Yearly Archives: 2021

Android, Gaming, News

Lenovo’s Secret Switch Competitor Breaks Covers

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Console gaming was given new life with the launch of the Nintendo Switch. Since then, it seems like the new normal for consoles is to walk the tightrope between being portable and being a full-fledged console. Only recently, we saw Valve announce a competitor to Nintendo’s most popular console with the Steam Deck. It seems like the Switch may have another competitor coming its way with the Lenovo “Legion Play”.

I know, I know – we don’t usually cover leaks here at techENT but this was too good to ignore.

We’re all familiar with Lenovo’s Legion brand. It’s the company’s lineup made for gamers. They have been releasing some of the best performing and looking laptops since their inception and, of course, the Legion Phone Duel lineup. It seems like they are looking to include hand-held consoles to their repertoire as well.

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Source: GBATemp.net

The Lenovo Legion Play was accidentally uncovered by users over at GBAtemp.net on Lenovo’s MWC 2021 website. That said, the Legion Play was never officially announced at MWC 2021 or Lenovo’s Tech World. Instead, the images that were discovered were pretty well hidden and their links lead to a blank page.

The Lenovo Legion Play seems to be an Android-powered handheld console. However, the write up indicates that this console may not support any physical media. Instead, it’s referred to as a “cloud-gaming console”. This could mean that Lenovo isn’t developing this alone. In fact, one of the renders features NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW front and centre. However, this clearly indicates that Lenovo is looking to take on the Steam Deck with cloud gaming.

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While we don’t really know the full specs of the device, from what was stumbled upon, it looks like quite the machine. It comes with a 7-inch FHD display with a 16:9 aspect ratio. The display has HDR10 support and the Legion Play itself seems to have built-in controllers, dual speakers and dual vibration motors. It’s also powered by a 7,000mAh battery.

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Source: Liliputing

From the renders, we can make out a D-pad, two analogue sticks, the A, B, X, Y buttons, and shoulder buttons. There may possibly be a few more buttons on the face of the console. The overall design looks really sleek – reminiscent of a PS Vita. Renders also show a custom interface atop Android. The interface seems to take a few cues from the Nintendo Switch. With games being front and centre while other apps take the backseat under them.

While we don’t really know much else, the Legion Play could have been a really interesting device to have in the market. It could also be priced more affordably than their Legion Phone Duel. However, we can’t be sure if the machine will ever see the light of day. Lenovo could choose to forgo launching the Legion Play indefinitely or we could see it launched in the next few months.

Gaming, News

Kingdom Hearts’ Sora Wraps Up Smash Bros. Roster & Kicks Off Celebrations for Kingdom Hearts’ 20th Anniversary

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The end of an era approaches as Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is ending its run on the Nintendo. No – the game isn’t shutting down but there won’t be any new content after the 11th and final character pack. The studio behind one of the most popular Nintendo Switch games isn’t letting the game go out quietly though – they’re bringing one of the most beloved characters to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – Kingdom Heart’s Sora.

Screenshot 2021 10 06 at 13 11 12 Super Smash Bros ™ Ultimate – Battling with Sora – Nintendo Switch
Source: Nintendo YouTube

The character is one of the many non-Nintendo characters that have joined the game in the three years since its launch. Prior to this characters such as Terry Bogard of Fatal Fury, Sonic, Ryu of Street Fighter and Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid have all been introduced to the game. However, the characters introduced so far don’t share the popularity of Kingdom Hearts’ Sora. The character is the lead in the series which has spanned multiple console generations and also traversed across consoles. Kingdom Hearts is one of the only franchises to have entries in nearly every console since its introduction on the PlayStation 2.

Kingdom Hearts holds a unique place in many players hearts as it was the first time two popular franchises – Disney and Final Fantasy collided. Sora’s many adventures with the Heartless saw him team up with Goofy and Donald and interact with titular characters such as Squall Leonheart, Ariel, Jasmine and more from both worlds. That said, his appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate doesn’t bring along his Disney partners. Instead, playing as Sora allows players to use his signature keyblade and his elemental powers in battle. Sora will be available starting 18 October 2021.

Part of a Bigger Celebration for the 20th Anniversary of Kingdom Hearts

Sora’s appearance in Super Smash Bros isn’t the only piece of Kingdom Hearts coming to the Nintendo Switch. Cloud versions of the three main installations of the franchise – Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts 2 and Kingdom Hearts 3 – will be available for hybrid console.

KINGDOM HEARTS 20th Anniversary Trailer

Sora’s appearance in Smash and Kingdom Hearts’ availability on the Nintendo Switch comes on the heels of Square Enix’s announcement of the 20th anniversary celebrations of the franchise. The anniversary which falls on 28 March 2022 should be quite the extravangza with Square Enix announcing special merchandise as well an offline version of Kingdom Hearts: Union χ [Cross] for fans to relive the entire story in Theatre mode. Square Enix has only just teased the celebrations it has planned and is waiting to release more information at a later date.

Business, Contributed

The Cloud and the Opportunity Ahead

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A lot of what we do now is underpinned by the cloud, and “cloud” has increasingly become a tech buzzword. There are many reasons there is buzz around the cloud, and I will expand on some of them here.

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Photo by Redd Angelo on StockSnap

Cloud democratises access to the kind of computing power that was previously only accessible to large corporations with deep pockets. What used to require a $100 million investment can now be achieved on the cloud for as little as $26 a year. And, by not spending time and resources on traditional IT infrastructure, companies using the cloud can build faster, better, and cheaper – in more sustainable ways. Cloud is flexible, agile, scalable, and has the potential to impact all industries in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago across healthcare, finance, agriculture, education, and sustainability, to name a few. And as the demand for cloud computing grows, so does the demand for cloud-skilled workers. It has been predicted that there will be a significant skills gap by 2025 unless more is done to train, retrain, and upskill the region’s workforce.

Driving digital transformation and harnessing data

In today’s digital economy, it’s hard to find an industry that doesn’t use cloud applications. From accelerating medical research, improving crop yields in developing economies, and driving sustainability, to tracking bush fires, the cloud is changing the way we live, work, and play. Digital transformation is both an agent of change and a facilitator of it, and some of the biggest disruptions have been in the banking sector as we change the way we bank. There are more than 50 digital banks across Asia, with more on the way, helping drive financial inclusion in developing countries using the cloud. Today’s digital bank customers have high expectations for convenience, enhanced user experience, and personalisation, and access to the cloud has enabled these banks to innovate to meet these demands quickly and at low cost.

The pandemic has accelerated disruption and cloud adoption, and the volume of data produced as industries move to the cloud is growing rapidly. This data holds the potential for insights that can inform business strategies and is a resource that can’t be ignored. While some businesses are already leveraging data to drive decisions, gain competitive advantage, and fuel the next generation of innovation and success, more will do so in the coming year as business leaders start to understand the potential that cloud computing presents.

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Photo by Lukas from Pexels

Data and analytics will become this decade’s priorities, and we must be ready with the necessary tools, skills, and expertise to tap into this resource to deliver efficiency and unlock experimentation. For many organisations, data is their most valuable asset, and we are helping them move data to the cloud, modernise applications, build next-generation secure data platforms, and build data lakes to collect real-time data. And, using Machine Learning (ML) algorithms, these organisations can gain real-time actionable insights, results, and predictions to improve decision making.

The digital skills gap

The rapid evolution of cloud technology and widespread adoption of cloud computing will require a workforce that has the right data and cloud skills, and across Asia, the supply of digitally skilled workers is nowhere near the demand. COVID-19 accelerated the adoption of cloud tech which meant the skills gap widened as the global talent landscape transformed. Digital workers in Asia today know they will need advanced digital skills – almost half believe cloud computing skills will be required in their jobs within just four years.

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Photo by ThisIsEngineering from Pexels

Broadening the skills base of workers globally is vital for economic growth, resiliency, and prosperity, and the social implications of failing to act include rising income disparity and more unemployment. Since COVID-19, there has been mass labour market displacement with job losses predicted to far exceed the Global Financial Crisis, and unemployment is forecasted to be at its highest since the Great Depression. With this in mind, governments around the world are implementing national policies on skilling and laying the building blocks for reforms, but more needs to be done by the private sector. Employers need to help current workers upskill, educational institutes need to adopt curricula that provide relevant skills, and workers across all fields need to seize the opportunity to learn new digital skills.

AWS is invested in the future

AWS is committed to a dynamic and entrepreneurial IT sector and supporting economic growth globally, and we hope to build resilience into the digital-skilled workforce and help bridge the skills gap. Globally, we are committed to helping 29 million people grow their technical skills with free cloud computing training by 2025. We have made over 500 free, on-demand, courses available online, with many courses available in local languages such as Bahasa Indonesia, Japanese, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, as well as interactive labs and virtual day-long training sessions through AWS Training and Certification. We are also working with educational institutes around the region to develop programmes that provide students with relevant in-demand cloud tech skills.

The world’s workforce needs a sustainable future, and Amazon is committed to helping provide this by making more than 91 renewable energy investments around the world and committing to Amazon’s Climate Pledge to be a net-zero carbon business by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement, and to be on 100% renewable energy by 2025.

The cloud has the power to do a lot of good, but we must be prepared to harness that power with a skilled workforce that can meet the challenge to innovate at exponential speed. As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic with new ways of operating, working, and living being adopted, cloud will remain at the forefront of our digital lives.

PR Newswire

WeLab and Apple Authorized Resellers Launch “Subscribe+ for Apple Products”

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The first program of this type in Asia

HONG KONG, Oct. 6, 2021 — WeLab, a leading fintech company in Asia, launches an innovative subscription program for purchasing Apple products with Apple authorized resellers – Subscribe+ for Apple Products. Customers can purchase Apple products through the subscription program using the newly launched WeLab Pay powered by WeLend platform[1]. For as low as just HK$204 a month, customers can own the latest iPhone 13 (128GB storage), or HK$152 for a MacBook Air (256GB storage). WeLab is the first and only financial services provider in Asia offering this program for purchasing Apple products. FORTRESS is the first retail partner to offer this unique program seamlessly through its extensive network of over 70 physical branches[2] as well as its online store in Hong Kong.

WeLab and Apple Authorized Resellers Launch “Subscribe+ for Apple Products”
WeLab and Apple Authorized Resellers Launch “Subscribe+ for Apple Products”

Key features of the Subscribe+ for Apple Products program:

  • Guaranteed trade-in option upon end of term
  • Deduct trade-in value in advance, making monthly payments as low as $58/ month[3] for a 10.2-inch iPad (64 GB storage), with no hidden fees and other upfront costs
  • Starting with 0% interest rate[4]
  • Customers can continue to enjoy low monthly payments in future device upgrades

"The launch of WeLab Pay is our innovative adaptation of the popular subscription model, powered by WeLab’s technology tailored for customer preferences. In Hong Kong, consumers always look for more transparent and better payment options that meet their spending needs. With the launch of Subscribe+ for Apple Products in Hong Kong, WeLab offers customers, particularly the new generation of — Gen Zers and Millennials — with a game-changing way of purchasing Apple products with more flexibility in spending. The most unique part of this program is the innovative mechanism – by first deducting the high trade-in value of Apple Products[5], before calculating the monthly payments, this delivers great value and making low monthly payments possible for customers. The trade-in value of the device can be carried forward for future Apple upgrades, effectively creating a perpetual discount to the device list price for so long as they remain customers of this program!" said Simon Loong, the Founder and Group CEO of WeLab.

"FORTRESS is committed to providing innovative O+O shopping experience to meet customers’ needs and stay up-to-date with their lifestyles and shopping behaviors. We are delighted to strengthen our partnership with WeLab, offering this first-to-market Subscribe+ for Apple Products program to our customers with a flexible and seamless integration of O+O shopping and payment experience. Customers can visit our FORTRESS stores and eShop to bring their favorite Apple products back home, school or office by signing up this plan to enjoy great convenience and payment flexibility. At the end of the plan period, customers can return their device to FORTRESS and renew with the latest models, or keep their device by paying the trade-in value," said Clarice Au, Managing Director of FORTRESS.

Signing up for the Subscribe+ for Apple Products online is quick and easy, through the WeLab Pay platform and will only take around 5 minutes at a point of sale. Customers can design their plans according to their needs and approved spending credit. For iPhone and Apple Watch, WeLab offers a subscription period of 24 months. For iPad and Mac, the subscription period is 36 months. At the end of the subscription period, customers can either renew the program and upgrade to a newer model by simply trading-in the device; keep their devices by paying off the trade-in value and the last monthly payment amount; or simply return their devices to the participating authorized Apple resellers with the trade-in value.

Please refer to the official website for more details and T&C’s – https://subscribe-plus-for-apple-products.welend.hk/en/.

About WeLab

WeLab, a leading fintech company in Asia, operates one of the first licensed digital banks in Asia – WeLab Bank, as well as multiple online financial services with leading positions in Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Indonesia, with close to 50 million individual users and over 700 enterprise customers. WeLab uses game-changing technology to help customers access credit, save money, and enjoy their financial journey.

Powered by proprietary risk management technology, patented privacy computing techniques, and advanced AI capabilities, WeLab offers mobile-based consumer financing solutions and digital banking services to retail individuals and technology solutions to enterprise customers.

WeLab operates in three markets under seven key brands, including WeLend, and WeLab Bank in Hong Kong, WeLab Digital, Taoxinji, Wallet Gugu, and Tianmian Tech in Mainland China and Maucash in Indonesia.

WeLab is backed by the most renowned investors including Allianz, China Construction Bank International, International Finance Corporation (a member of the World Bank Group), Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad, CK Hutchison’s TOM Group, and Sequoia Capital.

To learn more, please visit: www.welab.co, or follow WeLab on LinkedIn and Facebook.

For media enquiries:

Communications Team
Email: pr@welab.co

[1] The official name of WeLab Pay platform is "WeLab Pay powered by WeLend".

[2] The "Subscribe+ for Apple Products" program will be rolled out across FORTRESS stores progressively, starting with 22 designated stores in the first phase.

[3] For purchase of a 10.2-inch (64GB storage) iPad with the retail price of HK$2,599.

[4] Actual monthly payment is subject to the interest that may be payable under the program depending on your credit score.

[5] Eligibility of trade-in and the trade-in value will vary depending on actual condition and the extent of damage to the device(s).

 

Related Links :

http://www.welab.co

PR Newswire

Paper.id Launches B2B Buy Now Pay Later – Geared to Help Indonesian SMEs Ramp Up, And Out, of COVID

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JAKARTA, Indonesia, Oct. 6, 2021 — Paper.id, Indonesia’s largest B2B invoicing startup with US $640million in invoices processed since the start of the year, announces the launch of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) for small to medium businesses. For customers that opt-out of financing, Merchants can still take advantage of BNPL through a new feature called "Get Paid Faster" (GPF). These features will provide desperately needed financing to more than 200,000 SMEs in Indonesia. 

From left to right: Jeremy Limman (CEO & Co-Founder), Yosia Sugialam (CTO & Co-Founder) and Anthony Huang (COO)
From left to right: Jeremy Limman (CEO & Co-Founder), Yosia Sugialam (CTO & Co-Founder) and Anthony Huang (COO)

Paper.id is releasing these products to address a major pain point of SMEs coming out of COVID. Many SMEs had to constrict their business activities under COVID and are finding it hard to ramp up with new consumer demand without a source of capital financing.  Post-pandemic, payment liquidity to suppliers is currently at 75 days, 32% slower than pre-pandemic rates according to research by Atradius. This creates strain on cash flow across the supply chain. Due to cash flow constraints, an average of 1 or 2 retail businesses go out-of-business in Indonesia each day.

To facilitate underwriting, earlier this year, Paper.id brought in strategic investor Buana Sejahtera Group, who owns a group of companies in the finance, logistics, and hospitality sectors to expand Paper.id’s financing capabilities and tap into a more traditional supply chain. "We have invested in several companies especially in the fintech and payment space in Indonesia that we thought can synergize well with our group core business and other investments. We see Paper.id, with its unique offering of invoicing, payment, and fintech, as a startup that can not only digitize and unlock financing capabilities for our ecosystem, but also for other supply chain in Indonesia," said Simon Pratama, Director of Buana Sejahtera Group.

"Based on our own internal data, most SME B2B buyers only have the option of paying their suppliers through cash or bank transfer. We unlock more options for the buyer with a BNPL and digital payment options, including credit card, regardless if the supplier actually provides payment terms or not. The exciting news is this will be made available to all of Paper.id’s existing digital invoicing customers," said Yosia Sugialam, Co-founder of Paper.id. At launch, Paper.id has validated more than three thousand invoices for BNPL.

The product flow can begin from either the Supplier or a Buyer. If a supplier wants to utilize the Get Paid Faster product, it can start by invoicing its buyer through Paper.id invoicing platform. Then, the buyer can acknowledge that the invoice is correct and contain the right information such as the quantity, product information and price. Validated invoice by validated suppliers and buyers, can seamlessly get instant payment from Paper.id ahead of its supposed payment term with a small fee.

Similarly, from the Buyer side, the buyer can input a purchase invoice or payout request to pay their suppliers with the digital payment options, including credit card, provided by Paper.id, regardless of the fact that their Suppliers have such payment option or not. Should the buyer require a term extension, they can seamlessly opt into the BNPL payment method that Paper.id provides, then repay at a later date. Instead of paying at purchase, or even within 1 week, buyers can set a payment plan to extend payment by 30 days.

As the pandemic has further stabilized in Indonesia, the impact on SMEs in Indonesia still lingers, both positively and negatively. "The current state of the pandemic provides a unique opportunity for us to further help the SMEs back in business and bring more options for them to alleviate their cashflow crunch both operationally and financially. These two solutions have seen tremendous growth in the past few months," said Jeremy Limman, Paper.id Co-founder and CEO. Paper.id has provided more than USD 10 million supply chain based financing and claimed that digital payment volume has tripled after the introduction of these two products.

While the free invoicing and bookkeeping still continues to grow, Paper.id sees the accelerated growth and adoption through these digital financing and payment products complete the trifecta of B2B transactions: Invoice / Business Document, Payment, and Financing. "We have observed that a company that utilizes the financing, tends to use digital payment and invoicing as well. This becomes a positive feedback loop that keeps reinforcing itself, transforming and digitizing the whole supply chain," Yosia concurred. "We are excited to see this digitization momentum, and looking ahead to not only transform multiple supply chain across different segments, but also empower the suppliers and buyers with the payment and financing options that they need," Jeremy closes.   

About Paper.id

Paper.id is a full stack B2B Invoicing & Payment Platform that helps companies send, track and match documents, reconciling and opening digital payment options, and providing supply chain-based financing. Founded at the end of 2016, Paper.id can integrate with large enterprise’s existing ERP system through APIs, or become an end to end solution for SMEs, thus connecting and digitizing the whole supply chain. The past two years, Paper.id has processed more than USD 1 billion worth of invoices in its platform  

Media Contact

Arrayyan Firdaus (Community & Partnership Associate)
+62 896-4981-0015
array.firdaus@paper.id

 

News

Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram & Oculus Went Down for Hours – Here’s What We Know

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If you were awake in the wee hours of yesterday looking to Instagram or Facebook for memes before calling it a night, you would have been sorely disappointed. Facebook’s platforms faced a major outage which lasted most of last night. Even WhatsApp wasn’t spared from the outage as messages failed to go through – which might have been a welcome reprieve for many of us.

Facebook Outage
Photo by Thought Catalog from Pexels

It seems like connectivity and social media isn’t the only thing that experienced the outage. Reports have surfaced that the outage also affected Facebook’s staff emails and even office badges. So what actually happened?

Essentially Facebook and all its properties disappeared from the internet. How? Well, the cause is a change in the settings of the internet infrastructure between Facebook’s data centres. These changes essentially made it so Facebook and its properties couldn’t be found when browsers and apps looked up anything address that led to the company’s servers. Facebook’s official explanation for this is an error in the updated settings which had a cascading effect.

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Source: Facebook

“Our engineering teams have learned that configuration changes on the backbone routers that coordinate network traffic between our data centers caused issues that interrupted this communication. This disruption to network traffic had a cascading effect on the way our data centers communicate, bringing our services to a halt.“

Facebook Official Statement

However, many cyber security companies have come forward and suggested that there may be more to the outage than meets the eye. Some have suggested the underlying cause of the outage may, in fact, be a hack or breach in Facebook’s data servers. According to Acronis, DNS and BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) are popular targets for malicious players to mount cyber-attacks. There is a myriad of ways that they can do this from social engineering to hijack through the registrar or simply by affecting the settings themselves. Facebook tries to downplay this saying that there is no evidence of data being compromised.

Candid Wuest Acronis
Source: LinkedIn

“There are various potential attacks against DNS infrastructure – from DDoS attacks to local DNS rebinding or hijacking a DNS with social engineering against the registrar. Looking at overall attack statistics, they are a lot less popular than common malware and ransomware attacks, but they can be extremely devastating if successful in a sophisticated attack. It’s like pulling the electric cable to your server room – whole enterprise suddenly goes dark.“

Candid Wuest, Acronis VP of Cyber Protection Research

Cloudflare corroborates both Facebook’s official statement and also Acronis’ in their own blog post. The company states that they saw a peak of routing changes from Facebook at 15:40 UTC (10:40 PM in Malaysia). It was only after this that the outages followed.

Was Facebook Trying to Silence Whistleblowing?

While that may be the case, it seems like there is a growing theory that Facebook’s outage was not an accident. The company has been under fire in recent months after inklings of potentially damning accusations came to light. The data showed that Facebook had been ignoring and hiding its own internal data that Instagram could be potentially harmful to teens. This was also one of the reasons why Instagram Kids was put on ice. It was also revealed that the company had a separate set of standards for public figures.

The information has since been linked to Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee. Why is this being linked to the outage? Well, it seems that the outage occurred following a very damning interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes. While the timing maybe a little bit suspicious, there hasn’t been any data to support the theory.

Be that as it may, the outage did more than just inconvenience users of Facebook’s many apps, it also affected the net worth of CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg saw billions in losses as the company’s stocks tanked in light of the outage. It’s not been a very quiet 2021 for the company and, hopefully, this isn’t an indication of things to come.

Computers, News

Acer’s Swift X is an AMD Powered Content Creator Thin and Light Powerhouse for MYR 4,299 Onward

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There is a general problem when you get a thin-and-light PC. There are plenty of compromises with a lot of them. They are also generally expensive.

One of the compromises you must live with when you opt for a thin-and-light notebook PC is the lack of power. You usually can opt for a powerful enough processor that is clocked to reduce its power consumption. You do not get a dedicated GPU with the thin-and-light though.

You also do not get a lot of ports to come with the laptop. Just to keep the device thin, they must sacrifice on the practicality of full-sized I/O ports. The result is an ultra-thin laptop that you can carry around without breaking your back, but for it to be practical, you need to carry a separate dongle.

That is not the case with Acer’s brand-new Swift X though. It is powerful. It is also very practical. At the same time, Acer’s new notebook PC offers the experience of owning a larger formed thin-and-light.

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Source: Acer

The Acer Swift X is powered by AMD’s latest Ryzen 7 5800U (up to) processor. While it is not an H-series processor, the Ryzen 7 5800U is still plenty powerful while remaining energy efficient for long lasting battery life. Alongside the powerful CPU is not a mere Vega integrated GPU though. It is an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti (up to) dedicated discrete GPU.

With up to 16GB of RAM, the Swift X is really a thin-and-light PC made for content creators. But power is just half the story. The Swift X must output some impressive colours too for content creators. Getting the job done is a 14-inch Full HD IPS panel that covers nearly 86% of the Swift X’s body. It boasts 300nits in brightness, which should be bright enough in most situations. The panel also covers 100% of the sRGB colour gamut. At the same time, Acer includes its BlueLightShield technology to protect your eyes in extended usage. There is even a fingerprint sensor for better security when you leave your laptop unattended with Windows Hello.

All of these does not come with too much weight penalty too. It is still a light notebook at 1.39kg. It is still thin too at 1.79cm. While it is not as thin as the regular ultrabooks you find in the market today, the Swift X does have full-sized I/O ports like an HDMI out port and two USB Type-A ports. All of that while keeping a 59W battery that offers up to 17-hours of continuous use time.

  • Swift X SFX14 41G FpBl1 Sb 01b
    Source: Acer
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    Source: Acer
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    Source: Acer
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    Source: Acer
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    Source: Acer
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    Source: Acer
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    Source: Acer
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    Source: Acer
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    Source: Acer

The Acer Swift X will be available to purchase in Malaysia in two variants. It comes in an AMD Ryzen 7 or AMD Ryzen 5 CPU choices. Both variants will come with NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3050 Ti still. The AMD Ryzen 5 variant of the Acer Swift X will set you back MYR 4,299 while the more expensive AMD Ryzen 7 variant will set you back MYR 4,999. The Acer Swift X is available from Acer’s authorised resellers, Shopee, Lazada, and Acer’s own online store 15th October 2021 onward. You can pre-order one for yourself starting now though. If you do order your unit between now to 20th of October 2021 on Acer’s Flagship Store on Shopee or Acer’s own eStore, you are entitled to purchase a Logitech MX Anywhere 3 wireless mouse at MYR 199 (about 50% off retail price).

PR Newswire

Prometheum Marks Major Milestone for Digital Asset Securities, Receives SEC approval to operate an “Alternative Trading System” for Digital Assets for Subsidiary “Prometheum ATS”

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Prometheum ATS is set to launch in Q4 2021, Bringing Digital Asset Securities Trading and Settlement to Accredited and Non-Accredited Investors

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2021 — Prometheum‘s broker-dealer subsidiary, Prometheum Ember ATS Inc. ("Prometheum ATS"), CRD # 311636, has received regulatory approval to operate its ATS, and offer accredited and non-accredited investors the ability to buy, sell and manage digital asset securities.

Prometheum ATS will integrate both traditional and blockchain technology for the trading of digital asset securities with on-chain custody and settlement provided by Anchorage Digital Bank.

Prometheum ATS offers a streamlined onboarding process by automating Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML). Combined with a user-friendly interface, customizable charts, historical and Level 2 (depth of the book) data, Prometheum ATS will provide a complete trading experience for both retail investors and financial professionals. Importantly, Prometheum ATS seeks to ensure a fair and orderly market focusing on customer protection with advanced market surveillance and risk management systems.

"Our commitment to innovating within the US’ established regulatory framework has paid off," said Aaron Kaplan, Founder and Co-CEO of Prometheum. "We are thrilled Prometheum ATS was approved as an ATS, and very much look forward to its launch in the coming months."

About Prometheum

Founded in 2017 by a group of Wall Street attorneys, Prometheum is a blockchain-focused company which proposes to build an end-to-end ecosystem for the trading of digital asset securities.

Prometheum, Inc. Disclosure

No money or consideration is being solicited by the information in this or any other communication and, if sent, money will not be accepted and will be promptly returned. No offer by a potential investor to buy our securities can be accepted and no part of the purchase price can be received until the offering statement is qualified, and, if made, any such offer can be withdrawn before qualification of this offering by the SEC.

A potential investor’s indication of interest does not create an obligation or commitment to purchase the securities we are offering. Any such indication of interest may be withdrawn or revoked, without obligation or commitment of any kind, at any time before notice of its acceptance is given and all other requirements to accept an investment from a potential investor are met after the offering qualification date. The offering, after qualification by the SEC, will be made only by means of the Offering Circular.

Any information on Prometheum.com or any other communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to qualification for sale as provided in Regulation A+ in any such state or jurisdiction. You may obtain a copy of the Preliminary Offering Circular and the offering statement in which such Preliminary Offering Circular was filed with the SEC by https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?company=Prometheum&owner=exclude&action=getcompany

About Anchorage Digital

Anchorage Digital is a regulated platform that provides institutions simple and secure participation in digital assets, all integrated with custody. As the first federally chartered crypto bank, Anchorage Digital Bank NA offers an advanced digital asset platform for institutional investors and is setting a new standard for security and usability. With secure custody at its core, Anchorage offers financial solutions for today and tomorrow. Learn more at anchorage.com and @Anchorage.

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News

Google Looks to “MUM” to Enhance Search

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Google has been working on creating a better, more unified experience with their bread and butter – search. The tech giant is looking for a more contextually relevant search as they move forwards. To do this, they are turning to MUM, the Multitask Unified Model, to bring more relevance to search results.

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The new Multitask Unified Model (MUM) allows Google’s search algorithm to understand multiple forms of input. It can draw context from text, speech, images and even video. This, in turn, allows the search engine to return more contextually relevant results. It will also allow the search engine to understand searches in a more natural language and make sense of more complex searches. When they first announced MUM, the new enhancement could understand over 75 languages. MUM is much more powerful than the existing algorithm.

Contextual Search is the New Normal

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Barely two months after the announcement, Google has begun implementing MUM into some of the most used apps and features. In the coming months, Google searches will be undergoing a bit of a major rehaul. The company is creating a new, more visual search experience. Users will be seeing more images and graphics in search results. you will also be able to refine and broaden searches with a single click thanks to MUM. You will be able to zoom into finer details such as specific techniques and more or get a broader picture of your search with a single click. In their announcement, Google used the example of acrylic painting. With the results from Google search, they were able to zoom in to specific techniques commonly used in acrylic painting or get a broader picture of how it started.

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The search engine uses data such as language and even user behaviour in addition to context to recommend broadening or narrowing searches. They are even applying this to YouTube. They are hoping to be able to expand the search context to include topics mentioned in YouTube videos later this year. Contextual and multitask search is also making its way to Google Lens. Lens will be able to make sense of both visual and text data at the same time. It’s also making its way to Chrome. Don’t expect the rollout of the new experience on Lens too soon as the rollout is expected to be in 2022 after internal testing.

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Context is also making search more “shoppable”. Google is allowing users to zoom in to specifics when searching. For instance, searching if you’re searching for fashion apparel, you will be able to narrow your search based on design and colour or use the context of the original to search for something else completely. In addition, Google’s Shopping Graph will allow users to narrow searches with an “in stock” filter as well. This particular enhancement will be available in select countries only.

Expanding Search to Make A Positive Impact

Google isn’t just focusing on MUM for its own benefit. The company has been busy bringing its technology to create change too. It’s working on expanding contextual data as well as A.I. implementation in addressing environmental and social issues. While this is nothing new, some of the new improvements could impact us more directly than ever.

Environmental Insights for Greener Cities

One of the biggest things that could make a huge impact is Googles Environmental Insights. While this isn’t brand new, the company is looking to make the feature more readily available to cities to help them be greener. Environmental Insights Explorer will allow municipalities and city councils to make decisions based on data from A.I. and Google’s Earth Engines.

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With this data, cities and municipalities will be able to visualise tree density within their jurisdictions and plan for trees and greenery. This data will help tremendously in lowering the temperatures of cities. It will also help with carbon neutrality. The feature will be expanding to over 100 cities including Yokohama and Sydney this year.

Dealing with Natural Disasters with Actionable Insights

Google Maps will be getting more actionable insights when it comes to natural disasters. Of course, being an American company, their first feature is, naturally more relevant to the U.S. California and other areas have been hit by wildfires with increasing severity in the past years. Other countries such as Australia, Canada and even in parts of the African continent are also experiencing increasingly deadly wildfires. It’s more apparent that data on the wildfires is needed for the public.

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As such, Google Maps will be getting a layer that will allow users to see the boundaries of active wildfires. These boundaries are updated every 15 minutes allowing users to avoid affected areas. The data will also help authorities coordinate evacuations and even handling of situations. Google is also doing a pilot for flash flooding in India.

Simplifying Addresses

Google is expanding and simplifying one of its largest social projects – Plus Codes. The project, which was announced just under a year ago, is getting more accessible. Google is making Plus Codes more accessible with Address Maker. The new app continues with Plus Codes but allows users and organisations simplified access to making new addresses. Governments and NGOs will be able to create addresses at scale easier.

PR Newswire

Sigma Lithium and LG Energy Solution Sign Milestone Six-Year Binding Term Sheet for Lithium Offtake Agreement

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VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 5, 2021 —  

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Binding offtake term sheet signed between Sigma Lithium and LG Energy Solution to supply Battery Grade Sustainable Lithium Concentrate through 2027, with start of commercial delivery set for 2022.
  • LG Energy Solution to purchase on a "take-or-pay" basis 60,000 tons per year of Battery Grade Sustainable Lithium Concentrate for the first phase of Sigma Lithium’s production, increasing by 40,000 tons per year during the second phase of production, for a total purchase on a "take-or-pay" basis of 100,000 tons per year.
  • Pricing will be floating and linked to market prices for high purity lithium hydroxide.
  • LG Energy Solution and Sigma mutually have agreed to optional additional offtake volumes of up to 50,000 tons per year of Battery Grade Sustainable Lithium Concentrate.

 

Sigma Lithium will provide LG Energy Solution with significant quantities of battery grade sustainable lithium concentrate to support the large-scale production of lithium-ion batteries required to power the future of electric mobility and clean energy.
Sigma Lithium will provide LG Energy Solution with significant quantities of battery grade sustainable lithium concentrate to support the large-scale production of lithium-ion batteries required to power the future of electric mobility and clean energy.

Sigma Lithium Corporation ("Sigma Lithium") (NASDAQ: SGML) (TSX-V: SGML), dedicated to powering the next generation of electric vehicle batteries with environmentally sustainable and high-purity lithium concentrate, announced the signing of a binding term sheet for an offtake agreement on a "take or pay" basis (the "Offtake") for the sale of 6% battery-grade high purity and environmentally sustainable lithium concentrate ("Battery Grade Sustainable Lithium Concentrate") to LG Energy Solution, Ltd ("LGES"), one of the world’s largest manufacturers of advanced lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.

The six-year LGES Offtake for Battery Grade Sustainable Lithium Concentrate scales from 60,000 tons per year in 2023 to 100,000 tons per year from 2024 to 2027 ("Guaranteed Take-or-Pay Quantity") subject to Sigma Lithium and LGES executing a mutually acceptable definitive documentation to implement the Offtake. Sigma Lithium and LGES also agreed to negotiate each year, starting in 2022, an additional optional supply of Battery Grade Sustainable Lithium ("Optional Offtake Quantity"), not otherwise committed in other Sigma Lithium offtake arrangements, as per the table below. 

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

Guaranteed Quantity
(in dry metric tonnes)

0

60,000

100,000

100,000

100,000

100,000

Optional Quantity
(in dry metric tonnes)

15,000

15,000

50,000

50,000

50,000

50,000

The purchase price for the Battery Grade Sustainable Lithium Concentrate under the Offtake will be linked to market prices for the high purity lithium hydroxide during the term of the Offtake.

The Offtake is intended to be legally binding on both Sigma Lithium and LGES, and is subject to, among other things, completion of the negotiation of definitive written agreement(s), which are to be consistent with the agreed terms contained in the binding term sheet.

"With the rapid growth of the EV battery market, securing large volumes of environmentally sustainable and high-quality lithium materials is becoming one of the important sources of competitiveness in our industry," said Mr. Dong Soo Kim, Senior Vice President of Procurement Center at LG Energy Solution. "We are delighted to sign this landmark offtake with Sigma Lithium, sourcing environmentally-friendly battery-grade sustainable lithium concentrate directly from the upstream producer and collaborating with Sigma Lithium to make our battery supply chain increasingly more sustainable through our shared focus on innovation and ESG."

"Since 2018, Sigma Lithium has been producing battery-grade sustainable lithium concentrate at its on-site demonstration pilot plant while executing our sustainability roadmap to support decarbonization and reach net zero emissions by 2024," said Ana Cabral-Gardner, Co-CEO, Sigma Lithium. "We believe this offtake will create long-term value for all of our stakeholders. Sigma Lithium has been able to deliver large samples of one of the purest, most environmentally and socially sustainable lithium concentrates in the marketplace to potential customers. Thus, our focus on sustainability and the investments we made in our assets to develop an environmentally friendly process to produce battery grade sustainable lithium concentrate, enables Sigma Lithium to attain a leading industry position, supplying LG Energy Solution, the largest global producer of advanced batteries for electric vehicles and green energy storage."

"We are truly delighted to have the ability to provide LG Energy Solution with significant quantities of battery grade sustainable lithium concentrate that will support the large-scale production of lithium-ion batteries required to power the future of electric mobility and clean energy," added Cabral-Gardner. "This offtake is perfectly aligned with our strategy of creating direct commercial relationships with the largest Tier 1 battery producers (who are the final end-users in the lithium supply chain), providing stability to our future cash flows.  Sigma Lithium’s production process is 100% powered by clean energy, does not utilize hazardous chemicals, recirculates 100% of the water and dry stacks 100% of its tailings. We believe that sustainable, scalable and reliable production of high-quality lithium will be essential to meeting demand from sustainable energy leaders like LGES."

ABOUT SIGMA LITHIUM

Sigma Lithium is a Canadian company developing, with an environmental sustainably ESG focused strategy, the largest hard rock lithium deposits in the Americas, located in its wholly owned Grota do Cirilo Project in Brazil (the "Project"). The Company has been producing low carbon high purity lithium concentrate at an on-site demonstration pilot plant (the "Pilot Plant") since 2018. This pilot production has been an important part of the successful commercial strategy of the Company, shipping samples of its low carbon "green & sustainable" high purity lithium to leading global potential customers, for product certification and testing, with the goal of participating in the rapidly expanding electric vehicle ("EV") supply chain.

The Company is in pre-construction and detailed engineering of an environmentally friendly, fully automated, dense media separator ("DMS") production plant, that will apply proprietary algorithms to digitally control the dense media. The production plant will be vertically integrated into the Company´s mining operations, exclusively utilizing as feedstock the high purity spodumene ore with exceptional mineralogy from the Project. The production plant will process the spodumene ore into a high purity 6% battery-grade lithium concentrate engineered to the specifications of its customers in the lithium-ion battery supply chain for EVs.

The Company continues to demonstrate its commercial and market relevance by significantly advancing its strategic goals on three fronts: near-term production scheduled for 2022, completing the studies for the viability of production expansion contemplated for 2023, and the determination of the ultimate extent and unique high-purity quality of mineral resources at the Company´s wholly-owned Grota do Cirilo Project, all while maintaining its strategic leadership in ESG in the lithium supply chain.

In order to secure a leading position supplying the clean mobility and green energy storage value chains, the Company has adhered consistently to the highest standards of ESG practices, which were established as part of its core purpose at inception in 2012. The production process will be powered by clean energy and the Company will use state-of-the art water recirculation circuits in its processing combined with dry stacking tailings management. The DMS process of the production plant does not utilize hazardous chemicals, as a result its tailings are 100% recyclable into ancillary industries, such as ceramics.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT

SIGMA LITHIUM INVESTORS:
Daniel Abdo 
(Sao Paulo) +55 11 2985-0089
daniel.abdo@sigmaca.com

ir@sigmaca.com

Vitor Ornelas 
(Sao Paulo) +55 11 2985-0089
vitor.ornelas@sigmaca.com

SIGMA LITHIUM MEDIA:

Colleen Robar
(United States) +1 313 207 5960
crobar@robarpr.com 

SIGMA LITHIUM SOCIAL MEDIA:

LinkedIn:

@SigmaLithium

Instagram:

@sigmalithium

Twitter:

@SigmaLithium

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable US and Canadian securities legislation including statements relating to future ESG targets and the achievement of certain milestones, including in relation to  offtake agreements completion, the terms of the Offtake (including quantities), value creation, cash flows as a result of the Offtake and the execution of definitive documentation reflecting the terms of the binding term sheet, relevant internal and organizational approvals, production estimates and other forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements that address future plans, activities, events, or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur are forward-looking information, including statements regarding the entering into of definitive documentation and terms thereof and benefits of the Offtake may or may not occur. Forward-looking statements and information contained herein are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, , metal prices, exchange rates, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of mineral resources and reserves, future development and production, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental risks, title disputes, litigation risks, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents, labour disputes, claims and limitations on insurance coverage and other risks of the mining industry, changes in national and local government regulation of mining operations, and regulations and other matters including the COVID-19 pandemic. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. For more information on the risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ from current expectations, please refer to our public filings available at www.sedar.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

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