After giving a major performance boost in the DirectX 11 API, AMD seems to be gearing up to deliver a similar boost to OpenGL applications with the upcoming Windows 11 22H2 GPU driver aimed at Radeon graphics solutions.
AMD's Radeon GPUs To Get Major Graphics Performance Boost in OpenGL Thanks To Upcoming Windows 11 22H2 Drivers
Last month, AMD released a driver which was focused on improving the DirectX 11 performance in a range of titles that utilized the API. AMD stated up to 30% performance gains for Radeon GPUs and we saw similar results within independent tests. Now, the company is planning to switch gears and focus on the OpenGL side of things.
Both DirectX 11 and OpenGL are still very commonly used in various benchmark applications and certain legacy games and users who want the best performance may look for competitor graphics cards if AMD can't deliver the same level of graphics performance in their favorite titles. As such, it looks like AMD has devised its plans to release a new driver in the Windows 11 22H2 build that will offer a significant boost in OpenGL performance.
Guru3D's forum member, The Creator, managed to receive the update in Windows 11 and was able to confirm that this is indeed a new driver from the GPU-z 'WDDM" information tab:
Direct3D Driver Version - 9.14.10.01523 vs 9.14.10.01521 (22.5.2)
Vulkan Driver Version - 2.0.225 vs 2.0.226 (22.5.2)
OpenCL Driver Version - 10.0.3426.0 vs 10.0.3417.0 (22.5.2)
OpenGL Driver Version - 22.05.Beta Release
The user also managed to run a few performance benchmarks which show a 55% gain in Unigine Valley Benchmark which is now comparable to DirectX 11. In Unigine Superposition, the Radeon GPUs will be getting a 34% performance boost which is around 20% slower than DirectX 11 but not the massive 52% difference that was seen on the previous drivers. In the Unigine Heaven benchmark, the new drivers deliver the opposite results with the new drivers witnessing a 26% reduction in the GPU performance.
AMD Radeon OpenGL GPU Driver Performance In Unigine Valley:
AMD Radeon OpenGL GPU Driver Performance In Unigine Heaven:
AMD Radeon OpenGL GPU Driver Performance In Unigine Superposition:
While the performance boost is there, it looks like we will see some sort of regression in a few OpenGL titles with the new Radeon GPU drivers. AMD may still need to optimize its drivers for really old benchmark applications and game titles but this is a good start for AMD to refocus on OpenGL optimizations.
The developer of the RPCS3 'PlayStation 3' emulator has posted a detailed blog highlighting the advantage of AVX-512 on modern CPUs. The blog post helps us understand how AVX-512 works and how it is beneficial for the emulator for those who want to get extra performance.
RPCS3 'PlayStation 3 Emulator' Dev Highlights The Performance Advantage of AVX-512 Enabled CPUs
The blog was published by Whatcookie, one of the many developers on the RPCS3 Emulator project and compares how AVX-512 helps over standard AVX2 instructions. You can read the full blog here or to keep it simple, the main advantages of AVX-512 come in the form of:
Larger register file
New forms of old instructions
Mask registers
The developer shows how all of this helps in improving the performance within RPCS3, the go-to-choice for PS3 Emulators. An Intel Core i9-12900K CPU was used for testing at 5.2 GHz with AVX-512 enabled. Using the standard SSE2 instructions, the game only delivered 5 FPS while moving to SSE 4.1 delivered a massive 160 FPS gain. It is stated that the reason for this is due to the lack of SSSE3 instructions which are essential for the PlayStation 3 Emulator.
Moving to AVX2/FMA, you get an additional 13% performance boost, and switching from AVX2 to AVX-512, you get a 30% performance boost to 242 FPS.
The SSE4.1 target achieves an average of 160 FPS, while the AVX2/FMA target achieves an average of 190 FPS. This is a 18% improvement over the SSE4.1 target. AVX2 doesn’t include many new instructions over SSE4.1, but it does include a new 3 operand form for instructions, which eliminates many register to register mov instructions. Crucially, all CPUs that support AVX2 also support FMA instructions. FMA instructions aren’t just faster than a chain of multiply + add instructions, but can also produce different results due to not rounding to single precision between the multiply and the add. Accurately emulating this without FMA instructions adds some overhead, and so native FMA operations help out quite a bit.
The Icelake tier AVX-512 target hits a ludicrous 235 FPS average, 23% faster than the AVX2/FMA target. The sheer number of new instructions added in AVX-512 is so large that quite a number of them end up being useful for RPCS3. Unlike AVX2 which was mostly a straightforward extension of existing SSE instructions to 256 bits, AVX-512 includes a huge number of new features which are very useful for SIMD programming, even at lower bit widths. However, since intel chose to market AVX-512 with the -512 moniker, people who aren’t familiar with the instruction set usually fixate on the 512 bit vector aspect of the instruction set.
via Whatcookie Github Blog
While Intel has been removing AVX-512 support from its 12th Generation Alder Lake CPUs, we have seen the performance potential and it looks like AMD's recently announced Zen 4 'Ryzen 7000' CPU lineup can take big advantage of that. The Zen 4 core architecture will support AVX-512 and if there is a successor of Steam Deck or various other handheld consoles that utilize the next-gen CPUs, we can see several users take advantage of the instruction set to emulate older games with really good performance.
This will prove very beneficial for the RPCS3 'PlayStation 3' Emulator & may force the blue team to reconsider removing AVX-512 from its consumer chips.
Amazon announced that Prime Gaming members will be able to freeload over 30 games this Prime Day, including some highly regarded titles like Mass Effect Legendary Edition.
GRID Legends: Bring instant thrills and iconic racing moments in the world’s most incredible cars, with action and drama everywhere you look. Create and dominate dream race events, hop into live races, experience a dramatic virtual production story, and embrace the sensation of spectacular racing!
Mass Effect Legendary Edition: Relive the epic saga and prepare for an unforgettable adventure in the highly acclaimed trilogy. The Mass Effect Legendary Edition includes single-player base content and over 40 DLC from Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2,and Mass Effect 3 games, including promo weapons, armors, and packs, remastered and optimized for 4K Ultra HD.
Need for Speed Heat: Hustle by day and risk it all at night in Need for Speed Heat, an adrenaline-fueled street racer where the lines of the law fade as the sun starts to set. By day, Palm City hosts the Speedhunter Showdown, a sanctioned competition where you earn Bank to customize and upgrade your high-performance cars. At night, ramp up the intensity in illicit street races that build your reputation, getting you access to bigger races and better parts. But stay ready — cops are waiting and not all of them play fair.
Star Wars Jedi Knight — Jedi Academy: Forge your weapon and follow the path of the Jedi in the fourth and final installment of the highly acclaimed Jedi Knight series. Take on the role of a new student eager to learn the ways of the Force from Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. Interact with famous Star Wars characters in many classic Star Wars locations as you face the ultimate choice: Fight for good and freedom on the light side, or follow the path of power and evil to the dark side.
Star Wars Jedi Knight II — Jedi Outcast:A first- and third-person shooter game where the legacy of Star Wars Dark Forces and Star Wars Jedi Knight lives on in the intense action of Jedi Outcast. As Kyle Katarn, agent of the New Republic, use your lightsaber and the full power of the Force to combat a new evil plaguing the galaxy.
Star Wars Republic Commando: In this critically acclaimed tactical first-person shooter, chaos has erupted throughout the galaxy. As leader of an elite squad of Republic Commandos, your mission is to infiltrate, dominate, and ultimately, annihilate the enemy. Your squad will follow your orders and your lead, working together as a team — instinctively, intelligently, instantly. You are their leader. They are your weapon.
Meanwhile, starting this June 21st, Prime Gaming members will be able to scoop up the following 25 indie games. They'll remain available until Prime Day (July 13th).
Cassandra Peterson laid out the origin of Elvira right at the start of her 2021 autobiography "Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark." Without much romance or magic involved, Peterson merely auditioned to play a "sexy" horror hostess for KHJ Channel 9 in L.A. in the summer of 1981. She didn't necessarily want to audition — she was on her honeymoon when she got the call — and was embarrassed that her potential rivals all bothered to come in costume when she didn't, but audition she did, ad-libbing comedy bits, attempting to make the part funny. She got the job. Elvira was born.
Way back in 1988, right around the release of the first Elvira feature film, "Elvira: Mistress of the Dark," Peterson was interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter about the audition, and she recalls some of her potential rivals specifically, the costumes they wore, and how many potential actresses assumed they would be hired for their look alone. She also recalls some of her original ideas of how she wanted Elvira to look, which ended up being a far cry from the finished product.
The Fearless Vampire Killers, Or: Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are In M Neck
If one is an aspiring TV horror hostess in Los Angeles in 1981, what does one wear? If Peterson's overconfident rivals are to be trusted, something revealing:
"I went to a casting call, but no one had told me to dress in vampire drag. Two other girls with the biggest busts I'd ever seen were wearing tight, sexy leotards and plunging necklines. One of them sported fangs installed by a dentist. They both wore black wigs like Lily Munster. One of them looked at me and said, 'You might as well leave now. I've got the job.' The others went in for auditions and then it was my turn to take what they called a scream test."
The "black leotard" look for a vampire character was in vogue as long ago as the 1940s. The look was something of a cliché. After Peterson secured the role, she was given a template of what KHJ wanted her to look like, which was in contrast to what Peterson envisioned. Like another Hollywood starlet who appeared in a vampire movie, Sharon Tate, Peterson had red hair, and wanted to model her look on Tate's look in a notable 1967 horror-comedy.
"I had a friend draw me a picture of Sharon Tate as she looked in 'The Fearless Vampire Killers' with long red hair and pink diaphanous gown. It was sexy, but KHJ insisted on black hair and gown, black fingernails and big cleavage. I objected, but they knew what they wanted."
Elvira's Love Of Pink
Despite the black gown and nails, Peterson has always been careful to keep Elvira light, bubbly, even ditzy. She is a lover of pink, of lace, of traditionally "girly" things. In "Mistress of the Dark," Elvira moves into a dilapidated haunted mansion, and — rather than feeling at home a la The Addams Family — she gives the house a makeover, turning it into something more akin to Barbie's Dream House. Elvira may be Mistress of the Dark, but she is no nihilistic thanatophile.
The notion of inventing a "funny character" was a philosophy taught at The Groundlings, a comedy troupe that Peterson was once a member of. The Groundlings had a simple idea: Invent a unique character, and comedy will arise from any situation you put them in. Many members of "Saturday Night Light" abide by this ethos. Elvira was a "funny valley girl witch" character that Peterson's comedic talent lifted into something above and beyond a mere role. Elvira became an institution, easily inserted into any humor/horror situation, with Peterson comedy chops making her transcend.
At age 70, Peterson is still transcending to this day. She will next appear as the realtor behind 1313 Mockingbird Lane in Rob Zombie's upcoming film "The Munsters."
Tesla has significantly boosted prices across its EV lineup, according to changes in its online configurator spotted by Electrek. Most of the models affected are long-range versions, with the Model X AWD Long Range jumping the most, up $6,000 from $114,990 to $120,990. It's the latest in a series of price hikes for Tesla EVs this year.
The AWD Long Range Model S price also increased significantly by $5,000 from $99,990 to $104,990. The Model Y Long Range and Performance prices went up by $3,000 and $2,000 to $65,990 and $67,990 respectively. Just one Model 3 version was effected, the Long Range, jumping $3,500 from $54,490 to $57,990.
The Elon Musk-owned company didn't explain the changes, but high inflation, electronics shortages and other issues could be to blame. Last week, CEO Elon Musk reportedly said he might reduce Tesla's workforce due to to high inflation. Other EV manufacturers like Rivian and Lucid have also boosted prices recently. (GM, however, significantly lowered the price of its Bolt EV last week to $26,595.)
The challenges organizations face in developing cyber skills have never been more acute. Too often, security teams find themselves locked into reactive modes, continuously responding to immediate threats without being afforded the time to learn from them, so there’s no opportunity to cross-train and upskill is missed.
Ransomware can attack data in the cloud and launch attacks on cloud infrastructure
Researchers have discovered a functionality within Office 365 that could allow attackers to ransom files stored on SharePoint and OneDrive. On disclosure to Microsoft, the researchers were told the system ‘is working as intended’. That is, it’s a feature, not a flaw.
During the earlier years of the internet, Internet Protocol (IP) was the only protocol people used to connect to the internet. The problem with IP was that you could send a message and be unsure if the recipient would receive it or not. For this reason, TCP/IP was established.
A "dangerous piece of functionality" has been discovered in Microsoft 365 suite that could be potentially abused by a malicious actor to mount attacks on cloud infrastructure and ransom files stored on SharePoint and OneDrive.
The cloud ransomware attack makes it possible to launch file-encrypting malware to "encrypt files stored on SharePoint and OneDrive in a way that makes them unrecoverable
For years, the two most popular methods for internal scanning: agent-based and network-based were considered to be about equal in value, each bringing its own strengths to bear. However, with remote working now the norm in most if not all workplaces, it feels a lot more like agent-based scanning is a must, while network-based scanning is an optional extra.
This article will go in-depth on the
Supply chain issues are expected to continue in 2022, making it more difficult for console manufacturers to meet demand, according to Xbox CFO Tim Stuart.
Speaking during an investor call hosted by Baird, as reported by GamesIndustry, Tim Stuart said he expected that the supply chain environment could remain rocky through this year and the upcoming holiday season. As a result of the issues, manufacturers have been dealing with limited parts and high prices for logistics which impact margins. The issues, Stuart added, are caused mainly by recent lockdowns in China
Supply chain issues started back in 2020 due to the pandemic, and have impacted the launch of the new generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft. While it seems to be easier to find Xbox Series S consoles, the situation hasn't really improved for both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, although Sony and Microsoft are working to improve availability. Earlier this month, PlayStation vice president of global sales and business operations Veronica Rogers said that the company is planning to increase production this year, but how it will achieve this with the current supply chain issues remains to be seen.
To those fans who have yet to get their hands on a console, please know that we are planning on a significant ramp-up in PS5 production this year and we are working endlessly to make sure that PlayStation 5 is available for everyone who wants one.
If you have managed to get a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S console, you should really count yourself lucky, as the immediate future isn't looking particularly bright. We will let you know more about current generation console availability as soon as possible, so stay tuned for all the latest news.
"Game of Thrones" season 8 did a lot of things that seemed out of character. Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) undid years of a redemption arc when he left Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) for his sister Cersei (Lena Headey). Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) went from the smartest and wittiest man in the kingdom to someone who stood helplessly by as things happened around him. Daenerys Targaryen, who had been fighting to free people through the entire series just decided to burn down King's Landing, a thing she supposedly wanted to rule over. We were all a little stunned by the weird twists and turns that didn't seem to make much sense in season 8, including actor Maisie Williams who played the best character (I will die on this hill), Arya Stark.
Arya was always a fighter, sneaking in sword lessons as a little girl who was about to turn 11 in season 1. She was brave enough to take off on her own and become an instrument of revenge. She survived against all odds. In short, Arya rocks. While dressing as a boy to keep herself as safe as possible, she meets a friend named Gendry (Joe Dempsie). Later, in season 8, they hook up. I'm all for sex, but this one felt very weird to me, but for different reasons than it did for Maisie Williams.
Well, That Was Surprising
In an interview with Teen Vogue (via Indiewire), Williams said of the scene:
"The first time that I was surprised by Arya I guess was probably in the final series where she whips off her clothes and sleeps with Gendry. I thought that Arya was queer, you know? So...yeah. That was a surprise."
Though I admit that the possibility never crossed my mind, it makes total sense. I likely never thought about Arya's sexuality because I guess I felt like she was so focused on revenge that it wasn't really a thing that mattered to her. When you're repeating the names of the people you're going to kill like a mantra, that's likely to be the main thing on your mind. At least that's what I had in my head.
Still, knowing you're likely about to die is something that might drive revenge out of your head for a bit. If you recall, Gendry makes Arya a spear with a dragonglass edge, and admits that he's Robert Baratheon's son. She wasn't really listening and asks about his past with women. He's slept with three, he tells her. Then she says that she wants to know what it's like before they die, and boom.
Well, Arya does end the series by sailing off into the sunset on her ship, heading for adventures. It was one of the best character endings in that series. Those adventures may include the fleshy kind, and Arya has the whole world to choose from in terms of partners. Arya boat trip series, anyone?
Bluetooth devices are more common than ever. It seems the wireless technology is baked into almost every product we buy: It connects our iPhones to our Apple Watches and Fitbits, our wireless headphones to audio sources, and our game controllers to our consoles. Of course, the more tech goes wireless, the easier it is…
CNN Travel recently published an article about a new "conceptual" double decker airline seat arrangement that's had the industry buzzing. The "Chaise Longue (sic) Airplane Seat" is currently on display at the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg, and won a 2021 Crystal Cabin Award — "the top prize in the aviation industry," according to CNN. — Read the rest
At a point in my late teens, I would randomly quit jobs for preposterously trivial reasons. If the wind blew too hard while I was leaving the house, it was a sign that I should stay home—indefinitely. If I accidentally gave a cute coworker awkward vibes, it was also time for me to give my notice. — Read the rest
Security researchers at Lookout have analyzed a sophisticated Android spyware family that appears to have been created to serve nation-state customers.
Valve Software, the creator of the popular Steam PC gaming platform and hit titles like Half-Life and Portal, has announced the release of Proton 7.0-3, improving Linux compatibility with Windows games. The release will enhance the Steam Deck's compatibility with existing games.
Chris Hemsworth made his debut as the God of Thunder in the Marvel Cinematic Universe more than a decade ago in 2011's "Thor." The actor has had quite the career since, but during that span of time, he has spent the vast majority of his time as the godly superhero in a trio of solo films along with four "Avengers" appearances. He's been busy. Yet, while several of his MCU co-stars such as Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), and Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) have moved on, Hemsworth is gearing up for another go-around in this year's "Thor: Love and Thunder."
So, how is it that after all these years, an A-list actor who could surely find work in any number of films was convinced to return to the Marvel fold yet again? It turns out that Hemsworth had one very important condition when it came to picking up the hammer once more.
It All Came Down To Taika Waititi
Hemsworth recently sat down with Vanity Fair to break down his career up to this point. As anyone might expect, there was a decent amount of talk about Thor and his time in the MCU. When the subject of "Love and Thunder" came up, Hemsworth explained that he may not have signed on the dotted line were it not for director Taika Waititi, who opted to return to the director's chair after helming 2017's very successful "Thor: Ragnarok."
"I don't know that I would've done another if Taika hadn't said yes, he was going to do it. And he had written this beautiful script which was a wacky, crazy, romantic comedy set in space and that I hadn't seen before."
Hemsworth's solo turns in the MCU were a bit of a mixed bag up until "Ragnarok" become one of the most cherished movies in the entire franchise. The first "Thor" was a fine enough origin story but "Thor: The Dark World" is still viewed as one of the worst movies Marvel Studios has produced to date. Waititi and his unique vision is a big part of the reason the tide turned and, that being the case, it's no wonder Hemsworth felt a lot more comfortable returning with him back on board.
Parallel Journeys
Unlike Captain America, who finally found his way to old age in "Avengers: Endgame," or Iron Man and Black Widow who (spoilers) died, Thor doesn't really have a logical jumping-off point in the MCU. He's hundreds of years old, is a literal god, and isn't as likely to perish in combat. That being the case, it's admirable that Hemsworth remains so committed to the character while also looking to maintain a certain quality with the films heading into these later sequels. The actor also explained in the same interview that his personal journey over the last decade in real life has been tied inherently to that of Thor's.
"I just love playing [Thor.] I love the journey I have been on with him. Not only as Thor, but just my life. The two have been side by side for 10, 11 years now and have both crossed over into each other's world from time to time."
As for what the future holds? Who knows but, thanks to Waititi, we're at least getting one more solo "Thor" film with Hemsworth.
"Thor: Love and Thunder" is set to hit theaters on July 8, 2022.
Thor: Love and Thunder finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth) on a journey unlike anything he's ever faced — a search for self-discovery. But his retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi), and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who — to Thor's surprise — inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. Where will this quest take them? On a trek to Olympus where Zeus (Russell Crowe) reigns supreme, for starters.
The very second Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" started breaking box office records for Universal Studios during the summer of 1975, hit-hungry rival studios and opportunistic producers scrambled into action. With that much money pouring in, they knew Universal would be prepping a sequel; they also knew an official follow-up was a good two or three years away. In the meantime, audiences would be ravenous for more tales of unusually giant beasts stalking helpless human beings, and they were in a prime position to feed that appetite. Thus, the era of the "Jaws" knock-off was upon us.
For schlockmeisters like Roger Corman and Samuel Z. Arkoff, quality and originality took a backseat to fast, cheap sensation. Hook audiences with the poster, and addle their critical faculties with an onslaught of gore and nudity. Generally, filmmakers were encouraged to follow the tried-and-true formula, but, really, all that mattered was butts in seats. And if ticket-buyers felt ripped off, so what? This was a smash-and-grab operation, and theatrical admission prices were reasonable enough that no one was going to run to the Better Business Bureau complaining about truth in advertising. It was a victimless crime. Heck, it wasn't even a crime. It was down-and-dirty entertainment.
The golden age of the "Jaws" knockoff stretched into the early 1980s, by which point lousy "Jaws" sequels had done as much, if not more, to kill the franchise as its imitators. In fact, some of the replicas were legitimately better movies than the sequels. Here are the 10 "best" films to shamelessly surf in the great white's wake.
10. Blood Beach
Produced by Hong Kong filmmaking legend Run Run Shaw, Jeffrey Bloom's "Blood Beach" enticed moviegoers with the tagline "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water -- you can't get to it!" People are disappearing on Venice Beach, and the local authorities are flummoxed as to what or who is responsible.
It's an engagingly silly premise, but Bloom's execution is sluggish when it isn't completely inept. This is a slackly told, visually murky botch job that wastes a splendid B-movie cast that includes John Saxon, Marianna Hill, and Burt Young (playing a cigar-chomping crank of a detective who's so slovenly, you can practically smell him through the screen). There's precious little gore, and the worm-like monster, when sheepishly revealed near the end of the movie, looks like it was slapped together the night before shooting. There was potential here for something fun, and, nine years later, we got it in the film that sits atop this list.
9. Tentacles
Having made the definitive "Exorcist" knock-off in 1974's "Beyond the Door," director Ovidio G. Assonitis seemed like just the man to whip up a zesty "Jaws" riff with this mutant killer octopus flick.
The film gets off to a promisingly nasty start when the octopus kills a baby (Spielberg would never!), but immediately grinds to a halt as it gets into the guts of the plot (which pins the beast's mutation on careless, environmentally ruinous construction by a local company). The picturesque locale of Oceanside, California was evidently sufficient to lure Henry Fonda, John Huston, and Shelly Winters out of L.A. for a beachfront getaway. Huston's the liveliest of the bunch, while Fonda just looks defeated (perhaps realizing he was going straight from this to the set of Irwin Allen's killer-bee epic, "The Swarm"). Marine biologist Bo Hopkins saves the day when he unleashes his killer whales on the rampaging cephalopod.
8. Grizzly
The crown jewel of Edward L. Montoro's knock-off empire, Film Ventures International, William Girdler's "Grizzly" was the first "Jaws" riff to hit U.S. theaters (on May 16, 1976), and was rewarded for its haste by becoming the one of the then highest-grossing independent productions in film history.
The plot is a blatant carbon copy of "Jaws," with Christopher George, Andrew Prine and Richard Jaeckel forced to hunt down a 15-foot-tall, prehistoric bear that's feeding on a national forest's campers. Girdler (best known for exploitation favorites "Abby" and "The Manitou") is no clod, so while the film may look a little rushed, it's never less than watchable. This was Montoro's second knock-off smash after "Beyond the Door." He would try his luck one last time with the next film on this list.
7. The Last Shark (Aka Great White)
Tell me if you've heard this one before: a series of shark attacks threatens to derail a vacation-town mayor's summer season, placing him at odds with two conscience-stricken men (Vic Morrow and James Franciscus) who have no choice but to hunt and kill the beast before it gobbles up more beachgoers.
Enzo G. Castellari's "The Last Shark" could've profitably flown under the radar if FVI's Ed Montoro hadn't opted for a wide U.S. release during the spring of 1982. When the film started raking in serious coin under its new title, "Great White," Universal Pictures, worried that Castellari's movie might diminish interest in the forthcoming "Jaws 3-D," successfully filed an injunction against the production, thus making the film legally unreleasable in the United States until 2013 (a move that forced FVI into bankruptcy, and Montoro into permanent, never-seen-again exile). For years, "Great White" was the holy grail of "Jaws" knock-off fans. While it's hardly a lost classic, it's good, junky fun, peaking with a scene where the corrupt mayor tries to "drown" the shark by baiting it with a steak dangling from a helicopter.
6. Orca
Brazen Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis threw his hat in the "Jaws" ring with this high-minded adventure about a pitiless whaler (Richard Harris) who finds himself being hunted by a vengeful killer whale after he harpoons the mammal's mate, killing both the mother and her calf. We soon learn the whaler has much in common with his newfound enemy, which plunges the film into a risible final act where the whale beckons Harris into an icy trap with its flipper.
De Laurentiis assembled a first-rate team in director Michael Anderson (Oscar-nominee for "Around the World in 80 Days") and the spaghetti Western screenwriting duo of Sergio Donati and Luciano Vincenzoni ("Once Upon a Time in the West" and "The Mercenary"), but the only collaborator who carries their weight is composer Ennio Morricone. The prolific maestro delivers a wrenchingly mournful theme that deserves a much better movie (it's shocking that Quentin Tarantino has yet to appropriate it).
5. Tintorera
Speaking of Tarantino, the exploitation auteur is evidently a fan of this bonkers shark attack flick. Hugo Stiglitz stars as a Mexican businessman who manages to get tangled up in two love triangles with a hunky swimming instructor (Andrés García) for a luxury hotel. The first love they share in common is eaten by a tiger shark, which director René Cardona Jr. helpfully identifies for the audience via its raspy, labored, uh, breathing.
Most of the film isn't even about the shark, but rather Stiglitz and García entering an open, three-way relationship with a lovely British tourist played by Susan George. For this reason alone, "Tintorera" is essential viewing. If you're worried there might not be enough shark action, rest assured that the climactic confrontation is immensely satisfying.
4. Mako: The Jaws Of Death
1976 was a big year for Richard Jaeckel and "Jaws" rip-offs. The "Grizzly" star leads this bizarre revenge flick as an outcast who uses his telepathic connection with sharks to dispatch those who seek to do harm to the misunderstood creatures.
It's a little bit "Willard," and a good bit of nutty fun from Florida exploitation filmmaker William Grefé. It's also a far more ecologically progressive movie than "Jaws," one that laments the demonization of the fish (several species of which would soon be hunted into near endangerment thanks in no small part to the popularity of Spielberg's film). Jaeckel is tremendously sympathetic, and the supporting cast is believably skeezy as a collection of Key West kooks. This is a criminally underrated gem.
3. Piranha
Working from a cheeky screenplay by future independent filmmaking giant John Sayles, Joe Dante launched his directorial career with this ultra-low-budget horror flick in which a genetically engineered school of piranha are released into a rural river. When the razor-toothed fish hightail it for a nearby water park, it's up to Bradford Dillman to stop them.
Briskly paced and much smarter than your average "Jaws" knock-off, Dante's film was a surprise hit for Roger Corman's New World Pictures. Though Dante and Sayles were the movie's major breakouts, "Piranha" also earned 18-year-old makeup FX wiz Rob Bottin his very first screen credit. This isn't a polished movie by any means, but the visual invention on display is consistently invigorating. "Sharks come alone, Piranhas come in thousands."
2. Alligator
John Sayles dialed up the irreverence with the screenplay for his second "Jaws" knock-off, turning the urban legend of sewer alligators into a sly parody of cash-ins and a legitimately scary, no-nonsense horror movie in its own right. Knowing that a regular ol' alligator could never grow to the terror-inducing length of a great white, Sayles' script has our discarded reptile feast on chemically contaminated animal carcasses. This does the trick. The 36-foot long monster eventually goes topside in Chicago, and feasts on everything from a poor little kid getting bullied by his brothers to Dean Jagger. Robert Forster stars as a disgraced detective who gets to resurrect his reputation in the unlikeliest of ways. Tarantino was inspired by his performance in "Alligator" to cast him as Max Cherry in "Jackie Brown."
1. Tremors
Calling 1990's "Tremors" a "Jaws" knock-off could be construed as cheating, but look at that poster! Ron Underwood's horror humdinger is using its studio's biggest, baddest monster to draw audiences into a movie about subterranean beasts that hunt humans based on surface vibration.
Considering that "Tremors" died at the box office during its initial release, perhaps it was a bad idea to play the "Jaws" card three years after "The Revenge" nailed the franchise's coffin shut. Fortunately, thanks to heavy cable rotation, the brainchild of screenwriters Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson is now hailed as a relentlessly entertaining masterpiece that mixes laughs and shrieks with gleeful aplomb. Unfortunately, the only lesson Universal learned from the theatrical failure of "Tremors" was that films of its ilk should go straight to video/streaming.
During its WWDC 2022 keynote on June 6th, Apple introduced a new version of the MacBook Air, powered by the brand-new Apple M2 chip. In addition to the new processor promising even more performance, the new MacBook Air has a brand-new design, it’s available in new colors, and it has a few other improvements. If you’re interested in learning exactly what’s new in the M2-powered MacBook Air, we’re going to compare it to the M1 model so you can see how much has changed.
It’s worth noting here that the M1 MacBook Air is still going to be available to buy alongside the M2 model, but there are some changes to the configurations you can get. The M1 model is only available in its cheapest configuration with a 7-core GPU. The M2 model is replacing the M1 variants that had an 8-core GPU, which is why it also has a higher starting price. Let’s get into it.
13.6-inch IPS, 2560 x 1664, 500 nits, True Tone, P3 Wide Color
13.3-inch IPS 16:10 (2560 x 1600), 400 nits, True Tone, P3 Wide Color
Storage
256GB SSD
512GB SSD
1TB SSD
2TB SSD
256GB SSD
512GB SSD
1TB SSD
2TB SSD
RAM
8GB unified memory
16GB unified memory
24GB unified memory
8GB unified memory
16GB unified memory
Battery
52.6Whr battery
Up to 67W USB-C power adapter
49.9Whr battery
30W USB-C charger
Ports
2 x USB4 / Thunderbolt (USB-C)
3.5mm headphone jack
MagSafe 3
2 x USB 4 / Thunderbolt (USB-C)
3.5mm headphone jack
Audio
Quad-speaker audio system with Dolby Atmos
3-microphone array
Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support
3-microphone array
Camera
1080p FaceTime HD camera
720p FaceTime HD camera
Biometric authentication
Touch ID in power button
Touch ID in power button
Connectivity
Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth 5
Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth 5
Color
Silver
Space Gray
Starlight
Midnight
Silver
Space Gray
Gold
Size (WxDxH)
11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 in (304.1 x 215 x 11.3 mm)
11.97 × 8.36 × 0.63 in (304.1 × 212.4 × 16.1 mm)
Dimensions
Starts at 2.7 lbs (1.24 kg)
Starts at 2.8 lbs (1.29 kg)
Price
Starting at $1,199
Starting at $999
Performance: The Apple M2 is a big upgrade for the MacBook Air
One of the biggest changes in the new MacBook Air is its heart – the new Apple M2 chipset. This is the beginning of the next generation of Apple Silicon, and compared to the M1 chip inside the previous MacBook Air, it’s quite an upgrade. We don’t have real-life benchmarks yet, but Apple did provide plenty of comparisons between the M2 and M1, so let’s take a look at what you can expect.
For starters, the M2 has 20 billion transistors, a 25% increase over the Apple M1. On the CPU side, this results in an 18% increase in performance over the Apple M1, even though it has the same number of cores. As for the GPU, it now goes up to 10 cores instead of 8, which helps deliver even better performance. Apple promises up to 35% more performance at peak power for the M2, but to be fair, the Apple M2 can use more power than the M1. However, even at the same power level, Apple promises up to 25% more performance in the M2.
To be fair, the base configuration of the Apple M2 only has 8 GPU cores, too, but you should still be able to expect a performance uplift over the previous model. And if you’re trying to buy a laptop now, Apple is only selling the original M1 model with a 7-core GPU, which gives the M2 more of an advantage.
The Apple M2 also features improvements in regards to the unified memory (RAM) built into the chip. Apple has increased the memory bandwidth up to 100GB/s (50% higher than with the Apple M1) and you can configure the new chip with up to 24GB of unified memory – up from 16GB in the previous model. All of this means the M2-powered MacBook Air should be able to handle more demanding and complex workloads with more assets loaded onto the unified memory.
The M2 MacBook Air can be almost 40% faster than the M1 when editing video timelines in Final Cut Pro.
In real-life performance comparisons, Apple says the new MacBook Air can be nearly 40% faster when editing complex video timelines in Final Cut Pro, or up to 20% faster when applying filters in apps like Photoshop. Those are sizeable upgrades, especially if you work with large assets. On top of all this, Apple also claims the Neural Engine inside the Apple M2 is up to 40% faster than the M1, making it even better for AI-related workloads. All of those upgrades will be more noticeable if you’re using apps optimized for Apple Silicon.
One thing that hasn’t changed with the new model is storage, which still ranges between 256GB and 2TB.
Display and sound: The new model is taller and brighter
The new MacBook Air also comes with some notable changes to the display, though they may not be as big as they appear at first. The M2-powered MacBook Air comes with a 13.6-inch display, compared to the 13.3-inch display of the M1 model. Part of that increase has to do with the fact that the screen is taller now, and it stretches closer to the edges of the chassis. That’s also why the resolution is now 2560 x 1664, instead of 2560 x 1600. There are 64 additional lines of pixels to fill in the extra vertical space, but the resolution is pretty much the same.
One upgrade that’s definitely worth noting is the brightness of the screen. Apple has upgraded the display to reach up to 500 nits of brightness, a 25% increase over the panel on the M1 MacBook Air. This should make the display more visible outdoors, and it now matches the 13-inch MacBook Pro. It’s certainly a welcome upgrade if you want to get work done on the go. Of course, features like P3 wide color and True Tone support are also still here.
There’s one potential downside with this new display, though. In order to stretch the display up and keep the webcam above the display, Apple has gone with a notched display for the new MacBook Air. To be fair, the notch will rarely cut into the content on your screen, but if you’re bothered by the notch on the latest iPhone models, you probably won’t like it here either.
On the other hand, the webcam itself has also received a very welcome upgrade. Instead of 720p resolution, the MacBook Air now has a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, while also benefitting from the advanced image signal processor inside the Apple M2. This should mean you’re going to look great during video calls and meetings on the MacBook Air, and it could make this one of the best laptops with a 1080p webcam.
The M2 MacBook Air upgrades to a quad-speaker stereo setup, instead of the dual speakers of past models.
There’s even more good news on the audio front, too. Instead of a dual-speaker setup, Apple has upgraded the M2 MacBook Air to a quad-speaker setup, resulting in more powerful and immersive sound. Apple’s highér-end MacBook Pro models have typically had some of the best speakers on any laptop, and if some of that is now inside the MacBook Air, this could be one of the best speaker setups on a laptop of this size.
Design: It’s lighter and (kind of) thinner now
For the first time since 2018, the MacBook Air has also received a big redesign with the new M2 model. Apple has done away with the “wedge” design we’ve gotten used to, which means the laptop is now a flat unibody chassis, with the same thickness throughout the entire body. Specifically, it measures 11.3mm in thickness, and if you compare that to the thickest point of the M1 model, which measures 16.1mm, it’s much thinner. Of course, the old wedge design makes this a tough comparison, because the old model was thinner at its thinnest point. At the end of the day, though, the new model is very thin, especially considering it’s made from aluminum.
M1 MacBook Air in Silver (top) and M2 MacBook Air in Midnight (bottom)
Not only that, but the new MacBook Air is also slightly lighter now. The difference is very small, but the M2 model starts at 2.7lbs or 1.24 kilograms, which is a slight reduction from the 2.8lbs/1.29kg of the previous model. Considering it packs many hardware upgrades, that’s pretty impressive.
Something else that’s changed in terms of design is the color options available. The M1 model of the MacBook Air came in Silver, Space Grey, or Gold colorways, but the M2 model only keeps the first two. Instead, there are two brand-new options replacing the previous gold. First, there’s Starlight, a much softer and more elegant shade of gold (taking inspiration from the latest iPad Air). Then, there’s Midnight, a nearly-black option for those who thought Space Grey wasn’t dark enough.
Color options for the M2 MacBook Air
Ports: MagSafe is back
Finally, let’s touch on ports. The biggest news here is potentially the return of MagSafe, with the M2 MacBook Air adopting the new MagSafe 3 connector for charging, complete with support for 67W fast charging with the appropriate power adapter. If you’re not familiar with it, MagSafe is a magnetic connector, which makes it easier to plug in a charger, but also makes it easier to disconnect. What that means is that if you trip on the charging cable, you won’t drag your laptop to the floor and damage it, it’ll just disconnect the charging cable and leave the laptop intact.
Unfortunately, that’s the only change this year. The MacBook Air still has two USB4/Thunderbolt ports and a headphone jack, and that’s it. And the reason we say “unfortunately” is that Apple hasn’t addressed the biggest limitation with the MacBook Air, which is the number of displays you can connect at the same time. Just like the M1, the Apple M2 only supports one external display via Thunderbolt, which makes it tricky to connect more external displays. That makes Thunderbolt support a lot less meaningful.
Final thoughts: Is the M2 MacBook Air worth the price tag?
After all of this, it’s evident that the M2 MacBook Air is better than the M1 model in just about every way, but is it worth the higher asking price? The M1 MacBook Air starts at $999 with an 8-core CPU and 7-core GPU, while the M2 model starts at $1,199 with its 8-core CPU and an 8-core GPU. Both models start with the same RAM and storage, but you can upgrade from there.
Whether the upgrades are worth $200 is up to you, but you’re getting a lot of improvements with the M2 model: a brighter display, a better webcam, a more powerful audio system, a thinner and lighter design, a MagSafe port, and, of course, more performance. If you want to get the most performance possible, you’ll need to spend even more, since the 10-core GPU and 24GB of unified memory cost extra, but even without that, the M2 model is certainly going to perform better, and it has other benefits to boot.
But the M1-powered MacBook Air is still a powerful machine, and there’s a reason Apple is keeping it around. You can still get a lot done with this older design, and compared to many Windows laptops, it still offers a great balance of performance and efficiency. Depending on how much you’re willing to spend, both of these are potentially among the best laptops you can buy right now.
If you can comfortably spend the extra money on the MacBook Air with the M2 chip, we’d say it’s worth the upgrade, but if you’re trying to buy something for a slightly lower price, then you’ll still have a great experience with the M1 model. Regardless of your choice, you can buy either of the models using the links below. Otherwise, you can always check out the best Macs you can buy right now if you’re looking for something even more powerful.
Microsoft has dismissed reports about June 14 being the last Patch Tuesday, as the upcoming rollout of the Windows Autopatch service seems to be causing some confusion.
Are you ready for a dose of serious cringe? We're talking, maybe don't eat first, give your therapist a preemptive phone call, prepare the brain bleach. That kind of cringe. Magnolia Pictures has released a teaser trailer for their upcoming film "I Love My Dad." The film premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas in March 2022 (where it won the Jury and Audience Awards at the SXSW Narrative Feature Competition., and our own Ethan Anderton gave it a rave review at the time. Since none of those sentences seem to connect, let me explain the premise of the film for you. Prepare yourself, because this is wild, and it's based on a true story.
In "I Love My Dad," Patton Oswalt plays a man named Chuck, a sort of dead beat dad who hasn't really connected with his son since he and his son's mom were divorced. He's mostly been keeping in touch with him through disappointing voicemails, text messages and following him on social media. As we see in the trailer, he's leaving his son a voicemail about how he isn't seeing a Facebook profile anymore, presumably because he's been blocked. So Chuck comes up with a very, very upsetting way to fix that. Maybe watch the trailer before I go any further here.
I Have To Go Shower Forever Now ... See Ya!
Yes, Chuck is keeping in touch with his son Franklin (James Morosini, who also wrote and directed the film) by catfishing him. He creates a profile based on an actual waitress named Becca (Claudia Sulewski), and they start flirting and chatting, with the audience seeing their online interactions as imaginary real-life dates between Becca and Franklin. Neither Chuck's significant other Erica (played by Rachel Dratch) nor his co-worker Jimmy (played by Lil Rel Howery) think this is a good idea, because they're right-thinking people. I mean, there is an entire show about how bad catfishing is, my friends. It's been on for a really long time, but I'm not sure they ever had a case like this one.
Despite the creepy premise, many critics have been praising this film, and our own Ethan Anderton was one of them. In his review he wrote that the movie has "some surprising twists and turns that make this one of the most cringeworthy movies ever." However, if cringeworthy comedy doesn't turn you off, "You'll be treated to an absolutely perfect performance from Patton Oswalt, who brings surprising sweetness to this father manufacturing a heinously despicable lie."
You put Patton Oswalt in anything and that's probably going to happen, of course. The other crazy thing (because there can't be just one crazy thing with this premise) is that this is based on Morosini's real experience with his actual dad.
I feel like this is going to be one of those heartwarming films that you appreciate after you've twisted yourself up into a pretzel shape, trying to avoid the squick in your own mind.
"I Love My Dad" also stars Ricky Velez as Derek, and Amy Landecker as Diane. The film will hit theaters on August 5, 2022 and will be available on demand on August 12, 2022.
Microsoft has been sounding the death knell for Internet Explorer for months, but many businesses in Japan seemingly did not take heed. Almost half were said to still be using the browser, for which Microsoft ended support yesterday, as of March. According to Nikkei, many of those companies have dragged their heels on switching to other browsers, which some have warned may cause chaos for months.
IT provider Keyman's Net conducted a survey of Japanese companies earlier this year and found that many were forced to use Internet Explorer because of systems their clients used to handle orders. Some were also using the browser to handle things like employee attendance and expenses. Over a fifth of the respondents didn't have a plan for how to move their businesses onto alternative browsers, such as Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.
The issue extends beyond companies to government agencies, which the report notes have been especially slow to address the shift. For instance, notices related to Japan Pension Service online applications must be viewed in the IE Mode on Edge, according to the report. That mode will be supported through at least 2029, so websites that are incompatible with modern browsers should still be accessible for several more years. Here's hoping Microsoft officially ending support for IE after almost 27 years will prompt organizations to get their act together and make their services work on Edge, Chrome, Firefox and other browsers too.
Courtesy Screen MediaIn advance of its release tomorrow, we have an exclusive clip from Screen Media‘s latest THE GOOD NEIGHBOR. Make sure you check it out below.
In THE GOOD NEIGHBOR, a nightmarish evening in Latvia unfolds when neighbors David (Luke Kleintank) who has just been reassigned for work as a journalist work and Robert (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene of the crime. When the women’s sister arrives searching for the truth, Robert does unspeakable things to protect their secret.
The film is a remake of the German thriller, Unter Nachbarn, which marked Rick’s feature film debut. Coming full circle, Rick now revisits his Hitchcockian thriller ten years after the making to terrify American audiences with the same question: “How well do you know your neighbor?
THE GOOD NEIGHBOR is a psychological thriller that stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers (“Vikings”, “The Tudors”, Bend It Like Beckham), Luke Kleintank (“The Man In The High Castle,” Crown Vic), Eloise Smyth (“Harlots,” “The Frankenstein Chronicles”) and Bruce Davison (Willard, X-Men) and written and directed by Stephan Rick’s (The Dark Side of the Moon).
Screen Media will release THE GOOD NEIGHBOR in theaters and on-demand on June 17, 2022. To learn more about the film, check out our review.
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