fluctuating readings on AMD Radeon VII.
• Performance metrics overlay may experience intermittent flicker when playing back protected content with this feature enabled.
• Users of the Asus TUF Gaming FX504 gaming laptop may experience system instability when a wireless display is connected.

Whether or not those potential issues outweigh the performance gains in World War Z and Anno 1800 will vary from person to person. For those who are willing to risk it, the driver can be downloaded here: Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 19.4.2 Driver for Windows 10 64-bit and Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 19.4.2 Driver for Windows 7 64-bit. AMD also has more information about the driver available on its website.

HTC Vive today revealed that its upcoming subscription service, Viveport Infinity, which will offer unlimited access to virtual reality (VR) apps and games, will be available starting on April 2 for $12.99 a month or $99 for a year. However, early adopters can access the service for as little as $8.99 a month for 2019. 

Viveport Infinity will boast a library of more than 600 titles at launch, with more expected to debut in the future and will also offer subscribers a number of perks. Viveport Infinity will be compatible with HTC Vive products, including the HTC Vive and Vive Pro headsets, Oculus Rift and "any standalone headset" built on its Wave platform. 

Other perks for Viveport Infinity subscribers include a 10 percent Viveport coupon at the beginning of every month, free titles, weekend deals and access to a "revamped Viveport Video application" that won't be available to non-subscribers. It's like Netflix for VR with a rewards program.

If you sign up for a free trial before the April 2 launch or are already a Viveport subscriber, you'll pay $8.99 until the end of 2019. So anyone interested in the service might want to consider signing up early. 

HTC Vive will also celebrate the subscription service's launch with a sale on more than 100 titles in the Viveport store between April 2 and 7.

The announcement follows rumors that companies like Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google and many others plan to introduce similar offerings. Everyone wants to be the "Netflix for" their market, and because HTC Vive's is VR, it makes sense for it to work on 'Netflix for VR' with something like Viveport Infinity.

But HTC Vive isn't new to the subscription game. The company introduced a monthly subscription option to its Viveport content distribution platform in April 2017. However, the service was limited in the content in which it offered access and how often it could be used. Viveport Infinity nixes both of those restrictions.

The company's also changing its revenue split with developers from the standard 70 percent / 30 percent (in developers' favor) also used by other subscription platforms to a more dev-friendly 80 / 20.

We can't imagine that it's easy to design a game controller. They have to be familiar enough for people to feel comfortable as soon as they start playing, unique enough not to be confused for a competitive product, and versatile enough to suit a wide variety of people. That seems like a hard balance to strike. Keep that in mind when you see these purported renders of a controller Google made for an upcoming game streaming platform.

The renders were shared by Reps, an amateur YouTuber focused on PC gaming hardware, on Twitter on March 8. Those renders depict a controller similar to PlayStation and Xbox controllers. There's a D-pad on the left, two analog sticks, four buttons on the right, and four trigger buttons on top. But there are four other buttons worth mentioning: a home button, a menu button, a multicolored "G" button, and a button with a microphone icon.

We can guess at what the home and menu buttons are for. Modern game controllers have to give people a way to return to the primary interface--as seen by the PlayStation and Xbox buttons on their respective controllers--so a home button is key. A menu button could be used to present the console's menu, pause a game, or show in-app options. The real question is what the "G" button and microphone-adorned button are for.

Normally we'd assume the "G" button is the home button, in keeping with other consoles, but the presence of the menu button makes that seem unlikely. Maybe it's supposed to offer quick access to Google services. The button with the microphone icon (which sounds like the title of a Stieg Larsson novel) could be used for Google Assistant. Or it might also be for use with a communication platform. It's hard to tell with Google.

This might seem like idle speculation, given that Google hasn't even announced a game streaming platform. But the company invited journalists to a presentation at GDC 2019, and even though the invitation didn't reveal any information about Google's intentions, reports indicate that it plans to introduce a streaming platform code-named "Yeti." The company's also hosting separate events related to mobile game and cloud development.

It also filed a patent for a game controller that looks very similar to the one in the renders. Google applied for the patent in October 2018, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published it on January 31. The company focused on a notification system that would let the controller display a notification from in-game services and, if the game isn't currently running, let the player launch the game with a single button press.

We have our misgivings about the controller as depicted in the renders--it doesn't look particularly ergonomic--but it's easy to believe that Google plans to introduce a game streaming platform. Many companies are rushing to introduce the "Netflix for games." Microsoft has Xbox Game Pass, and Sony has PlayStation Now. Services from Electronic Arts,  Amazon, and other companies have either been announced or revealed in news reports.

Apple is said to be planning a game service, too, so at this point, it would be weirder for Google not to introduce its own take on the concept. The company has plenty of experience with cloud-based services, Android is a huge gaming platform, and a game service could offer even more ways to collect information about people to inform ad platforms. Or even just get paid directly by consumers, as it does with YouTube Premium.

GDC 2019 kicks off March 18. Google's announcement is planned for March 19, so it shouldn't be too long before we know more about these efforts.

Microsoft isn't content to let other companies bring gaming into the streaming era alone. The company introduced a successful "Netflix for games" with Xbox Game Pass, then revealed the upcoming Project xCloud service that promises to stream Xbox games to all kinds of devices. This week, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that expanding Xbox Game Pass to Windows 10 will be a "big element" of Microsoft's plans for gaming.

Here's what Nadella said in an earnings call:

"Xbox has the key gaming community and the monetization capabilities. Whether it's first-party games or third-party games, we are best-in-class in that monetization and that's what's reflected in the results. ... So given that structural position, we are going to make sure that we keep increasing the strength of the community. You see that already with Minecraft going to all platforms and that increasing the intensity of the community, and you'll see us do more of that. Obviously, bringing Game Pass to even the PC is going to be a big element of that."

Xbox Game Pass debuted on June 1 as a way for Xbox One owners to play select current-gen titles, as well as backwards compatible Xbox 360 games, for $10 per month. The service doesn't offer access to every Xbox game from the last two generations of consoles, but it does boast more than 100 titles and regularly adds more. Compared to spending $60 on a new game--or having to dust off an Xbox 360--it's not a bad deal.

Bringing the service to Windows 10 would allow PC users to experience these games without having to make too great a financial commitment. Games made for consoles are often buggy on PC, and even though Microsoft has worked to prevent that from being the case for its platforms, there's no guarantee a game made for the Xbox 360 is going to run well on a modern system. Better to test it as a subscription than buy it outright.

Yet, it's not hard to imagine Xbox Game Pass stumbling as it comes to PC as well. Many of these games are available far cheaper via Steam, GOG and lesser-known marketplaces than they are on Xbox (PC gamers spend more on hardware but get to recoup some of the costs with cheaper games). Unless someone's curious about the entire Xbox Game Pass catalog, it's easier to pick up games on the cheap on PC than it is on Xbox.

But that will depend on what games are available, how Xbox Game Pass functions on PC, etc. In the meantime, as Microsoft works on Xbox Game Pass and Project xCloud, it's clear that Xbox has gone far beyond its console origins to become a core part of Microsoft's future.

Northeastern University research has confirmed what many already suspected: cellular internet service providers (ISPs) are throttling streaming video services. The full research has yet to be released--it's set to arrive sometime in 2019--but the university's news outlet published a report this week showing that "nearly every U.S. cell provider is doing throttling" on services like Netflix and YouTube with no immediately apparent reason.

The data was collected from millions of people across 161 countries who downloaded the Wehe app. That utility makes it easier to determine if a cellular network provider is limiting the amount of bandwidth available to specific apps while allowing others to use as much as they require. In many cases, services like Netflix, YouTube and Amazon were limited to speeds between 0.7 and 4Mbps even when networks appeared uncongested.

Each cell provider throttles various services differently. Verizon doesn't seem to care about limiting NBCSports or Skype, for example, but it does impose limits on more popular video services. Most of the studied providers limited YouTube and throttled Netflix, but slightly less, while roughly half targeted Amazon, and only a handful limited bandwidth for NBCSports and Skype. It seems like more popular services are targeted more often.

Don't think Northeastern's findings only affect mobile users. Many people in the U.S. rely on cellular data for internet access. This is especially true in rural areas where ADSL, fiber and cable broadband is unavailable. Just look at the FCC's map of broadband availability to see the number of available providers dwindle in less-populated areas, or note Pew's finding that 20 percent of Americans can only access the internet via their smartphone.

Satellite internet provider HughesNetworkSystems also appeared in Northeastern's findings. Of the services included in this report, the company only throttled Netflix, but it limited the service to 0.7Mbps. People in rural areas turn to (expensive) satellite providers when they get sick of dial-up internet or when cellular network providers aren't an option. HughesNetworkSystems' participation in this throttling shows cell networks aren't the only problem.

That means a significant portion of U.S. internet users must deal with the effects of these networks' throttling of streaming video services whenever they go online. Fears of similar things happening to wired broadband have also increased following the FCC's repeal of net neutrality protections. If these companies are willing to arbitrarily limit download speeds on their wireless networks, why wouldn't they do the same for those on wired ones?

Many people have reported that their ISPs are doing just that. It's reached the point where Netflix, Google and other service providers have started to offer easy-to-use tools that make it easier to prove ISPs aren't delivering their promised speeds for specific websites (more on that and what you can do about it can be found in this  article from our sister site, Tom's Guide). Northeastern's report is more evidence that net neutrality is fading fast.

AMD released the Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 18.5.1 driver to expand or improve support for the Windows 10 April 2018 Update, Ryzen processors with integrated Vega graphics, and Microsoft's PlayReady 3.0, which enables 4K video streaming from services like Netflix. The company also said this new driver also improves performance on Vega 56 (8GB) and RX 580 graphics card as compared to the previous driver.

Expanding support for the Windows 10 April 2018 Update and Ryzen processors with integrated Vega graphics merely sets AMD up for the future. People are going to update to the new version of Windows eventually--as long as Microsoft can stop holding it back to address one hardware problem or another--and the company surely wants people to buy the new Vega-equipped CPUs. Support for either shouldn't come as a shock.

Adding support for PlayReady 3.0, and thus enabling 4K streaming from Netflix, is a more surprising and welcome addition. Companies use Microsoft's PlayReady platform to deliver high resolution streams without having to give up DRM protections. (You don't want people to effectively steal 4K videos by ripping off Netflix's streams, do you?) That support is currently available for RX 400 and RX 500 series graphics cards.

Improved performance is another bonus. AMD said it observed up to 6% and 13% performance increases with Vega 56 (8GB) and RX 580 graphics cards, respectively, with the Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 18.5.1 driver. Note that we haven't independently tested these claims, so we can't say for sure if you'll notice those improvements when you update from Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 18.5.1 to the new driver.

Of course, it wouldn't be a new driver release without some known issues, which AMD summarized in a press release:

HBCC options may not properly reset to default when Radeon Settings “Restore Factory Defaults” option is selected.'Destiny 2' may experience increasing load time durations when the game is run for extended periods of time.Tearing may be observed in some borderless fullscreen games on Radeon FreeSync enabled displays when Radeon Software performance metrics is enabled.Netflix playback through a web browser may experience corruption or hangs when using multi GPU enabled system configurations with Radeon RX 400 series or Radeon RX 500 series graphics products.Radeon ReLive streaming or uploading of videos to Facebook may intermittently fail.

You can find the Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition 18.5.1 driver on AMD's website.

Verizon Wireless doesn't have a great sense of timing. Shortly after tech companies, digital rights organizations, and individuals banded together in support of net neutrality, the wireless network provider has reportedly capped data transfer speeds from video services like Netflix and YouTube.

The Verge reported that several Reddit users have complained about Verizon Wireless capping Netflix data transfer speeds. We were able to confirm this ourselves using Fast.com, which is Netflix's download speed tester. When we were connected to Verizon Wireless our download speeds peaked at 12Mbps; over Wi-Fi they hit 46Mbps. Testing via Speedtest.net, however, resulted in almost identical download speeds over cellular and Wi-Fi.

That means Verizon Wireless is currently throttling data transfer speeds from Netflix to about one-fourth of their potential, at least on our connection. (We suspect the company is shooting for 10Mbps and that it's just a coincidence that our home Wi-Fi is roughly four times faster.) Others have said that Verizon Wireless is also throttling download speeds from YouTube, too, so it seems the company is targeting popular video services.

It makes sense for wireless network providers to want to cap streaming video download speeds. Watching something on Netflix or YouTube puts much more of a strain on their networks than, say, scrolling through Twitter. But this throttling violates the tenets of net neutrality, which insists that a byte is a byte and that data shouldn't flow slower or faster based on its source. Limiting Netflix and YouTube is the exact opposite of that position.

Like we said at the top, this wasn't a great time for Verizon Wireless to limit Netflix and YouTube. Earlier this month, more than 100,000 "websites, internet users, and organizations" protested the FCC's plans to roll back Obama administration net neutrality protections. Supporters included Twitter, Amazon, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, among many others. (And, yes, Netflix was one of the companies backing this protest.)

We've reached out to Verizon Wireless to learn more about the extent of the download speed limits and why they were put in place. The company hasn't responded to our request for comment. Netflix told The Verge that it isn't responsible for the download limits, which means it's taking place on Verizon Wireless' end. We'll update this post if the company gets back to us. In the meantime, it seems Netflix and YouTube will be just a bit slower.

Microsoft announced at GDC 2017 that anyone can release games for the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs via the new Xbox Live Creators Program. The company also highlighted several other features, such as the Beam streaming tool and the performance-boosting Game Mode, that should debut soon.

Xbox Live Creators Program

The new program opens up Xbox One and Windows 10 game development and distribution to basically anyone with a hankering to make something. The Xbox Live Creators Program will allow development on retail Xbox One consoles instead of requiring a dev kit, for example, and developers will be able to publish to a dedicated Creators section of the Xbox Games Store. (Games will also be made available for Windows 10 PCs via the Windows Store.)

Here's what Microsoft said about the program in a blog post:

With the Creators Program, anyone can integrate Xbox Live sign-in, presence, and social features into their UWP games, then publish their game to Xbox One and Windows 10. This means their title can see exposure to every Xbox One owner across the Xbox One family of devices, including Project Scorpio this holiday, as well as hundreds of millions of Windows 10 PCs, and millions of folks using the Xbox app on mobile platforms.

One notable omission from the Xbox Live Creators Program is support for multiplayer gameplay and achievements; those features will be limited to members of the more exclusive ID@Xbox program. More information about the Xbox Live Creators Program can be found on Microsoft's website. The company said that sign-ups will be limited at first so it can fine-tune the program, but it plans to open up the program to everyone later on.

Microsoft's decision to open up Xbox and Windows 10 game development comes at an interesting time: Valve recently changed the rules for its Steam marketplace to be more restrictive. The Xbox Live Creators Program is likely meant to capitalize on those new limitations and encourage devs to create Universal Windows Platform (UWP) games. Time will tell if opening the floodgates will cause the same problems for Microsoft that it did for Valve.

Beam, Game Mode, And More

The rest of Microsoft's announcement focused on small updates to features and services we already knew about. The Xbox Game Pass--which offers unlimited access to Xbox One and "backwards compatible" Xbox 360 titles for $10 per month-- servicerevealed earlier this week got a shout-out. So did Beam, which was announced in October 2016 and will offer "fast, low-latency, interactive game broadcasting." Here's the big news about Beam:

Building on this, today we shared preliminary details of the Beam Interactivity 2.0 SDK with developers – coming in March, this SDK will make developing interactive streaming features much easier and enable a wide range of new design scenarios. More details about this SDK will be published on the Beam blog and detailed in the Beam-specific GDC talk tomorrow.

Microsoft also drew attention to Game Mode, a feature coming in the Windows 10 Creators Update this Spring that promises to boost game performance, and new additions to the Xbox Play Anywhere platform that allows Xbox One and Windows 10 PC owners to play games on either platform at will. The company said that 10 games already support Xbox Play Anywhere and 16 more are going to embrace the platform some time in the near future.

FireEye revealed that Netflix users in the United States were recently targeted by a phishing campaign.

The campaign used malicious websites masquerading as a Netflix login page to steal credit card data and other personal information. It worked by sending emails that appeared to be from Netflix to unsuspecting targets. People who clicked on a link in those emails were taken to the dummy sites, which then asked for Netflix credentials, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security Numbers, financial information, and other valuable personal data.

FireEye said the campaign used a variety of techniques to evade detection from most security tools:

The phishing pages were hosted on legitimate, but compromised web serversClient-side HTML code was obfuscated with AES encryption to evade text-based detection.Phishing pages were not displayed to users from certain IP addresses if its DNS resolved to companies such as Google or PhishTank.

Those defensive measures would have made it hard for people to realize they were sharing information with a malicious website. FireEye said the sites are no longer active, but it's not clear how long they were up or how many people were targeted, which makes this campaign's impact hard to predict. Its reach likely extends beyond compromised Netflix accounts; enough data was gathered to create serious problems for people who fell for the bait.

First, there are the digital ramifications. People tend to use the same usernames and passwords across multiple sites, which means stolen Netflix credentials might allow someone to compromise Amazon, Facebook, and other accounts with popular services. This could lead to more phishing attacks, invasions of privacy, and other problems that will ripple out as if this campaign was a pebble tossed into a pond. Netflix is the least of our worries.

Then there are the real-world problems that could stem from this campaign. The attackers didn't just learn how to break into someone's Netflix account--they also gathered information about their victims' addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security Numbers. (Not to mention their financial data.) Someone could use all that data to perpetrate fraud or identity theft, stalk someone, and otherwise wreak havoc on their victims' lives.

FireEye recommended that people view Netflix's security page to learn more about securing their accounts. This is also a good reminder not to trust websites just because they appear to be legitimate and to question why a company would need certain information--since when does Netflix ask people for their Social Security Number?--as well as showing that emailed links should be avoided in favor of manually entering a URL whenever possible.

The idea of streaming your game from your desktop PC to another screen isn’t new, but products like Nvidia’s Shield and the Steam Link offer the service only if your gaming PC and the other screen share the same network. In other words, you can stream your games only if you’re home. LiquidSky wants to change the game (no pun intended) by allowing you to play your games on any Windows, Mac, or Linux computer as well as Android phones and tablets through its cloud service. At CES, the company showed off the software’s main hub for users, announced additional support for Android apps, and revealed new pricing plans.

The Software

LiquidSky, which is still in beta, works by putting the PC in the cloud. You can log into your various accounts (Steam, Uplay, GOG, Battle.net, etc.) and download your game libraries to the LiquidSky "cloud PC." You can then play those games on essentially any desktop PC, laptop, or Android phone or tablet by streaming the gameplay from LiquidSky's servers.

There are, however, a few issues with game streaming, such as the hardware requirements to run graphics-heavy games on LiquidSky’s servers, and more importantly, overall latency. However, the company says it servers have “high-performance hardware” and “ultra low latency” to ensure the streaming experience is not only clear, but also nearly lag-free. However, the company's video tutorial on optimizing Blizzard's Overwatch on LiquidSky seems to show that you will need to tweak the game's graphics settings to further reduce latency.

The so-called “central hub” of LiquidSky is what you see when you fire up the app on your computer or mobile device. From there, you can access your desktop’s game library. With the newly-announced support for Android apps, you can access an even larger selection of games.

There’s also another section called SkyLounge where you can watch other users play different games. You can also renew your LiquidSky subscription through the third section of the hub, called the SkyStore.

Payment

Just like other streaming services such as Netflix or Amazon Prime, LiquidSky relies on a subscription-based payment plan. Specifically, you buy SkyCredits, which equal to one hour of game time. Currently there are three subscription options for LiquidSky: The “Pay-As-You-Go” plan lets you buy SkyCredits at $0.50 each, although you have to buy a minimum of 10 SkyCredits. The plan also offers 100GB of cloud storage or “SkyStorage.”

There’s also a “Gamer” plan that gives you 80 SkyCredits and 500GB of storage per month at $14.99, but you can also purchase additional credits at $0.30 each. The plan also lets you roll over the SkyCredits you didn’t use in the previous month so that you don’t lose any unplayed hours (you can keep up to 720 SkyCredits). For $39.99, you can get the Unlimited plan, which doesn’t have a SkyCredit limit and gets you 1TB of cloud storage.

With LiquidSky’s latest announcement however, the monthly plan will now start at $9.99 with up to 1TB in cloud storage. The company also revealed another subscription plan that removes the numerous advertisements that go along with the service (you can watch the ads in order to earn more SkyCredits). However, it wasn’t specific on the price for the ad-free plan.

One To Watch

LiquidSky’s approach to game streaming is ambitious, to be sure. However, there were numerous attempts to bring this type of streaming service to the public before. OnLive attempted the same feat a few years ago, but in 2015, the service was shut down and its assets were sold to Sony, presumably to help build the foundation for the PlayStation Now streaming service. The subscription prices seem reasonable, but the real test will be presentation and latency. If the service delivers on low-latency gaming coupled with “high-performance hardware” on its servers, LiquidSky might be be a player as the definitive source for game streaming.

Update, /9/17, 9:10am: A previous version of this article misstated the nature of the client/streaming set up. The copy has been amended.

Google's Daydream VR platform expanded with support for more phones, limited edition colors for the Daydream View HMD, and new apps like Netflix.

Daydream was announced in May as a mobile VR ecosystem that would allow Google to reach the market between the low-end $15-or-so Cardboard and premium VR HMDs that cost hundreds of dollars and require mid-tier or high-end PCs. The software platform offers easy access to VR apps from the Play Store, while the Daydream View HMD offers a more fashionable take on VR headsets.

Both aspects of the platform are expanding. On the software side, Google announced that must-have apps like Netflix, HBO Now, and NextVR are now available. Daydream's game lineup also grew with Gunjack 2: End of Shift, Lego BrickHeads Builder VR, and Layers of Fear: Solitude, among others. Companies have had access only to the non-beta version of Daydream's developer tools since September, so this rapid expansion is a welcome one.

The hardware side of Daydream is also growing. Google said that Motorola's Moto Z and Moto Z Force are now ready for the platform, and it's also released the Daydream View HMD in limited edition Crimson and Snow color variants. The headset previously came only in a dark grey Slate color; releasing these new color options helps support Google's plan to create a headset that is a little more stylish than the other VR HMDs available today.

These color options will be available only for a limited time. They will be sold in the United States from the Google Store, Best Buy, and Verizon Wireless; in the UK from the Google Store, EE, and Carphone Warehouse; and in Australia from the Google Store. The headset costs $79. All of the software titles mentioned in Google's announcement can now be downloaded from the Play Store on any Daydream-compatible device.

Microsoft announced via its blog that Netflix will stream four new "Gilmore Girls" episodes (sigh) in 4K. The company further noted that you must use Windows 10, the Edge browser, and 7th Generation Kaby Lake processors, as well as a premium subscription to unlock the emotional rollercoaster.

Of course, a desktop would have more than enough power to muscle its way through a 4K episode of "Gilmore Girls," but due to the wonders of vendor lock-in and DRM, you will be able to view the content only on a Kaby-Lake powered machine. Apparently, Netflix has bandwidth concerns, because it has effectively limited the four new (and exciting!) "Gilmore Girls" 4K episodes to one recommended device. The Microsoft blog post links to Microsoft's list of Windows 10 machines, but only one on the list (the Lenovo Yoga 910) sports a Kaby Lake processor and 4K display. 

Of course, we expect the desktop Kaby Lake launch to start soon, but the 4K streaming begins November 25, so we will all miss the 4K "Gilmore Girls" launch. Microsoft did not specify an exact reason why Netflix is limiting the 4K stream to the Kaby Lake products, but it is likely due to hardware-based DRM and HEVC decoding features. Although some GPUs could also theoretically support the stream, it doesn't appear to be on the menu as of yet.

Netflix also requires Windows 10 for 4K streaming; previous-generation operating systems will not work. It also requires the cringe-worthy Edge browser. Windows 10 isn't that onerous of a requirement, but the Edge browser accounts for only roughly 6% of the market (and declining). Therefore, even though it's by no means the most popular option, it is your only choice for 4K "Gilmore Girls." Microsoft did go out of its way to take a swipe at Chrome, which is the most popular browser in the world:

When streaming Netflix on Microsoft Edge you can get through at least one more full episode of Gilmore Girls than when streaming on Chrome on battery*** – and you know one episode can be the difference between Chris and Lorelai casually dating and being a married couple.

Of course, we wouldn't want to miss out on the current status of Chris and Lorelai's relationship, but the blog notes:

***Battery life varies significantly with settings and other factors.

In other words, your mileage may vary, and the battery claims may not even be a true statement. Microsoft has made plenty of fast and loose claims about Edge lately. I installed Windows 10 on a new rig I built this weekend, and when I installed Chrome, Windows notified me with a pop up that Edge detects and blocks 21% more socially engineered malware (the new pop-up actually made the news, too). It also took four or five attempts before Windows 10 would accept Chrome as my default browser. I digress.

Some of these moves aren't entirely unforeseen, as Microsoft also recently announced that it would not support Intel's Kaby Lake and AMD's Zen processors with pre-Windows 10 operating systems. We've reached out to both AMD and Intel on that topic to inquire why, and what features will not work on Windows 7 and 8. Both companies directed us to Microsoft, which refuses to comment beyond canned quotes that don't answer the questions.

Now, if you want to stream 4K video from Netflix, you have to break out the Kaby Lake and Windows 10 combo with some Edge browser sprinkled on top. Netflix hasn't announced 4K streaming support for Zen, but it almost certainly will (it had better). Just don't hold your breath for it to work with older processors.

It makes one wonder if there aren't some hidden forces in the background pulling strings to ensure that the average consumer has a reason to upgrade their computers. No support for new CPUs with old operating systems. No Netflix 4K streaming for the CPU stragglers and no Netflix 4K for the Chrome lovers.

Maybe we need to coin the term NetWintel (WintelFlix?).

Netflix announced that it has implemented efficient HTTPS encryption for its video streams. To this point, the company has used only HTTPS to protect user information.

Netflix has been reluctant to adopt HTTPS for its video streams so far because delivering video is already a bandwidth-heavy task, and adding encryption on top of that risked adding too much overhead. To solve this problem, the company searched for the ideal cipher and its fastest implementation.

Cipher Evaluation

Netflix eventually chose the the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) cipher in Galois/Counter Mode (GCM), which is available only in TLS 1.2 and later. The company chose GCM over the Cipher Block Chaining (CBC) method because it can encrypt and authenticate the message simultaneously, whereas AES-CBC requires an additional pass over the data to generate keyed-hash message authentication code (HMAC). The latter can still be used as fallback for older browsers and client software that don’t support TLS 1.2. However, it shouldn’t be too long until virtually all Netflix users can play video streams over TLS 1.2 or later.

The company also tested which were the fastest implementations of AES-GCM in various TLS libraries such as OpenSSL, Google’s BoringSSL, and Intel’s Intelligent Storage Acceleration Library (ISA-L). The implementations had to work best with AES-NI, the instruction set for Intel and AMD processors that significantly accelerates encryption and decryption.

Other Optimizations

Netflix and the team behind the Nginx server software collaborated to improve how fast the data is sent from the server storage to users’ video players. However, the method Netflix has been using to improve the performance for that task wasn’t compatible with TLS encryption.

The company was able to fix this issue by creating a hybrid TLS scheme where the data is encrypted in kernel space while the session management remains in user space.

Results

Netflix then tested the BoringSSL and ISA-L AES-GCM implementations and compared them with a baseline OpenSSL implementation. Both managed to increase the performance over the baseline OpenSSL implementation by 30%. Ultimately, Netflix chose the ISA-L library for slightly better performance than BoringSSL. The company is now optimistic that it can add HTTPS encryption to all of its streaming clients without suffering too much of a performance hit compared to the unencrypted versions.

AltspaceVR has announced that it now has a software development kit (SDK) available to developers who want to create their own experiences within the company's VR communication platform. AltspaceVR was seeking a way to ease the barrier of entry for developers jumping into virtual reality, and by leveraging the use of JavaScript and three.js, the company is able to make the transition to making VR content as seamless as possible.

AltspaceVR is a platform to share a virtual environment with multiple people, where everyone sees the same thing in real time. The environment is 3D, but within that space, traditional web applications can be run. A presentation displayed on a virtual wall, or a movie displayed on a virtual projector screen using Netflix, are two very basic examples. 

These applications are created using JavaScript or three.js. AltspaceVR said the code is written as if it were a webpage, making it simple for web developers to transition to developing VR content. Additionally, because there's no difference between the code running in VR or on a webpage, they can be shared across platforms easily.

One example AltSpace offered is a game played in VR by one person, while the opponent is playing from a cell phone without a VR headset. The company said communication in this scenario has not yet been ironed out, but it is working on ways for that to work. Within the VR environment, users are able to communicate with each other using a built-in VoIP system with HD quality audio.   

AltspaceVR's CEO, Eric Romo, said the company isn't worried about figuring out what people will build, but rather making sure the platform consists of flexible frameworks that are easy to learn and used to create unique experiences. The SDK includes a set of APIs that are designed to allow for JavaScript or three.js code to interact within a 3D environment. There's an API for head movement, another one detects players in the vicinity, a third API handles rendering in VR, and so on. The SDK also includes the tools needed to sync the app between multiple users. 

To demonstrate some of the things that can be done in AltspaceVR, the company will be hosting a live interactive coding session in virtual reality. This may be one of the more interesting ideas to arise from AltspaceVR. Within a virtual 3D space, multiple people can work on the same code at the same time. If one line of code is altered by one person, everyone else sees this happen in real time. Not only that, but 3D representations of said code would be rendered in the 3D environment, and the changes made would be reflected as they happen.

AltspaceVR has been working with a handful of third-party developers who have mostly been making games thus far. The feedback that the company has received is that the SDK is easy to use. Thomas Kadlec is one of the engineers working with the early SDK, and he stated that he was able to churn out a Flappy Bird clone called Flappy Dragon in under two weeks.

Beyond releasing the SDK, AltspaceVR has also announced the Developer Assistance program. The company is putting aside $150,000, which will be used to help generate incentive for developers to create experiences for AltspaceVR. The company acknowledges that there is far less financial opportunity for developers in the early stages of VR, as compared to the established mobile app market, and wanted to help drive interest and lower the risk of entering the VR market.

The program is open for app makers with a working prototype and defined plan for the project. Those selected for the program will receive financial support to see that the application is completed. 

When asked about monetization, Eric Romo stated that because the company is using a web-based platform, it is not possible to prevent ads from being embedded into AltspaceVR experiences, though the official stance is that there are better ways to monetize that are less disruptive to the user experience. AltspaceVR experiences can be set up to require a paid entry fee, as an example.

Currently, AltspaceVR is supported by the Oculus Rift DK2 and the HTC Vive developer kit, and it was revealed earlier this week that GearVR is supported by a closed alpha that is currently underway. The company said that the retail Rift and Vive will be supported when they are released, and it believes that AltspaceVR will work well with Microsoft HoloLens, though it has not yet had an opportunity to test this theory.

To download the AltspaceVR SDK, or apply for the Developer Initiative Program, visit AltspaceVR's Developer Portal. For those interested, the live coding event takes place at 7pm PT on Thursday, September 17.

Follow Kevin Carbotte @pumcypuhoy. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

Today, Verizon announced that it intends to purchase AOL Inc. for $4.4 billion. Verizon seems to believe that this deal should strengthen its OTT (Over the Top) strategy and help it diversify away from being only a wireless provider.

Lowell McAdam, Verizon chairman and CEO, said: "Verizon's vision is to provide customers with a premium digital experience based on a global multiscreen network platform. This acquisition supports our strategy to provide a cross-screen connection for consumers, creators and advertisers to deliver that premium customer experience."

Late last year, Verizon tried to get into the content business with a new technology news-focused website called Sugarstring. It's not clear what Verizon's strategy was at the time, because the company quickly shuttered it soon after rumors appeared online that Sugarstring writers would not be allowed to talk about the NSA's domestic surveillance activities or net neutrality.

Perhaps Verizon realized that it was simply thinking too small then and that a brand new homegrown website wouldn't have had too much success or credibility. Soon, Verizon will own some large media brands such as Engadget and Techcrunch (Huffington Post will apparently be spun off) that already have an established readership.

If Verizon was willing to completely ban certain technology hot topics that didn't put it in a good light from its Sugarstring site, it will be interesting to see if Verizon ends up doing the same with its AOL properties. However, as a large U.S. carrier that's tied to the explosive mobile industry, Verizon's businesses and actions will continue to come up in the news cycle whether the company likes it or not. Therefore, such actions may prove futile and even counter-productive.

For now, though, Verizon seems more interested in expanding its business portfolio than meddling with the news about the company. As the Internet increasingly becomes the only type of medium people use for consuming content, and its customers start using Voice and Text plans less and less, Verizon may fear that it will eventually get completely commoditized. Verizon, and other carriers, don't want to eventually compete on a "per GB" price.

Many billion dollar businesses have been built on the Internet, and Verizon wants to own or create a few of those, too. For instance, AOL is third only to Google and Facebook in terms of the people it reaches with online video (seriously!) and Verizon is planning a video streaming service of its own. By acquiring AOL, Verizon can reach many more people, which can help its OTT video streaming service explode almost overnight.

Verizon seems to want to offer this streaming service for free, monetized through ads, which is another area in which AOL can help the company. AOL has a large ad platform for its own content, and it could expand that platform to cover Verizon's own streaming business, too. That means it should be easier for Verizon to find advertisers for its shows, which could keep the streaming business profitable, even if it was offered to users for free. If Verizon's ad-based streaming service is profitable enough to get good and original shows, it could become the free Netflix competitor that Hulu never was.

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A Very Limited PC Experience

Intel recently announced the availability of its Windows-based Compute Stick. Available now through Intel authorized dealers, the Windows version of the Compute Stick is expected to retail at $150, while an upcoming Ubuntu Linux version, with slightly different specs, is expected to sell for $110.

Far from being a desktop replacement system, the Compute Stick is an add-on compute module that plugs into a TV or computer's video display via HDMI. The Compute Stick is designed to handle light workloads that include editing simple documents, watching videos, or just chatting with friends over Skype. Just under 4.5 inches long, 1.5 inches wide, and .5 inches thick, the Intel Compute Stick is equipped with wireless networking, USB 2.0, Bluetooth, and provides video and sound to the display.

The Intel Compute Stick will eventually be available in two OS flavors, Windows 8.1 and Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. The Windows version (STCK1A32WFC) will be available in late April, while the Ubuntu version (STCK1A8LFC) will see a worldwide release in June.

Technical Specifications

MORE: Latest Systems NewsMORE: Systems in the Forums

First Impressions

Initially, we thought that the Intel Compute Stick would make a great travel buddy that can turn any HDMI-enabled television into a working computer, but that would mean that the traveler would have to carry around a keyboard and mouse. Instead, the Compute Stick finds its happy place in a home setting. The device can turn your large screen TV into a working computer, letting you browse the internet, Skype-chat with friends or send emails, all from a familiar Windows interface. The problem we see in this scenario is the Compute Stick running out of processing power and memory once you use multiple programs. We can easily see using up the 2 GB of RAM embedded within the hour. Running single applications will work well, and at least there's no worry about multi-tasking.

Though small in size, one of the big issues with the Compute Stick is its physical shape. Being 4.5 inches in length, you need to make sure you have space for it to stick out behind the screen. Some TV manufactures have HDMI ports along the sides of the TV display, but there are other mounted displays that sit too flush against the wall and wouldn't have the right amount of clearance to hold the Compute Stick. In the latter case, a female to male HDMI cable solves the problem.

The review unit we received from Intel included an 8 inch HDMI extension cable, however we used a 3 foot female to male HDMI extension so that the Intel Compute Stick could be mounted in front of the LCD, providing better access to the stick's single USB port and power button. For those that don't mind leaving the Compute Stick dangling out of sight, the device is light enough to leave hanging off the back of the display using the supplied 8 inch extension cable.

Speaking of USB ports, depending on the number of devices connected to the Intel Compute Stick, you'll need a USB hub, especially if you don't have a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Intel confirmed that the space inside the Compute Stick is definitely the issue preventing additional USB ports from being added. Also, an HDMI-enabled TV is a must when using the Computer Stick. The company also confirmed that the Compute Stick will only work using a direct HDMI input.

External Features

When it comes to features, the Compute Stick's external design is as minimalist as they come. For expansion, you'll get one USB 2.0 port for additional devices, and a micro SD card slot for extra storage; for our purposes, we used a 32 GB micro SD card without any trouble. Bluetooth 4.0 is also available on the Compute Stick, so if you have a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, you'll want to take advantage of the wireless feature and not waste the USB port.

Using Bluetooth with a keyboard worked well, for the most part. We used a Logitech Folio without any problems, but when switching to an inexpensive RockSoul Bluetooth keyboard, we noticed frequent disconnects and had to constantly re-pair the keyboard to the Compute Stick. In this case, we'll give the Compute Stick the benefit of the doubt since the Folio never had any trouble staying connected and the RockSoul brand keyboard was of questionable functionality.

The power button is awkwardly placed on the side of the Compute Stick, near the HDMI connector. Hopefully, later versions can fix its placement. Whenever we were unplugging or adjusting the device, we had to be careful not to accidentally press down on the power button when grabbing hold of it.

For power, the Compute Stick comes with a 3 foot power cable that plugs into the unit's power port on one end and a USB connector that plugs in the 5V plug on the other.

For physical security, the Compute Stick doesn't use a conventional Kensington security slot. Instead, it uses a couple of connecting notches on the upper corner of the case. To secure it, a thin metal cable would be inserted into one side of the Compute Stick and out the other. More of an industrial type of physical security, the cable could then be crimped down to lock the product.

Internal Features

Warning

The Compute Stick is not meant to be end-user serviceable. Open it at your own risk.

From Intel's Bay Trail family of SoCs, the Compute Stick sports Intel's quad-core Atom Z3735F processor. Launched in early 2014, this 64-bit SoC sports 2 MB L2 cache and runs at a base frequency of 1.33 GHz (1.83 GHz in burst). Memory-wise, the Compute Stick uses single channel DDR3L running at 1333 MHz, which is limited to 2 GB of RAM due to the constraints of the Atom processor.

For graphics, the Compute Stick is powered by Intel's HD Graphics, which is integrated in the Atom Z3735F processor. Using Intel HD Graphics Control Panel, consumers can adjust common display settings, manage power settings and create custom profiles that let you save video settings for different environments or lighting situations.

Storage is provided by Samsung's 32 GB MBG4GC eMMC flash. Designed for mobile devices, this small flash component uses high-density MLC NAND with an MMC controller. Out of the 32 GB of space labeled on the box, Windows Disk Management shows that 23.04 GB goes to the root file system, 5.86 GB goes to the Recovery Partition, and the remaining 100 MB is dedicated to the EFI System Partition.

Wireless networking for the Compute Stick is provided an Azurewave AW-NB177NF M.2 Wi-Fi module. It's a single-band, 802.11 b/g/n that runs in the 2.4 GHz range, while also providing Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity. Rated to run at 150 Mbps, the Wi-Fi performance is compatible to an N150 Wi-Fi adapter, which is significantly slower than the current AC class of Wi-Fi devices.

Usage

One of the first things we wanted to check out about the Compute Stick was how it handles web video. Surprisingly, watching movies and shows on Netflix and Hulu was a great experience and YouTube videos played with no delay. The streaming was smooth and the Compute Stick's built in sound, coming out of the TV, was clear. When video was playing using Netflix it did produce some lag as you moved the mouse across the screen, yet there was no effect on the streaming content as it played. This is usually a problem when the mouse is used further out than 10 feet, which is somewhat expected. However, we were only about eight feet away from our office's 54 inch LCD when this happened.

We also tried to use Remote Desktop on the Compute Stick and tried to connect to a computer over Wi-Fi. Initially, we ran into some delay as the Compute Stick connected and logged into the PC for the first time. We typically don't see such a lag when using Remote Desktop, but taking into account that the Compute Stick's Wi-Fi isn't 802.11ac, and that we're working with an SoC, running a Remote Desktop session may be more than the Compute Stick could initially handle. The load time did improve after the first session and we also saw similar response times using a 802.11ac USB NIC on the Compute Stick.

Box Contents

The sample kit that Tom's Hardware received for testing included the following:

• Intel Compute Stick pre-loaded with Windows 8.1 with Bing 32-bit;
• 5V, 2A wall mount USB AC-DC power adapter;
• 3 inch USB cable for the power adapter;
• 8 inch female to male HDMI cable;
• AC plug adapters for US, AU, EU and UK sockets.

According to Intel, the retail version of the Compute Stick will have the same accessories as listed above, adding a quick start guide, and safety/regulatory paperwork to the package.

Additional Accessories

As for accessorizing the Compute Stick, there are several accessories we'd recommend getting to complement your purchase.

Since you only get 32 GB of storage in the Windows version of the Compute Stick, taking advantage of the micro SD slot is a must. Up to 128 GB is supported, so consider getting a large micro SD card. Being realistic, the built-in flash storage won't last long, especially if you're saving files locally, and the additional storage won't hurt.

Other storage options include subscribing to a cloud-based service, and since the Compute Stick is running Windows 8.1, there are plenty of vendors that can help store your data in the cloud. For example Microsoft's OneDrive, Dropbox and Google Drive will provide free cloud storage, up to a certain capacity, but beyond that you'll have to pay additional fees.

Since you may want to keep the Compute Stick's single USB port available, using a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse is probably worthwhile. You get to take advantage of the Compute Stick's wireless tech as you can sit across the room and use the computer without having cables dangling across the floor. In the event that you can't use a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, getting a wireless USB keyboard with a trackpad might come in handy, especially for couch surfing.

Another item for the Compute Stick wish-list is a powered USB hub to expand the device's usability, especially for items running over 500ma. Since the Compute Stick only uses USB 2.0, getting an equally fast hub would be inexpensive. The hub, though slower than USB 3.0, could be used for items like USB card readers, keyboard, mouse, or webcam. And if the built-in wireless network speeds don't work out for you, consider getting a wired USB NIC or a faster USB Wi-Fi adapter to speed things up.

For a list of Intel tested peripherals compatible with the Compute Stick, visit intel.com.

Testing Methodology

In benchmarking the Intel Compute Stick, we had to borrow several different methods from some of our recent tablet and network tests. We also had to keep in mind that we're not dealing with a high-end system here. We kept our expectations reasonable, especially since this isn't a gaming device or workstation. If anything, what we'll really find out about the Compute Stick is that, rather than being a performance-driven device, it's really just a convenient way to add on some computing power to an existing television.

Video-wise, we used a 24 inch Asus VS247 HDMI display with the Compute Stick and plugged it into the back of the monitor to run the CPU, graphics and storage testing.

Network testing was done using the same Asus display, however we used a mobile cart to help test throughput at different distances between our reference ASUS RT-AC66U Dual Band router and an Ethernet wired ASRock VisionX Mini-PC (Core i7-4712MQ, AMD HD8850M graphics, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD and 2 TB HDD).

For the Compute Stick's quad core Atom z3735F CPU, we used Primate Lab's Geekbench 3. Geekbench is a cross-platform benchmarking tool used to test CPU and memory performance. One of the grander advantages of using Geekbench is having access to the Primate Labs' large database of tested devices, including those running Windows, Apple and Android platforms. For Geekbench, we'll be looking at scores coming from its single- and multi-core tests using integer, floating point and memory workloads.

In order to test the Compute Stick's Samsung-based storage, we're using CrystalDiskMark to measure sequential and random read/write speeds.

We tested end-to-end Wi-Fi networking using PassMark's Advanced Networking module. Configured in a client/server configuration, the software is installed and started on each computer with one machine marked as a server and the second machine set up as the client. We used the default fixed block size of 16384 Bytes to send test TCP traffic from the Compute Stick to our test ASRock Mini-PC with the test results showing data received, data sent, average Kbits/sec and the CPU load. Since the Compute Stick only runs at 2.4 GHz, we restricted the other devices in the networking test to the same range.

Since the Intel Compute Stick is used primarily as a web browsing tool, we also ran BrowserMark, Peacekeeper and Octane to get an idea of how Internet Explorer and Google Chrome perform in comparison to other systems.

For comparison data, we used machines from the mobile realm, including:

• Dell Venue 11 Pro (Processing, Storage, Web Applications);
• Lenovo Thinkpad 10 20C1 (Processing, Storage, Web Applications);
• HP Elitepad 1000 G2 (Processing, Storage, Web Applications);
• Sony Vaio SVSS13112FXS with a Linksys AE3000 N900 USB Wi-Fi adapter (Networking);
• Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T (Networking).

As mentioned earlier, we're not expecting astronomical results from the Compute Stick. We chose the Dell, Lenovo and HP tablets because their components help us get to closer to an "apples to apples" type comparison. For networking, we used another Atom based tablet and a regular laptop with a Wi-Fi adapter, because they would have 802.11n Wi-Fi capability similiar to the Compute Stick's.

Processing

Overall, the Intel Compute Stick performed as expected. The Dell Venue, Lenovo Thinkpad and HP Elitepad G2 all have faster processors than the Compute Stick's 1.33 GHz Atom Z3735F. The Dell uses an Atom Z3775D (2.41 GHz), while the Lenovo and the HP both use the Atom 3795 (2.4 GHz and 1.6 GHz, respectively).

When comparing the memory test results, the Dell has 2 GB of RAM, similar to the Compute Stick, while the HP and Lenovo ran on 4 GB of RAM. It's interesting to see that the Compute Stick fared almost as well in the Single-Core test against the two tablets with twice the memory in them.

Storage

In the storage tests, we set CrystalDiskMark to run on each machine's local flash drive (Drive C:), writing files sized at 1000 MB for five test runs. The Compute Stick fared very well, even against the other three eMMC enabled devices. 

Networking

Between the three competitors in the networking test, as expected, the Sony Vaio performed best. The (theoretical) 150 Mbps traffic coming out of the Compute Stick was no match for the Linksys N900 USB Wi-Fi adapter attached to the Sony laptop. We opted to not go with the Sony's Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 networking module (rated at 300 Mbps) so we could get results at the higher 802.11n range. Even the Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T fared better than the Compute Stick, and that poor tablet was never really given a fair break. Bottom-line, consider using a wired or wireless USB network adapter with the Compute Stick.

Web Applications

For web application testing, we only covered IE 11 and Google Chrome 42. We excluded Firefox since the other two browsers have a stronger real world presence. These browser tests were interesting because they show the Compute Stick actually beating the Dell Venue in all three benchmarks. For such a small device to win over Dell in Peacekeeper's synthetic JavaScript scoring, Octane 2.0's 17 test barrage and BrowserMark's group testing, I had to go back and triple check our scores.

Conclusion

Although we're on the fence when it comes to the Compute Stick's pricing, it might come in handy if you're looking for a statically placed device in your living room. However, if you're a mobile type of person, you're probably better off with a tablet that won't cost much more than the Compute Stick.

When we first saw the Intel Compute Stick at CES 2015, we weren't too surprised by it. We've seen computing devices get smaller every year, but none of them really have the power to take on the core i3, i5 and i7 computers of the world. So we look at these SoC devices and try to fit their limited abilities into our lives.

This isn’t a dedicated streaming media device. Nor is it a PC. Nor is it a tablet. It’s none of those, and yet a little bit of all of those. It can stream, it can perform lightweight computing tasks, and you can take it wherever you go. For the PC hobbyist, it might be fun, and at $150, it’s not a bad price to pay.

But our expectations for stick computing are going to stay low for now, and probably in the near future. Stick computers and other SoCs may contribute services around the Smart Home, or run specific tasks, but to put too much hope that the Compute Stick will replace your PC is a pipe dream.

Julio Urquidi is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware, covering Networking and Systems. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.

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Corrections: Typos fixed regarding processing speed.

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Although most iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch users may be content with using Apple's default Safari browser, it's good to know that there are alternative browsers available for the iOS platform, such as Opera's Opera Coast browser. The app was just updated to version 4.1, and the company hopes one of its recently-added features will make watching videos on mobile devices more convenient.

The feature is called video boost, and it compresses the overall size of the video data to reduce the number of times the video has to buffer. You can keep it on all the time, automatically activated when the network is crowded or the Internet connection is slow, or you can turn it off completely.

The smaller video size also means that you don't have to pay a lot of money on your next phone bill when streaming video using cellular data. The software responsible for video boost is Opera's own video, audio, and data optimization engine called the Rocket Optimizer.

The cloud-based software detects if the user is suffering from a clogged network or is in a location where cellular data might be weak and then optimizes the video to suit the user environment. Opera claims that the Rocket Optimizer also gives a 60 percent boost in bandwidth capacity. This is probably a result of the software reducing and optimizing video streams for each individual user.

But that's not all that's new in Opera Coast 4.1. Users can now have a visual progress bar to view the page loading status, faster loading times on secure sites, and the ability to swipe down to search from the home screen. Sharing now includes support for the Evernote, Pinterest, Pocket and Kit apps.

Nevertheless, Opera might have solved one of the biggest issues facing mobile customers: With the smartphone now a must-have device, video streaming playback has become a huge priority, whether it's watching a quick video on YouTube or watching your favorite show via the Netflix app. Both apps require lots of data not only to successfully stream video, but to also display it at a high-quality resolution.

Follow Rexly Peñaflorida II @Heirdeux. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

Today, Plex released the PS4 version of its Plex app, otherwise known as Plex Home Theater.

If you've ever heard of Plex, chances are that you're also using it. Plex offers a system to organize your media library and present it in a very fancy fashion. You can organize your music library, movie library, TV shows and more, and the Plex Media Server you run will automatically retrieve metadata for your media. Think of it like building your own version of Netflix, but with music, as well. It's pretty cool, and very useful.

To access your media library, you can use either a web interface or dedicated apps for different platforms. The PC version of the software has naturally always been available, but that's not the only device you'll ever use to access it.

The PS4 version of the Plex client isn't particularly remarkable – it's in English, and it supports 720p, 1080i and 1080p video output modes. The download weighs in at just 38.9 MB, and because all your media is stored on a remote system, that 38.9 MB is all the space it will occupy.

If you haven't heard of Plex yet, perhaps you should consider looking into it. It really is a very powerful tool.

Follow Niels Broekhuijsen @NBroekhuijsen. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.