Spellbreak Update 1.1 Fixes Bugs, Adds Anti-Cheat Measures, And Smooths Out Aiming Issues

Posted on By [email protected]_84

Spellbreak, a free-to-play battle royale where every player has an elemental power to fight with, has received its first major update. The game, which launched on PC, Switch, PS4, and Xbox One on September 3, has updated to version 1.1, and has fixed numerous bugs and issues in the process.

Update 1.1 brings several fixes to Spellbreak across all platforms, as well as some system-specific changes for each different version of the game. It doesn’t add any major new features, but instead focuses on tweaking and improving what is already there.

“We wanted the focus of this one to be on stability and performance across all of our platforms,” the Spellbreak blog reads before detailing the patch notes.

The complete patch notes for Spellbreak Update 1.1 are below.

Gameplay

  • The Lighting Bolts spell’s recovery animation can now be interrupted by casting a sorcery.
  • Fix edge case where reviving or exiling someone could be canceled in order to get faster spell firing.
  • Fixed an issue that caused projectiles to sometimes not register damage even though they hit.

Aim Assist

  • Smoothed out difference in aim assist strength between different framerates.
    • This results in more consistent behavior for all players and eliminates advantages that came from very high framerate.
  • Fixed an exploit where aim assist could be much stronger than intended under certain combinations of distance to target and input sensitivity.
    • This meant it was possible for players under certain circumstances to make their spells incredibly easy to hit. This was mostly clearly seen with the Lightning Gauntlet on PC.
  • Adjusted aim assist values for various console platforms.
  • Aim assist now decreases over distance.
  • Default Look Deadzone setting on Switch is now 0%.
    • This is generally what you want, because deadzones are handled by the OS itself.

Miscellaneous

  • Enabled some extra anti-cheat mechanisms.
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technology

Best mesh WiFi systems and why you definitely need one

Posted on By [email protected]_84

Whether you’re a gamer, working from home, or just want a better connection, WiFi mesh is sure to improve your network. We’ve read the reviews and scoured the internet to bring you some of the best options out there to give you flawless internet connection throughout your living space.

All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers.If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.

By Nicole Bonaccorso

Is there anything more frustrating than unreliable internet? If you’re someone who works from home, likes to scroll during your Netflix and Chill time, or simply has a lot of housemates all eating up the internet at the same time, then a WiFi mesh system is for you. Read on to discover what that is, why you need it, and which options will work best for your needs.

What is a WiFi mesh system?

Designed to blanket your entire home in uninterrupted connectivity, WiFi mesh is a wireless internet system comprising a main router as well as several nodes strategically placed throughout the household to reduce spotty service. 

The nodes help to cover areas the main router can’t reach, making it the ideal solution for large homes and properties, or areas that struggle with WiFi connectivity, ensuring that even the furthest rooms have flawless connection. Mesh keeps all the nodes within a single wireless network, with the same SSID and password, so you’ll be able to seamlessly walk from room to room without losing your service, rather than WiFi range extenders that need multiple network names and passwords.

Mesh is easily expandable, so you can even extend coverage out to the backyard, garage, and basement at any point. 

How to choose a mesh WiFi (or whole home WiFi) system

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internet

Google just gave away the Pixel 4a India launch date

Posted on By [email protected]_84

Google Pixel 4a screen in hand 4
  • Google just gave away the India launch date for the Pixel 4a.
  • The phone will land in India on October 17.
  • It will go on sale through Flipkart.

Google has finally announced the India launch date for the Pixel 4a. The mid-range Google phone that debuted in the US back in August will reach Indian shores on October 17. Google confirmed the Pixel 4a India launch while replying to a query on Twitter.

It’s possible that Google’s Twitter account jumped the gun because we were initially expecting the company to announce the India availability of the Pixel 4a during the Pixel hardware event that concluded a few hours back. When that didn’t happen, we thought Google would put out an official Pixel 4a India launch announcement at a later date. Looks like the cat is finally out of the bag.

Google Pixel 4a India Launch Date

Where to buy the Google Pixel 4a in India and for how much?

The Google Pixel 4a will be made available in India through Flipkart. The e-commerce platform has already put up a dedicated page for the phone on its website. However, it doesn’t mention the October 17 launch date just yet.

The Pixel 4a is a mid-tier smartphone that features the Snapdragon 730 chipset. Unlike its recently launched successors — the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 — the phone does not support 5G connectivity. Not that India has any 5G networks to speak of. The good thing is that it comes with the same primary camera as the more premium Google phones so expect to take some quality photos with the device.

It’s also cheaper than the new Google phones at $349. This translates to somewhere around Rs. 25,000 in India. However, Google phones are usually marked up in India compared to their international counterparts, so the phone

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technology

Amazon’s New Hand Payment Technology Could Change In-Store Shopping Forever

Posted on By [email protected]_84

New Amazon technology, introduced at two Amazon Go stores this week, lets shoppers pay for purchases by holding their hands over a scanner. The system, called Amazon One, may herald a new way of identifying yourself and paying for things that could change the way people shop, enter concerts, use public transportation, and many other things.

You’ve probably used a fingerprint scanner or facial recognition to unlock your smartphone. You already know that your voice and your retinas can be used to positively identify you and give you access to your various devices, and possibly to secure government or corporate facilities. Amazon’s new Amazon One technology takes biometrics a step further by allowing shoppers to pay for purchases with a simple scan of their palms.

To stave off privacy concerns, the company says it is encrypting biometric data before storing it in the cloud, and that the data will be deleted from the cloud at the customer’s request. An Amazon executive told GeekWire that the company had deliberately chosen users’ palms as a biometric identifier because people can’t be recognized from their palms the way they can from their faces. (Amazon has faced controversy over law enforcement use of its facial scanning technology and has suspended such use for one year.) Another benefit is that the user must choose to hover his or her hand over the scanner, meaning that users can’t be scanned without their knowledge or consent.

Shopping in 15 seconds?

GeekWire’s Todd Bishop tried Amazon One out at Seattle’s Amazon Go stores and found that his shopping experience was incredibly fast. As the company promised, it took less than a minute to set up the scan of his palm at a small kiosk, linking it with his credit card and mobile number. Amazon Go stores have no

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technology

Secretive, never profitable Palantir makes market debut

Posted on By [email protected]_84

BOSTON (AP) — Seventeen years after it was born with the help of CIA seed money, the data-mining outfit Palantir Technologies is finally going public in the biggest Wall Street tech offering since last year’s debut of Slack and Uber.

Never profitable and dogged by ethical objections for assisting in the Trump administration’s deportation crackdown, Palantir forged ahead Wednesday with a direct listing of its stock, gaining 31% in its first trading day.

Rather than selling newly minted shares to raise money; Palantir listed existed shares for public trading. After a delay, trading began after noon and the stock closed at $9.50 after reaching a peak of $11.42.


The low-key stock strategy was in character for a secretive company long reliant on spies, cops and the military as customers — and whose founders are keeping voting control of the company.

The big question for both investors and company management: Can Palantir successfully transition from a business built on the costly handholding of government customers to serving corporate customers at scale? The company is a hybrid provider of software and consulting services that often embeds its own engineers with clients.

Analysts say its future depends on selling multinationals on its tools for gathering disparate data from an ever-expanding data universe and using artificial-intelligence technology to find previously undetectable patterns. Those can theoretically guide strategic decisions and identify new markets much as they have aided in tracking terrorists and sorting military intelligence.

The company sets itself apart from most U.S. technology providers, and just moved its headquarters to Denver from Silicon Valley. Palantir colors itself patriotic and belittles other tech firms that won’t unquestionably support U.S. dominance in war-fighting and intelligence.

“Our software is used to target terrorists and to keep soldiers safe,” CEO Alex Karp wrote in a letter accompanying Palantir’s

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technology