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Aussie court orders FlexGate fix for MacBook Apple won’t • The Register

Apple has been ordered to repair a MacBook Pro that displays all the symptoms of FlexGate – the syndrome of screen defects that the company has previously repaired for free – but which the company does not believe has the problem.

The Order came from the Civil and Administrative Tribunal in the Australian State of New South Wales (NCAT), in response to an action brought by Tristan Goode – co-owner of OpenStack consultancy Aptira and a former OpenStack board member.

Goode bought a 2017 MacBook Pro and, as he had more time in which to use it during the COVID-19 pandemic, noticed the distinctive “stage light” effect that some MacBooks suffer because their video cables are too short. The displays produce odd artifacts or even become inoperable.

screen

Not a good look – A photo of the ‘stage lights’ effect produced by FlexGate. Click to enlarge

Apple has acknowledged that some MacBooks have the problem, and in 2018 arranged free repairs for machines sold in 2016.

Goode complained to Apple about the issue in his machine, but was rebuffed because his MacBook is a 2017 model that Apple does not acknowledge has the curtailed cable. Apple quoted him AU$977 ($695) to replace the screen, but Goode was not happy with that offer.

I have found numerous complaints – including over 80 videos made by independent Mac repairers – depicting MacBook models from 2017 and later years that clearly described the same problems that Apple acknowledged in its 2016 machines. Teardowns of those machines suggested they have the same cable Apple happily replaced in 2016 machines.

Goode bought the replacement screen so he could assess the parts it used, and felt it had the unhelpfully short cable Apple replaced in other models.

An attempt to have Apple acknowledge the issue in his 2017 machine failed, as did an attempt to involve the local fair trading regulator, which takes up complaints on consumers’ behalf.

Goode therefore arranged an NCAT hearing and compiled extensive documentation of the FlexGate problem appearing in MacBooks other than those Apple acknowledges as impacted by the issue. Goode also used metadata describing the number of times his MacBook’s battery had been charged to demonstrate his machine had been used lightly – so could not have been opened and closed enough times to wear out the cable if it had been sufficiently robust.

The presiding officer had clearly handled matters involving Apple before and wearily asked if it would settle

Apple disputed his analysis and proceeded to an NCAT hearing that was staged online last week.

The Register tuned in. The presiding officer had clearly handled matters involving Apple before, first wearily asking if there was any possibility Apple would settle the matter – the answer was the expected “no” – and later sharing an observation that the Apple representative’s audio was characteristically poor and that the company should really do better in future hearings.

Goode made his case that his MacBook had the same problem as a 2016 model because it used the same known-to-be-inadequate parts. Apple’s representative answered that Goode’s machine was old enough to fail but could not respond to many of the presiding officer’s questions – such as why the 2017 MacBook range was not included in Apple’s free repair program.

Apple’s rep, who was not in Australia, mentioned Apple’s environmental impact FAQ to assert that the company designs its products to last four years – making problems that manifested in 2021 reasonable for Goode’s 2017 MacBook.

Goode countered that the same FAQ states: “Most Apple products last longer and are often passed along, resold, or returned to Apple by the first owner for others to use.” He even mentioned that a 2011 MacBook he gave to a relative still performs perfectly (running Linux to avoid using an unsupported OS).

Apple’s rep could not resolve the seeming contradiction of the passage Goode quoted, and also said she would have to seek guidance on how and why the company decides which machines deserve free fixes. Nor could Apple’s rep explain if parts used in the 2017 MacBook differ from those present in models that were fixed for free.

The presiding officer at NCAT did not make an immediate decision, but later issued a written Order – seen by The Register – in which NCAT declared itself “satisfied that a reasonable consumer fully acquainted with the state and condition of the applicant’s MacBook would regard it as not free from defects at the time of its supply and for that reason not of acceptable quality.”

The Order does not, however, offer an opinion on whether 2017 and 2018 MacBooks have the FlexGate issue. Deciding that matter was not necessary to determine that this individual computer was not free of defects.

The issue of whether MacBooks made after 2016 have the FlexGate issue was therefore left undecided.

NCAT is not a court of law and is neither equipped nor required to hear evidence that would allow that kind of decision. Nor are NCAT decisions used as precedents – other than by NCAT itself.

The decision therefore leaves the way open for Australian MacBook owners to seek redress, but doesn’t allow either consumers or Apple a precedent.

Goode feels confident that the evidence and result show that Apple has a systemic issue, and plans to share the filings and results of his case widely, in the hope it gives other possibly FlexGate-stricken Mac owners a chance to seek redress.

“It would end the grief for many affected MacBook Pro purchasers around the world if Apple just fessed up to the fact FlexGate affects many more models than they have admitted to,” he said. ®

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Technology

Product Review: cycling shoe + pedal + cleat comparison of several options

With a few new pairs of cycling shoes to sample, as well as the (relatively) new Wahoo Powrlink pedals/power meter for review, here is a quick overview of three different systems and a comparison of the weights…


Part of a review series + video by Rob Arnold


Before setting off for my first ride after fitting new Wahoo/Speedplay cleats to a pair of Giant Surge Pro shoes, I thought it was worth comparing the weights of three different shoe / pedal / cleat options that are part of the road cycling scene in 2022 .

Click the link below and you can see a quick overview of three systems:

  • Bontrager (2017) XXX shoe + Shimano (yellow) cleat + Shimano Ultegra pedal (circa 2015)
  • Nimbl Ultimate shoe + Time iClic cleat + Time XPro 12 pedal
  • Giant Surge Pro shoe + Wahoo Powrlink / Speedplay cleat + Wahoo Powrlink pedal

There is more to the story than what each combination weighs, and you can find plenty of commentary about the shoes and pedals and cleats on the RIDE Media site and/or YouTube channel. It’s part of a growing series of video reviews of cycling products, and a way of showcasing some great recent innovations – while occasionally also comparing new with old.

For over five years, I have ridden with Bontrager’s XXX shoes (a pair from 2017 and the updated iteration from around 2020). And Shimano pedals had been my go-to for a long time.

The Shimano SPD-SL option is the predominant system in modern road cycling; it has been slightly refined over the years but the vast majority of riders have sampled this style of pedal and cleat.

Earlier this year, I made the switch from Shimano to Time pedals after being sent the lightweight XPro 12 pedals for review. With the iClic ‘Free’ cleats (ie. with 5 degrees of float) fitted to both Bontrager and Nimbl shoes, this is a pedal system that I have come to like. In my appraisal, the cleat is welcomed by the pedal making it the easiest engagement option I have used.

The Time pedals also have a much larger platform than the other options… and they are much lighter too.

Time cleats on Nimbl shoes.

Last week, however, it was finally time to sample the Wahoo Powerlink pedal and power meter. Unboxed months ago, I never got around to fitting the cleats before the set of pedals I had for review were sent back to the local agent, FE Sports, so sales reps could show them off when visiting shops.

The Powrlink system offers two versions of power meter: one-side or both pedals. FE Sports kindly sent another set of pedals for me to use now that product supply is flowing. You can now find the Wahoo system in shops around Australia, with the one-sided power meter retailing for AUD$950, or the double-side for AUD$1,450.

Giant Surge Pro shoes with the Wahoo/Speedplay cleat.

It is early days with the new Giant shoes/Wahoo pedals but I’ve already adapted to the different style of clipping into what is a double-side pedal (unlike Shimano’s road-specific SPD-SL or the Time options).

You can see more of my commentary on the shoes and pedal experiment on the RIDE Media YouTube channel and I’ll add more to ridemedia.com.au in the coming days and weeks.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave a comment on any of our social media portals and I’ll do my best to get back to you with my answers or opinion.

–By Rob Arnold


Subscribe to RIDE Media’s YouTube channel, click here.


related videos

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Game publisher Playtonic warns customers about scam regarding upcoming game Lil Gator

Playtonic, the publisher and developer of the popular platforming game Yooka-Laylee, issued a public warning about a new type of scam floating around.

People are sending out fake notices via email and social media looking for players to try a demo of an upcoming game that isn’t ready yet.

The publisher stressed that an open beta for the upcoming game Lil Gator, an adventure game about an alligator, is not planned, let alone ready for the general public.

Taking to Twitter to post an official update regarding the situation, Playtonic announced that while they were aiming to release Lil Gator for the Switch and PC later this year, there is no set-in-stone release date.

“It has come to our attention that someone is offering beta testing for Lil Gator Game,” the company posted.

“We can confirm this is a scam and not from Playtonic or Lil Gator Game. If we were offering this to our communities, we would announce it on our Twitter and not via any other channels.

“Please do NOT click the links provided in the scam message! If you receive any suspicious messages claiming to be from Playtonic please let us know,” Playtonic continued.

Anyone who has received an email from either developer MegaWobble or Playtonic regarding Lil Gator should disregard any links attached.

Lil Gator is an adventure game that follows a little gator, as players direct the gator to gather, craft, and explore an open world.

Taking place on what appears to be a deserted island, players will be able to enjoy an “adorable adventure” where they can “climb, swim, glide, and slide your way into the hearts of the many different characters you meet on your travels! ”

Scams and hacking attempts are nothing new to the world of game development. A hacking company recently subpoenaed Google, PayPal, and Valve to fight a legal battle against popular Destiny 2 developers Bungie.

The developer has started taking individuals to court, recently suing a streamer for ‘cheating’ in the popular space shooter.

Written by Junior Miyai on behalf of GLHF

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Technology

Aussie court orders FlexGate fix for MacBook Apple won’t • The Register

Apple has been ordered to repair a MacBook Pro that displays all the symptoms of FlexGate – the syndrome of screen defects that the company has previously repaired for free – but which the company does not believe has the problem.

The Order came from the Civil and Administrative Tribunal in the Australian State of New South Wales (NCAT), in response to an action brought by Tristan Goode – co-owner of OpenStack consultancy Aptira and a former OpenStack board member.

Goode bought a 2017 MacBook Pro and, as he had more time in which to use it during the COVID-19 pandemic, noticed the distinctive “stage light” effect that some MacBooks suffer because their video cables are too short. The displays produce odd artifacts or even become inoperable.

screen

Not a good look – A photo of the ‘stage lights’ effect produced by FlexGate. Click to enlarge

Apple has acknowledged that some MacBooks have the problem, and in 2018 arranged free repairs for machines sold in 2016.

Goode complained to Apple about the issue in his machine, but was rebuffed because his MacBook is a 2017 model that Apple does not acknowledge has the curtailed cable. Apple quoted him AU$977 ($695) to replace the screen, but Goode was not happy with that offer.

I have found numerous complaints – including over 80 videos made by independent Mac repairers – depicting MacBook models from 2017 and later years that clearly described the same problems that Apple acknowledged in its 2016 machines. Teardowns of those machines suggested they have the same cable Apple happily replaced in 2016 machines.

Goode bought the replacement screen so he could assess the parts it used, and felt it had the unhelpfully short cable Apple replaced in other models.

An attempt to have Apple acknowledge the issue in his 2017 machine failed, as did an attempt to involve the local fair trading regulator, which takes up complaints on consumers’ behalf.

Goode therefore arranged an NCAT hearing and compiled extensive documentation of the FlexGate problem appearing in MacBooks other than those Apple acknowledges as impacted by the issue. Goode also used metadata describing the number of times his MacBook’s battery had been charged to demonstrate his machine had been used lightly – so could not have been opened and closed enough times to wear out the cable if it had been sufficiently robust.

The presiding officer had clearly handled matters involving Apple before and wearily asked if it would settle

Apple disputed his analysis and proceeded to an NCAT hearing that was staged online last week.

The Register tuned in. The presiding officer had clearly handled matters involving Apple before, first wearily asking if there was any possibility Apple would settle the matter – the answer was the expected “no” – and later sharing an observation that the Apple representative’s audio was characteristically poor and that the company should really do better in future hearings.

Goode made his case that his MacBook had the same problem as a 2016 model because it used the same known-to-be-inadequate parts. Apple’s representative answered that Goode’s machine was old enough to fail but could not respond to many of the presiding officer’s questions – such as why the 2017 MacBook range was not included in Apple’s free repair program.

Apple’s rep, who was not in Australia, mentioned Apple’s environmental impact FAQ to assert that the company designs its products to last four years – making problems that manifested in 2021 reasonable for Goode’s 2017 MacBook.

Goode countered that the same FAQ states: “Most Apple products last longer and are often passed along, resold, or returned to Apple by the first owner for others to use.” He even mentioned that a 2011 MacBook he gave to a relative still performs perfectly (running Linux to avoid using an unsupported OS).

Apple’s rep could not resolve the seeming contradiction of the passage Goode quoted, and also said she would have to seek guidance on how and why the company decides which machines deserve free fixes. Nor could Apple’s rep explain if parts used in the 2017 MacBook differ from those present in models that were fixed for free.

The presiding officer at NCAT did not make an immediate decision, but later issued a written Order – seen by The Register – in which NCAT declared itself “satisfied that a reasonable consumer fully acquainted with the state and condition of the applicant’s MacBook would regard it as not free from defects at the time of its supply and for that reason not of acceptable quality.”

The Order does not, however, offer an opinion on whether 2017 and 2018 MacBooks have the FlexGate issue. Deciding that matter was not necessary to determine that this individual computer was not free of defects.

The issue of whether MacBooks made after 2016 have the FlexGate issue was therefore left undecided.

NCAT is not a court of law and is neither equipped nor required to hear evidence that would allow that kind of decision. Nor are NCAT decisions used as precedents – other than by NCAT itself.

The decision therefore leaves the way open for Australian MacBook owners to seek redress, but doesn’t allow either consumers or Apple a precedent.

Goode feels confident that the evidence and result show that Apple has a systemic issue, and plans to share the filings and results of his case widely, in the hope it gives other possibly FlexGate-stricken Mac owners a chance to seek redress.

“It would end the grief for many affected MacBook Pro purchasers around the world if Apple just fessed up to the fact FlexGate affects many more models than they have admitted to,” he said. ®

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Technology

Australian-made videogame tops global charts as players flock to Cult of the Lamb | Games

The Australian-made video game Cult of the Lamb has topped global gaming charts on the first weekend of its release.

“It’s just blown up, it’s been pretty crazy,” developer Julian Wilton, from Massive Monster, said.

In Cult of the Lamb, the player character, an adorable but possessed lamb, has their life saved by an ominous deity; as repayment, they must form a cult to appease the deity, growing its following by launching crusades, collecting resources and venturing out into the game’s five regions to defeat rival cults.

Since its global launch in the early hours of Friday morning, the game reached No 1 on the US Switch store, the main outlet for Nintendo games, and Wilton has high hopes for early sales figures.

Game developer Julian Wilton poses for a photograph at ACMI in Melbourne
Game developer Julian Wilton says jokingly: ‘We’ve just got to figure out what to do with all this money now.’ Photograph: Diego Fedele/AAP

“I wouldn’t be surprised in the first month if we hit like a million units, which is just crazy,” he said.

On PC gaming platform Steam, Cult of the Lamb had seen hundreds of thousands of downloads, and while Wilton can’t reveal the exact figures due to Massive Monster’s backing by UK-listed Devolver Digital, pre-sales numbers show the game has already recovered its investment costs.

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It is rare for an Australian-made game to see such global success, with 2017’s Hollow Night by Adelaide’s Team Cherry a recent example.

Gamers have given Cult of the Lamb the thumbs up so far, with more than 8,000 positive Steam reviews, and some predicting it would become a cult classic.

But the large number of gamers trying the game have uncovered bugs and the Massive Monster team is working to fix them, devoting the next 12 months to updates and new content.

“There’s just so many people playing the game that there’s no way you can find some of these bugs that people are finding,” Wilton said.

Some of the problems that come with Massive Monster’s success would be nice to have.

“We’ve just got to figure out what to do with all this money now,” Wilton joked.

In 2020/21, Australian game development studios made $226m, with 82% of that money from overseas markets, according to figures from the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association.

Recent Aussie hits included Unpacking by Witch Beam in Brisbane, Hollow Knight by Team Cherry in Adelaide, and in Melbourne, Untitled Goose Game by House House and Florence by the studio Mountains.

The federal government offered tax breaks for developers in 2021 and pledged fresh funding through Screen Australia in March.

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Microsoft Activision Blizzard deal: Mircosoft sold 50% less Xboxes than Sony’s Playstations

In the continuous back-and-forth between Sony and Microsoft over the upcoming $A100 billion Activision Blizzard merger, Microsoft recently stated that Sony sold over twice as many PlayStation units as Microsoft did with Xbox.

In January, Microsoft announced plans to acquire gaming developer Activision Blizzard – which would include acquiring games like Call of Duty, warcraft and Devil.

Sony is opposing the deal because of fears it would mean gamers desert PlayStation for Xbox to play Call of Duty.

While “console wars” are often childish arguments over which console is favoured, a real console war is brewing in the courts of Brazil.

Recently, the Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defense, or CADE, started hearings regarding the upcoming Activision Blizzard buyout by Microsoft.

Asking for amplifying information from competitors, Sony filed several objections, stating that they see no way to compete with Call of Dutywhich Microsoft would own as a result of the merger.

Microsoft fired back, stating that Sony pays developers to avoid publishing their games on the Xbox Game Pass platform and that Sony’s claims about being “unable to compete” ring hollow.

Thanks to GameLuster, additional information has been gleaned from the documents filed to counter Sony’s claims.

A translation of the documents read: “Sony has surpassed Microsoft in terms of console sales and install base, having sold more than twice as many Xbox in the last generation.”

Microsoft has avoided releasing sales information about the Xbox, starting back in 2015, claiming that they’d like to focus on aspects other than sales metrics.

Sony, on the other hand, recently released their sales metrics for the PlayStation 4, which confirmed that over 117 million sales of the popular console had been achieved.

Doing the maths, we can assume that Microsoft only sold around 60 million or fewer Xbox consoles during that time.

Just under 60 million is no small feat, granted, but it likely isn’t where Microsoft wanted the console to be.

Call of Duty is still planned to be sold on the PlayStation post-acquisition, with Microsoft making a point to state that it will honor all existing contracts.

Brazil is only the first country to begin hearings regarding the merger, with the United States, Europe and other regulatory bodies beginning their hearings soon.

It is expected that the fate of the massive Microsoft deal could be decided soon unless these hearings go south for the tech giant.

Written by Junior Miyai on behalf of GLHF.

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Galaxy Watch loses a bezel, gains durable sapphire in 2022 – Pickr

The neat circular control ring on the Galaxy Watch is gone this year, as Samsung offers improvements to the glass up top, plus a little more.

Spare a thought for owners of a smartwatch with a broken or severely scratched screen, because owning a wristwatch didn’t always lead you down that path.

These days, it’s very possible that the person you see looking down at their smartwatch will have a screen on their wrist as broken as the screen in their pocket, because smartwatch glass is often just that fragile, with durable options costing so much more.

Some of the more popular smartwatch models tend to be divided by price and glass quality, with you needing to spend a whole lot more in order to get something with more durable sapphire glass, over an ion-strengthened glass which may only be strengthened to the point of not breaking one or two of then ten times your watch accidentally brushes a wall the wrong way.

We’ve seen broken Apple Watch screens before, and they’re not particularly pretty or friendly to fingers, but there are ways around them, such as watch cases or watch screen protectors, unsightly as some of this can be.

The better solution is to provide better glass quality up top, though it’s something device makers can charge a fair amount extra for.

The Apple Watch Series 7 is a good example of that, with the regular ion-strengthened glass variant with an aluminum case starting from $599, while the stainless steel model with sapphire crystal, starts at $1049, nearly twice the cost. Sapphire crystal is typically regarded as the glass quality you want on a watch, and it’s no surprise that Apple charges a little more for it.

This year, however, folks buying a Samsung Galaxy Watch may end up getting sapphire crystal glass up top for protecting their wrist-worn time and notifications, though they will end up missing another feature from previous models.

Announced alongside the 2022 Galaxy foldable phones and new noise canceling Galaxy Buds 2 Pro earphones was a couple of new wearables also on the way, as the Samsung Galaxy Watch hits version 5 and separates into two models, the Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro .

The two models are the latest wearables to sport the “Galaxy” name, and they’ll both be topped by sapphire crystal, which Samsung says is harder than previous generations, making it just that little bit more durable, as well.

But there’s more going on there, with sensors underneath to track heart rate, blood oxygen, stress, skin temperature, sleep patterns with sore detection, and an electrocardiograph (ECG), something which appeared in last year’s Galaxy Watch 4, alongside another way of the watch, a circular bezel similar to what controlling chronometers offer.

This year, that control ring is gone, with the watch models becoming more like a touchscreen phone, only one that’s circular, kind of like the Galaxy Watch Active models from the past.

The Galaxy Watch 5 models will run a Google operating system and provide apps and assistance Android users might already be familiar with, and thanks to some of Samsung’s additions, you’ll even be able to type messages on a circular keyboard found on the circular watch .

There will also be three sizes of the Watch5 model, with both a 40mm aluminum and 44mm aluminum Galaxy Watch 5, while a more durable 45mm titanium will appear in the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, the latter of which appears focused on the sporting crowd.

Prices appear fairly competitive with other smartwatch models, fetching a starting price of $499 and $549 for the 40mm and 44mm aluminum Galaxy Watch 5 models without 4G connectivity, while a mobile version will add $100 to each.

Meanwhile, the 45mm titanium Galaxy Watch5 Pro will cost $799 and $849 for the Bluetooth wireless or 4G models respectively, when they launch in Australia in September.

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The PS4 Sold ‘Twice As Many’ Units As The Xbox One, Court Papers Show

We now have a clear idea of ​​how many Xbox One consoles Microsoft sold during its lifetime and that Sony got “twice as many” into homes before it called time on production.

The news arrives courtesy of court documents filed during Microsoft’s ongoing legal battle with CADE, Brazil’s competition authority. The reason for the filings is that Microsoft is currently attempting to defend its historically expensive acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

The news was initially spotted by GameLuster and reported on Eurogamer. Page 18, paragraph 46 of the court filing states (and understand this translation is brought to you via Google Translate), “Sony has surpassed Microsoft in terms of console sales and install base, having sold more than twice as many (than) Xbox in the last generation.”

Microsoft, rather famously, stopped reporting on Xbox One sales figures in 2015. The decision to cease reporting sales data came after an abortive launch and confirmation that Sony’s PlayStation 4 was leaving it behind.

Sony confirmed in January that it had sold more than 116 million PS4 consoles. However, it recently updated that stat to 117.2 million in total lifetime sales, putting it behind only the PS2’s record-setting 155 million units sold. If the claims in the Brazilian court documents are to be believed, the Xbox One landed well south of that figure, coming in between 50 and 60 million units sold.

Industry analyst Daniel Ahmad backed up these numbers.

The papers also gave some insight into what Microsoft considers Xbox’s current market position. As you might assume, Xbox’s position is that it wants to promote its Xbox Game Pass platform over directly competing with Sony on hardware. In its own words, Xbox has made the decision to “move away from a strategy of ‘device-centric’ business towards a more consumer-centric” or “gamer-centric” platform, like Game Pass.

Further, it dismisses Sony’s concerns that the “inclusion of Activision Blizzard content in the Xbox Game Pass catalog would represent a ‘tipping point’ in the market”.

So, there you go. After years of lampshading the Xbox One’s final tally, we finally have a clear picture of how many units it actually sold. Another weird gaming mystery solved by totally unrelated court proceedings.

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Asmongold encounters hilarious glitch in Tower of Fantasy as NPCs become literal giants

Zack “Asmongold” has been playing Tower of Fantasy on his secondary Twitch channel since it was released. Known for his MMORPG streams, the OTK founder has already spent a lot of money on the game. Zack came across the bizarre sight of gigantic in-game mobs while roaming the world and was stunned.

youtube-cover

A direct competitor to Hoyoverse’s Genshin Impact, Tower of Fantasy was touted by many as the Genshin killer. With its recent launch for Western audiences, the game is being played by many streamers and has made a spot for itself in the top most-watched games list on Twitch in the last week.

Unfortunately, the game has had quite a rocky launch, with stability issues and multiple instances of bugs and disconnections. The apparent glitch of gigantic characters, however, is probably a hack. Asmongold was flabbergasted at encountering the phenomenon and expressed his disappointment by saying:

“How’s this so bad?”


Asmongold encounters bizarre bug in Tower of Fantasy and has to change channel lines to avoid it

Like Genshin Impact, Tower of Fantasy is an open-world MMO gacha game with tons to do. Released to Western audiences on August 11, the game has garnered a lot of attention from both gamers and streamers. Being a popular MMO streamer, Asmongold has been playing it extensively on his alternate channel titled zackrawrr.

While roaming the vast world Tower of Fantasy, the streamer was making his way to a world boss called Lady Lucia when the giant NPCs happened to attack him. The absurdly disproportionate size took the Texan by surprise and the only way he could express his astonishment was to repeatedly ask the rhetorical question:

“What? Why? Why?”

(Timestamp 1:22:57)

The streamer, however, was not determined from trying to kill the mobs. As the towering NPCs gathered to fight, Asmongold declared that he would fight them no matter their size:

“I mean, I’ll take care of all these guys. This is no big deal to me. You think I’m afraid of them just ’cause they’re big?”

After making short work of the monkeys, the streamer made his way to boss Lucia, but being starkly underleveled, could not put a dent in her health bar. Despite the fact that her huge character model of her had clipped through the ground and she could not attack him back.

Suspecting foul play, I tried restarting the game. Even that wasn’t enough to fix the issue, and the streamer had to change his channel lines to get rid of the funny but irritating bug.


fan reactions

His chat clearly found it hilarious as NPCs around him started to appear as behemoths compared to his character model. They flooded his stream with laughing emoticons:

Chat reactions to the bug(Image via zackrawrr/Twitch)
Chat reactions to the bug(Image via zackrawrr/Twitch)

A YouTube commenter by the moniker “A Boy Lost in Thoughts” had a theory about the bug being a hacker trying to mess with the streamer’s game:

“Think its not a bug but somebody hacked amd [sic] changed the code in that server. Because it doesn’t happen in my server or region”

YouTube comments about the glitch (Image via Asmongold Clips/YouTube)
YouTube comments about the glitch (Image via Asmongold Clips/YouTube)

Tower of Fantasy is far from a polished game, and while it does have features such as customization, many streamers and gamers still feel that Genshin Impact is the superior game.


Edited by Siddharth Satish

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Nvidia GeForce 30 Series Cards Are Cheaper Than You Might Think These Days

It’s been a long and winding road to get here, but 2022 has seen consistent price drops on the highly coveted RTX 3000 cards like the Nvidia GeForce 3080 and ultra powerful 3090 Ti, making them far more affordable for the average consumer.

The upcoming Nvidia RTX 4000 “Lovelace” graphics cards will likely replace current-gen GeForce RTX 3000 GPUs later this year, so it’s not a huge surprise that we are seeing these cards from manufacturers like Gigabyte and MSI sell for cheaper than ever before. But a great deal is still a great deal, especially if you’ve been waiting for a while to upgrade your gaming PC (like this 1070-owning tech writer). Check out some of the best deals in Australia we’ve found below:

Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3090 Ti GAMING OC 24GB Video Card – A$2,399 (was $3,299, 27% off)

Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3090 Ti is unquestionably one of the highest-performance graphics cards on the market. If you’ve got the money, you can’t do better than this.

See It ↗

  • GALAX GeForce RTX 3090 Ti 24GB Video Card – A$1,999 (was $2,499, save $500)
  • Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3090 Ti GAMING OC 24GB Video Card – A$2,399 (was $3,299, 27% off)
  • Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GAMING OC 12GB Video Card – A$1,499 (was $1,799, 17% off)
  • MSI GeForce RTX 3080 VENTUS 3X PLUS OC 12GB Video Card – A$1,389 (was $1,599, save $210)
  • MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Ti GAMING X TRIO 8GB Video Card – A$1,069 (was $1,149, save $90)
  • Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 EAGLE OC 8GB Video Card – LHR – A$829 (was $899, save $70)
  • ASUS GeForce RTX 3060 ROG Strix OC 12GB Video Card – V2 – A$699 (was $749, save $50)
  • MSI GeForce RTX 3060 VENTUS 2X OC 12GB Video Card – A$579 (was $599, save $20)
  • MSI GeForce RTX 3050 VENTUS 2X OC 8G GDDR6 – A$499

These are undoubtedly some of the lowest prices we’ve seen these at, from a mix of retailers like mwave.com.au, Amazon Australia, and PLE Computers. Get yourself a case like this CorsairTempered Glass Mid-Tower for A$169 (was $235, 28% off)and whatever variation of the components from our Best PC Deals Guide your budget will allow, and you’ve got yourself a whole new PC.

For more great deals on components, laptops & PC accessories available in Australia right now, check out our weekly round up here.

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