Tis the season! Papercraft models line up for the 3rd Google holiday doodle

On Christmas Day, Google has posted the third in its series of Holidays 2015 doodles - yet another papercraft doodle. Starting December 23, Google has been posting a new doodle each day till the New Year, wishing everyone happy holidays.

The doodles have been created by artist Robinson Wood and here's what he has to say about the festive doodles:

"The mouthwatering aromas of freshly prepared food, the warm glow of candles, the beautiful colors of festive decorations... whatever makes your season bright, we think getting together with family and friends to celebrate is one of the best parts of the holidays.

With these values in mind, the Doodle team and I wanted to honor as many different traditions, peoples, and celebrations as possible. Which — as you might guess — was quite the challenge! After a few false starts, we found our way back to the simple ideas of togetherness and home. As the scraps of paper settle, we hope that by focusing on bright colors, simplified forms, and warm lights, we’ve been able to create a fun and festive doodle."

Google's holiday doodles are not only to view on Google homepages around the world but also todownload, print and make your own papercraft models.

Dragon’s Dogma PC release date announced

PC players can get their hands on Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen from January 15, 2016.

Capcom has announced the release date and system requirements for Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen on PC.

Writing on Capcom Blog, the company said the game is “finally realized in 4K and running at silky-smooth 60 FPS.”

The PC version will support 4K resolutions and an uncapped framerate, giving players the option to go beyond 60FPS if their hardware can handle it.

Those with limited hardware can choose to lock the framerate at 30 or 60 FPS, if they wish to avoid possible framerate drops and performance issues.

Related: Best Games of 2015

Capcom has also announced that the game will support both mouse and keyboard and controllers.

Steam, Xbox One and PS4 controllers will all be supported straight out of the box, all you have to do is connect them and you’re good to go.

Check out the system requirements below:

Minimum PC System Requirements:

• OS: Windows Vista or newer
• Processor: Intel Core i5-660 CPU or equivalent
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: Radeon HD 5870 or equivalent
• DirectX: Version 9.0c
• Storage: 22 GB available space

Recommended PC System Requirements:

• OS: Windows Vista or newer
• Processor: Intel Core i7-4770K or equivalent
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 or equivalent
• DirectX: Version 9.0c
• Storage: 22 GB available space

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen is currently available for pre-order on Steam for £23.99, set to release on January 15, 2016.

If you pre-order now you gain access to a digital artbook and the official soundtrack.

Mozilla upgrades Firefox, adds 64-bit client for Windows and more

Mozilla just pushed out a major update to its popular Firefox web browser on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. The Firefox update version 43 brings in a slew of features and improvements over version 42 adding a little something to every platform. 

Most notably, the web browser now supports 64-bit architecture on Windows over the outgoing version which was 32-bit. Mozilla already offers a 64-bit version Firefox on Mac and Linux.

The Firefox update version 43 which will work on Windows 7 or above is an important update for Windows with regards to speed and security. The outgoing 32-bit version of Firefox can only use 4GB of address space which although 'good enough' for most applications can't handle large Web applications as effortlessly as the 64-bit version. 

Updating Firefox to 64-bit makes the browser future-proof on Windows, an OS that ships with its own branded browser, aka Edge in Windows 10.

Mozilla has reiterated that since the 64-bit version of Firefox for Windows offers limited support for plugins currently, some websites -- that need plugins - will be incompatible on the new browser.

Moving on, Firefox update version 43 aims to strengthen the new Tracking Protection feature in Private Browsing, which was first introduced in version 42. All versions of Firefox can now choose a strict blocklist for Web trackers. "A basic protection list is on by default in Private Browsing with Tracking Protection and it shields against many ad, analytics and social trackers. 

If you want increased protection from tracking, Firefox now allows you to choose a 'strict' protection blocklist which will block additional content trackers such as those often found in video, photo and embeddable content. Choosing this list comes with a tradeoff because Disconnect has received reports from users of some sites not working properly and in some cases being unusable, when this 'strict' list is used," according to Mozilla.

Firefox for Android on the other hand brings in tab audio indicators, a feature that was earlier brought to desktop. This means users on Android will now know which tabs are producing sound.

Battlefield 4 Legacy Operations DLC is Here And its Free

Last year, Dice the developers of Battlefield, asked fans what map from the previous titles they would want to see in Battlefield 4. After going through the thousands of responses, it was revealed in November that the map to make a come back in Battlefield 4 would be Dragon Valley. Now the wait is over; the most-demanded map is here and its free.

The classic Battlefield 2 map, Dragon Valley was one of the biggest maps of the game with a massive number of flags and repairable bridges. Dice has done an excellent job to bring it back; and as if that wasn't enough, it has made it even better. The map still features the repairable bridges and a bucket load of flags however, now with the addition of better draw distance, dynamic cloud cover and a Rush mode; the overall game experience is a whole lot more enjoyable.

The dynamic cloud cover lets players have intense dogfights while also shrouding the ground forces from aerial threats. That’s not all; since Dragon Valley is a massive map, Dice managed to include the Battlefield 3 map, Noshahr Canals. This map is located inside the second harbour area to let players enjoy the most-played death match map in the entire series, all over again.

Apart from adding new features and getting the most out of its Frostbite 3 engine, Dice has also added a patch to make improvements to gameplay and animations. The DLC is now available for the PS4, Xbox One and PC.

Opt in to keep 15GB OneDrive storage

Several weeks ago, Microsoft announced that it would be cutting down storage for its free OneDrive cloud service.

The company announced that it would drop its 15GB limit to just 5GBs next year, much to the annoyance of users.

The decision saw users vent their anger, with a plea to "give us back our storage" quickly shooting up Microsoft's UserVoice community page.

Now, Microsoft has revealed a way to keep your limit in place, Windows Central reported.

You'll need to visit a link on the OneDrive website, logging in by January to keep your limit in place.

"If you also have the 15 GB camera roll bonus, you'll be able to keep that as well," Microsoft confirmed on its UserVoice page.

Still, it's rather disappointing to see Microsoft cut down free storage limits, when Google Drive maintains its 15GB limit.

Lumia 950, XL now in South Africa

Microsoft Mobile has officially launched the Lumia 950 and 950XL in South Africa.

The 950 possesses a Snapdragon 808 chipset and a 5.2-inch 2560x1440 display. On the other hand, the 950XL features a Snapdragon 810 processor and a 5.7-inch 2560x1440 display.

Otherwise, the devices share 3GBs of RAM, a 20MP OIS-enabled camera and 5MP selfie shooter.

The phones also have 32GBs of expandable storage and are the first Windows 10 Mobile devices in the country.

But arguably the two most innovative features are the iris scanner and the Continuum feature for desktop-like computing.

The Lumia 950 and Lumia 950XL are available for a recommended retail price of R10 548 for the Lumia 950 and R11 499 for the Lumia 950XL.

Microsoft has also launched its Microsoft Store in the country, offering Lumia devices and Xbox hardware. However, those hoping for Surface tablets are out of luck for now.

Hearthstone’s ‘The Grand Tournament’ Expansion Goes Live

Blizzard Entertainment is behind some of the most popular games on a varied set of platforms, and that includes the free, and wildly popular card battler Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft which launched on Android smartphones in April of this year. 

Since the launch there has been one expansion and two single player adventures added to the game, and earlier this year Blizzard unveiled the upcoming second expansion to be added called The Grand Tournament. 

Today Blizzard has officially launched the second expansion and players of Hearthstone will be able to get their hands on new packs containing all new cards to optimize their decks and take down their opponents.

Whether players are new or a seasoned veteran, The Grand Tournament expansion adds 132 unique cards to the mix that they can get their hands on. Players can use these new cards to put together some truly awesome new decks or enhance some already existing ones they have in play. 

In addition to the new cards, The Grand Tournament expansion adds in some new game mechanics like the new “Inspire” keyword that players can use to give themselves a boost, as well as the new Joust mechanic. 

Inspiring minions can increase strength and bring about health restoration as well as gain your minions some reinforcements, but the Inspire keyword can only be triggered by using a Hero Power.

As for the Joust mechanic, this is a single combat, one-on-one between two minions picked randomly from the players’ decks. The Jousts can significantly improve the match for the initiating player, as winning will gain them a notable boost that could help them to win the overall match as well. 

Since this an expansion and not a new adventure, players will not have any new single player campaigns to go through, but they will have new cards to obtain which can be purchased in decks as an in-app purchase for varied amounts depending on how many decks are picked up. The expansion is now live, so players should be able to dive right and grab the new decks as of now and start putting together some game-winning strategies.

‘Destiny’: Gjallarhorn left behind and VIP rewards trailer, PC version incoming?

Bungie is trucking right along with new "Destiny" information as the days slowly tick down to the release of the game's third expansion The Taken King. While the studio has actively shared details about VIP rewards for long-term players and how viable the essential exotic weapon Gjallarhorn will be in the expansion, there's one detail Bungie likely didn't mean to share: the possibility of an in-development PC version.

First, the bad news. "Destiny" players were elated last weekend when the enigmatic merchant Xur (a special merchant who sells a randomized selection of powerful exotic goods, but who only shows up on weekends) began selling Gjallarhorn, one of the most prized exotic weapons in the entire game. That elation was quickly soured, however, when Bungie revealed in its latest weekly update that Gjallarhorn will not be one of the Year One exotics that are set to have their power increased once The Taken King launches. Gjallarhorn will still be usable, but it will no longer be the defacto powerhouse it is now.

Fortunatly, the weekly update had plenty of good news as well, including a new trailer showing off the game's VIP rewards. In order to qualify for the VIP items, a player must get a character to light level 30 *or* purchase both previous expansions (The Dark Below and House of Wolves) before August 31, 2015. In addition to those criteria, a player must also purchase and play The Taken King no later than February 1, 2016. The VIP items include an exclusive Ghost shell, a new character emblem, a special "Old Guard" armor shader and a sleek S-34 Ravensteel Sparrow.

Finally, a new post on Bungie's careers board reveals the studio is currently looking for a PC compatibility tester. While the job posting itself isn't enough to confirm anything, its existence could mean that Bungie is planning to develop a PC version of "Destiny," something which players have been clamoring for every since the game was first announced.

You can watch the VIP rewards trailer below. The Taken King is set to launch on September 15.

Pangu Flaunts iOS 8.4.1 Jailbreak at HackPwn 2015

However, this happiness was going to be short-lived. Instead, the team seems to be considering the possibilities of jailbreaking Apple’s next iOS iteration. Team Pangu! It was the first to jailbreak iOS 8 and it also released untethered tools for iOS 8-iOS 8.1 as well as iOS 7.1.x.

The Pangu team was not so active in the jailbreak scene and had literally disappeared while TaiG and PP took the lead.

Recently, at the HackPwn 2015 convention, the Chinese jailbreak developer and hacker team, Pangu, is reported to have demonstrated iOS 8.4.1 jailbreak on an iPhone 6, but a public version of it is highly unlikely, reports iDownloadblog.

Apple has now stopped signing iOS 8.4, making it impossible to downgrade or upgrade, without losing your jailbreak.

Simply put, if you’re on a firmware version pre-iOS 8.4.1, then we suggest you stay clear of any update that might be thrown at you from Apple. According to press release, updates patch up improvement in Apple Music and fixes bug issue.

It is really surprising that Pangu managed to jailbreak iOS 8.4.1 in such a short time, considering the fact that a large number of exploits were fixed by Apple.

Interestingly, the team says they have no plans to publicly release the jailbreak.

Atelier Sophie and Yoru no Nai Kuni Delayed in Japan

While Gust has been rather ambitious so far this year by working on two titles for the PlayStation 4 at the same time, it seems they are both going to take a bit longer than initially anticipated. Koei Tecmoowned Gust has announced that both Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book and Yoru no Nai Kuni have been delayed in Japan.

Atelier Sophie was initially meant to be released on September 25th but has been delayed for nearly two months to November 19th to “further increase its quality” while Yoru no Nai Kuni was pushed from September 17th to October 1st for more time to be spent on “final adjustments.”

While neither of these titles have been announced for Western release yet, this delay may mean that the localization of both titles may be pushed back as well since the chances of either of these RPGs not being released in the West is incredibly low.

Zombi PS4, Xbox One and PC Video Walkthrough in HD

Complete Zombi with the help of this HD video walkthrough and game guide.

Game Overview:

Zombi is the remastered version of ZombiU which was released as a Wii U exclusive back in 2012. It’s essentially the same game with updated resolution and better frame rate performance along with subtle changes in lighting and texture quality.

Zombi is now available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The game was developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and published by Ubisoft.

There's No Way This Bugatti Veyron Is Worth $1.7 Million And Here's Why

When the Bugatti Veyron appeared on the scene in 2005, there was nothing that could match its luxuriousness, ferocity and outright speed. With its 8.0-liter W16 quad-turbocharged engine making over 1,000 hp, the Veyron was able to sprint to 62 mph in 2.46 seconds and onto a top speed of over 253 mph. We recently saw the first Bugatti Veyron go for $1.8 million, but now another Veyron has popped up on eBay with a Buy It Now price of approximately $1.7 million. And there’s no way this 2008 Bugatti Veyron with roughly 4,000 miles is worth that much.

When the original Veyron came out, Bugatti priced the vehicle at approximately $1.3 million and ended up producing special editions that have gone for a whopping $2.5 million. Bugatti has sold a total of 450 Veyrons, which makes it nowhere near as rare as other million dollar hypercars from recent times. To make matters worse for the Veyron, Bugatti has done very little to alter the hypercar throughout its lifespan. Bugatti has only added more power, given the vehicle a makeover and finished the car in interesting colors. Other than that, the Veyron has remained the same and that’s not good when other automakers are gunning for supremacy.

The McLaren P1, Ferrari LaFerrari, Porsche 918 and Pagani Huayra are arguably better to drive, are cheaper and will greatly appreciate over time since they have been produced in much smaller numbers. We’re huge fans of the Veyron, but when comparing the hypercar against other offerings, there’s no way it’d be our first choice. If you had over $2 million to spend on a vehicle, would you spend it on this 2008 Bugatti Veyron or something else?

Android 5.1.1 Lollipop Update For Motorola Moto G 1st Gen, Moto G 2nd Gen, Moto G 3rd Gen, Moto E 2013, Moto E 2014?

The Moto G and Moto E series smartphones are waiting for the Android Lollipop 5.1.1 upgrade since a long time now. 

The Motorola Moto G 1st Gen, Moto G 2nd Gen, Moto G 3rd Gen, Moto E 2013 and Moto E 2014 mainly require this upgrade to remove the Stagefright bug which is known to be plaguing many smartphones lately. Network carriers like Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint will soon get this upgrade for the Moto devices under them.

Stagefright is a malicious bug which allows the hackers to get access to the device. They do it via a bugged MMS message, which comes in the device in the form of a video. Once it is opened in the device, the device will be suddenly get infected. All major smartphone companies are facing this bug and waiting eagerly to get it fixed through Android Lollipop 5.1.1 update.

Google is rolling out a fix for the StageFright fix for its Nexus devices, according to Redmond Pie.

Motorola's official website only listed the second and third generation of Moto G, which is liable for this upgrade. 

It is mentioned that Android Lollipop 5.1.1 upgrade is live for Moto G 2014 and Moto G 2015 since June 2015 and will be sent across to the devices over the air for the Verizon users.

For the rest of the carriers, it is live since April 2015. For the Moto G LTE version, only a soak test variant of Android 5.1.1 is available for now, according to Motorola GitHub.

For Moto E, the Android 5.0 Lollipop upgrade was rolled out for US Cellular and Verizon in June 2015. The Android 5.1.1 Lollipop version is still under soak testing and awaiting release.

It is expected that Android M or Android 6.0 will be released in October this year along with Google Nexus 5 2015. It is also speculated that if some devices do not get the Android 5.1.1 Lollipop update then they may directly get the Android M update.

Street Fighter V beta returns for round 2

The beta first launched last month, but was plagued by issues. Capcom eventually pulled the plug as it faced issues that were more severe than it had prepared for.

While Capcom expects this beta to go more smoothly, it warned that there may still be some issues.

“We would like to reiterate that all data received during each regional stress test will help us ensure that the game performs at an optimal level," Capcom said.

Capcom will run region-specific stress tests for Street Fighter V with this beta. This first kicks off in Europe today from 16:00GMT until midnight. There will be another on Friday, August 21st at the same time.

If you were able to get into the Street Fighter V beta, you don’t need another code. You will, however, need to have the latest patch installed.

'Call of Duty: Black Ops 3' Begins Multiplayer Beta for PS4

Treyarch's "Call of Duty: Black Ops III" has commenced its multiplayer beta on PlayStation 4 with three modes playable in seven maps.

Treyarch and Activision previously announced a multiplayer beta for "Call of Duty: Black Ops III" as part of their exclusive deal with Sony.

The beta finally arrived Wednesday, giving players who preordered the first-person shooter access to new maps and modes, weapon customization, specialists, and other features until August 23.

With three maps available, players will get to experience a part of the upcoming title's full version, using various gameplay styles and high-octane combat in the game's newly added momentum and chain-based system.

Beta participants will have the option to play as one of eight Specialists, two of whom have recently been revealed for the new installation. With seven game modes up for experimentation, players can take advantage of the game's advanced weaponry, all-new gear, and several surprises they encounter along the way.

The beta will incorporate weapon customization via Create-a-Class and the Weapon Paint Shop. Players will also get to experience how gameplay progression will affect their weapons, equipment, and scorestreaks, with all progress geared for a reset when the beta ends on Sunday.

"Call of Duty: Black Ops III," the fourth installation in the "Call of Duty" series' "Black Ops" story arc, puts players in the role of a Black Ops soldier thrust into a dark and grim future ruled by biotechnology and cybernetics.

As a new breed of fighter empowered by Direct Neural Interface technology, players embark on a series of campaigns, moving fluidly through different environments while maintaining control of their weapons.

The multiplayer beta for PS4 will run through August 23, and will be launched for PC and Xbox One for five days starting August 26, with an official release for the game scheduled for November 6 for all platforms.

Replay the Uncharted trilogy on PS4

When it comes to the PlayStation 3, it’s hard to deny that Uncharted is a strong contender for a system-selling game.

We were introduced to the adventures of Nathan Drake, Victor “Sully” Sullivan and Elena Fisher in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune way back in 2007 on the PlayStation 3.

However, it wasn’t until Uncharted 2: Among Thieves in 2009 that the series really blew us away and convinced this writer to get a PS3.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception in 2011 proved that developer Naughty Dog had the magic touch when it comes to third-person platforming games.

So we were understandably excited when Sony announced that the Uncharted games for PS3 would be remastered and re-released for the PS4 in Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection.

In fact, we were so excited when we heard about this, we put in a pre-order for the collection the moment we heard it was going to be available locally.

If you’re interested in getting one of these for yourself, Sony has the details on the two editions of the collection that will be launched in this country.

 

The Standard edition of the game will retail for RM199 and come with pre-order bonus – a Nathan Drake DLC pack, an Uncharted branded water bottle and a similarly branded journal (that’s a plain notepad for you to write in).

However, there’s also an RM269 Limited Edition which comes in a Steelbook case, together with a small 48-page artbook, foldable cloth poster, special PS4 Theme and the Nathan Drake DLC pack.

Again, preorders will also come with a water bottle and journal.

Finally, if you’re not into the whole collectible thing, Sony is also releasing the collection in digital format, which will set you back just RM179 and you’d still get the Nathan Drake DLC pack (if you buy in the first two weeks of launch) and PS4 Theme (if you’re a PS Plus member).

A smart home with a voice: SmartThings adds support for Amazon Echo

It's been less than a month since Amazonreleased a software development kit (SDK) forEcho, its smart, voice-controlled speaker. That SDK is like a set of blueprints on how to program an outside device to work directly with Echo -- now, the SmartThings connected home system is jumping on board.

The brand made the announcement via blog post, as initially reported by Dave Zatz of zatznotfunny.com. The integration comes weeks before the arrival of the second-gen SmartThings Hub, which is currently available for preorder. SmartThings claims the integration will work with both the original hub and the new one.

The integration makes a lot of sense for both parties. For Amazon, it helps boost Echo's smart-home credibility; with SmartThings, it strengthens the brand's claim to a central spot in the connected home discussion.

Essentially an Internet-connected speaker with a voice-activated AI named "Alexa" housed inside, Amazon Echo is capable of streaming music, reading headlines and answering simple questions. Earlier this year, Amazon debuted integrations with Belkin WeMo Switches, Philips Hue connected LEDs and Wink Hub-compatible smart light bulbs -- those integrations allow users to turn things on and off simply by asking Alexa to do it.

You'll get similar connected-home control with the SmartThings integration, with Alexa taking charge of SmartThings-compatible lights and switches, along with anything plugged into a SmartThings Power Outlet. Like with Echo's earlier integrations with Philips Hue, you'll be able to dim your smart bulbs to a specific percentage, as demonstrated in the video below. Deeper integration could come viaSmartThings Labs, a program that certifies smart home solutions developed by SmartThings' robust and active community of automation hobbyists.

Aside from working with a wide variety of third-party smart-home gadgets, SmartThings is one of the more stable and established platforms currently available for connected homes. It's certainly in better shape than Wink, which saw its CEO step down earlier this month following an embarrassing hub recall and reports of financial woes.

Aside from the SmartThings news, Amazon also quietly rebranded its Echo app as the "Amazon Alexa" app. That might indicate that we'll be seeing more of Alexa in the near future, including in devices other than Echo. Alexa's programming is up for grabs in that SDK, meaning that a third-party manufacturer could presumably build its own Alexa-powered device. More likely is that we'll see Alexa turn up in other Amazon products, perhaps in the next Kindle or Fire TV.

If you already use both SmartThings and Amazon Echo in your home, you can start syncing everything up today -- instructions on how to do so are posted here.

Outlook on iOS update makes it easier to open, share and edit Office docs on the fly

Microsoft has updated Outlook to cut down on the number of steps required when editing and collaborating on documents in iOS.

If you've noticed a few changes in the way Outlook on iOS handles attachments, that's due to an update Microsoft rolled out this week that brings tighter integration between the app and Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

The update is designed to make it easier to collaborate on and share Office documents through Outlook, and also makes the app a platform to prompt users who haven't installed the Office apps to do so.

For now, the changes are only for iOS but similar features for Android are coming in a few months, according to Microsoft.

The Outlook update lets iOS users open received Office attachments directly in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. The point of the feature is collaboration and makes it simpler to begin editing documents and share them with a minimum of steps.

With the update, attachments are displayed with blue text under the file name offering, for example, 'Open in PowerPoint'. That option only appears if the app is installed. If it's not, Outlook will just open the file in a viewer where it can't be edited but will display a link at the top of the viewer suggesting they install Microsoft's app from the App Store.

The update also makes it easier to collaborate on attachments and send edits in email from Outlook. This feature gives Outlook an even bigger edge than it already has over Apple's Mail app, particularly when it comes to sharing attachments like Word files.

Now, once a Word file is opened from Outlook and edits are made, the user can click on the back button in Word, which will close the document and add the updated file as an attachment to the current reply email.

The third big change to Outlook comes via new sharing features in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on iOS. The three apps now include a 'Send with Outlook' option in the Share menu. If this action is followed, the apps will bring up a 'Compose New Email' pane in Outlook with the document attached and ready to share. It adds another sharing option to the existing alternative: store the document in OneDrive or elsewhere and attach the file from the cloud.

Getting up close to the Moto G 3rd gen

The launch of the Moto G Third Generation has created a lot of buzz, and rightfully so. Check out what this budget android phone has to offer and all the exciting features you can rely on, if you have your heart set on it.

The third generation of the impeccable Moto G 3 is here and we’re all excited about it. Since its launch it has already established itself as the benchmark for reasonable android devices. Delivering on quality and an affordable price it has everything your checklist would need.

Getting To The Build and Design: The Company now owned by Lenovo decided to stick to some of its basic specifications from the second-generation phone. From its dual-front grilles, one still stays as the earpiece while the other is the speaker outlet. Moving away from chrome inserts, they are subtler.

With a stable back cover, completely fitted with a metallic strip that houses the 13 MP camera, you can certainly count on the Moto G to give you a stylish look.

Deep Into The Display: Providing you with a fairly decent display the Moto G has a 5-inch HD (720x1280p) display. Viewing angles maintain accuracy and the touch response is absolutely flawless.

Software Specifications: Equipped with Android 5.1 Lollipop the Moto G third generation is quite close to the Google nexus phones.

There’s a host of features tech freaks would love to get their hands on, like Assist, a customizable Do Not Disturb, Help, Moto Migrate, etc. Another cool feature you would like to get acquainted with is the double karate chop that turns on the torch and the way you can twist the phone to capture an image in camera mode.

The Experience: This time around Motorola has upgraded the processor and doubled the RAM. Powered by a 64-bit 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor, The Moto G (third generation) also houses Adreno 306 graphics and 2GB RAM.

You can also rely on all your basics such as Bluetooth, WiFi and GPS. Let’s not forget you get to use FM, even on speaker as long as you plug in your earphones to enable the antenna. The phone has a fairly strong battery life and can be trusted to last the entire day even with the highest brightness level and continuous use of 3G.

So What’s The Verdict: Priced at Rs.12,999, the Moto G is definitely a good buy. Affordable and providing you with a host of good features, it’s rare to find a phone in such a price range with a water resistant body. However it’s not the least priced, and there could be arguments of it not being as low as budget freaks would expect it to.

Russia threatens to add Wikipedia to blacklist over narcotics article

The Kremlin says it will ban Wikipedia within Russia unless the website blocks access to an article about drugs. The warning from Roskomnadzor, the government’s online regulator, comes weeks after similar threats were made over content on Reddit and YouTube.

Roskomnadzor said through one of its social media accounts on Thursday that Wikipedia’s administrators had been warned over a page on “how to prepare narcotic-containing substances” that had been deemed illegal by the District Court of Astrakhan on June 25.

Specifically, the offending page is an article on charas, a type of cannabis, according to Meduza, a primarily Russian-language news portal that often posts content in English critical of the policies of President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin’s increasingly strict censorship laws have sought to keep Russians from being able to access pages dealing with topics ranging from drugs to dissent in recent years.

Earlier this month the entirety of Reddit, one of the most popular websites in the world, was briefly banned because its administrators did not immediately heed calls to block access to a single, two-year-old post on hallucinogenic mushrooms that ran afoul of Internet regulators.

In the case of Reddit, Roskomnadzor said that the website had to take action to block Internet users in Russia from accessing the lone page deemed unlawful. But because of the nature of HTTPS, the secure protocol many sites use to encrypt traffic, selective filtering becomes problematic for Internet Service Providers that find themselves ordered by Moscow to block access to only certain pages within a single domain.

“In the event that [Wikipedia] refuses to comply with the court’s ruling, Roskomnadzor will block the webpage on Russian territory using the registry of illegal information,” Roskomnadzor stated this week. “In this case, insofar as Wikipedia has decided to function on the basis of https, which doesn’t allow restricting access to individual pages on its site, the entire website would be blocked.”

When Reddit did not outright delete the mushroom post, all of the site was briefly blocked by Russian ISPs until arrangements were made to restrict access to the lone page.

Weeks earlier, YouTube was told that the Web addresses of videos containing copyright-protected material had been nominated for the blacklist and that all of the site could expect to become blocked if the infringing content wasn’t purged before the ban went into effect.

“We believe that the owners and administrators of [Wikipedia] will take a constructive and only correct position with respect to the decision of the court, and illegal content will be removed,” Roskomnadzor saidThursday. In a follow-up, the censors said that Wikipedia’s failure to act “jeopardizes the interests of many members of the Russian version of the site,” according to an online translation.

In a further post, “to clarify the tough stance of state bodies in relation to drugs and drug addiction,” Roskomnadzor claimed that roughly 50,000 Russians under the age of 35 die each year from drug-related causes, and that 80 percent of all thefts nationwide are committed by drug addicts.

Internet users can use the Tor Browser or Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to route their traffic through other nations in order to often bypass regional restrictions. 

Microsoft Band teams with TaylorMade’s myRoundPro for golf tracking

The wearable smart device Microsoft Band receives an upgrade to track users' golf games. This should be a good indicator for the direction of the band, a device that's currently at war with the likes of the Apple Watch and Android Wear devices of all sorts. This system works not only with Microsoft Band, but Microsoft Health as well, an app ecosystem that exists exclusively on Microsoft Windows Phone devices.

The myRoundPro integration with Microsoft Band announced today includes integration with the Microsoft Health web dashboard as well. This system includes tracking of "mapped shot locations" as well as fairways hit. It includes "greens in regulation" as well as putts per round and sand saves. It includes scoring average, shot proximity to the hole, and strokes gained, too.

The TaylorMade course finder is included in the Microsoft Health app for users to find courses nearby - hopefully your favorite course will be included. Setting up for a round with the Microsoft Band also includes "selecting which tees you will be using throughout the day."

During a round of golf with the Microsoft Band, users will be able to automatically detect the hole they're at via on-Band GPS, tracking your shots as you move through the course. You'll find yardage to the hole shown on the band from wherever you happen to be on the course.

This system also allows mulligans.

This system with Microsoft Band and myRoundPro integration will be released immediately if not soon - have a peek!

Intel says Thunderbolt 3 will bring external graphics to laptops

The lines between desktop and notebook computers are getting thinner and thinner. Intel has announced plans to bring its enterprise-class Xeon processors to notebooks, and offer unlocked, overclockable K series processors for notebooks later this year.

Want even more power in your notebook? How about an external graphics card?

Intel says notebooks that feature Thunderbolt 3 ports will be able to connect to external graphics docks. This lets you use a high-power graphics card with your notebook while powering up to two 4K displays (in addition to your laptop display).

Thunderbolt 3 uses a USB Type-C reversible connector. That one tiny Thunderbolt 3 port can be used to connect a docking station that lets you output video to multiple displays, connect an external hard drive, keyboard, mouse, headphones and Ethernet cable. And since Thunderbolt 3 can handle up to 100 watts of power, you can also charge your laptop through its Thunderbolt port at the same time.

Intel is showing off a sample graphics dock with an AMD Radeon R9 M385 graphics card at IDF in San Francisco. But we could eventually see third-party graphics docks that let you add your own graphics card.

This could let you buy high-performance graphics cards designed for desktop computers and use them with your notebook. And it could also let you upgrade in the future when you’re no longer happy with that card’s performance.

While there are already some notebooks on the market with discrete graphics chips from NVIDIA or AMD, they tend to be less powerful than their desktop counterparts, and they’re not designed to be upgraded… ever.

'Risen 3: Titan Lords - Enhanced Edition' PS4 Review & Gameplay: Features, Price & Everything to Expect

"Risen 3" is now available on the PlayStation 4 and will be dubbed "Titan Lords - Enhanced Edition."

PlayStation Lifestyle said the release came about a year after the game was made available to the PlayStation 3.

With a price tag of $39.99, this Enhanced Edition is the title of the game for PS4 users in North America and Europe, though there is an expected limited physical release in a few European countries.

In a review of the "Risen 3: Titan Lords - Enhanced Edition," PlayStation Lifestyle noted that the features of the game are almost the same with the settings of the game released on the personal computer.

"The game offers the introduction of new state of the art post-process effects such as bokeh depth-of-field and HDR bloom, and an all-new volumetric cloud system that adds even more spectacular skies and sunsets to Risen 3s dynamic day/night cycles," explained the same report.

It was also noted that this Enhanced Edition will come with all updates, and even additional contents like Adventure Garb, Fog Island and Uprising of the Little Guys DLCs.

On the PlayStation blog, game developers said they really wanted to improve a lot of factors in the game including "texture resolution for items, objects, foliage, terrain, particle effects, characters, monsters, and other in-game models and integrating them into the game in a higher quality than before."

There will also reportedly be two additional islands in the game which will introduce more characters, monsters, landscapes and other items.

An new difficulty level called "ultra" will also be introduced. The PlayStation blog explained that a more difficult opponent should be expected in this level, as well as "additional vulnerability during evasive maneuvers."

Another Destructoid review, however, detailed several weaknesses of the game.

"There's a very perceptible lag in character movement. Often, a full second would pass before my input was registered," the same report explained.

It also added that there are certain camera movements which make killing enemies hard.

"The simple act of getting from place to place feels like a slog, actively discouraging players from exploring a moderately amusing setting," Destructoid noted.

Aside from the PS4 release, VideoGamer said the PC version of the game will also have a 64-bit upgrade.

This will reportedly be available free of charge for any user who has purchased "Risen 3: Titan Lords" but there is still no definite date for its launch.

PS4 gamers have certainly waited a long time for this update and they will now have the chance to experience what it has to offer.

PC users, on the other hand, will also be able to experience a better gameplay experience with improved graphics.