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PESHAWAR: A man accused of harassing a girl in the United States (US) through social media was arrested in Peshawar by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Crime Cell on Thursday, ARY News reported.

The FIA Cyber Crime Cell carried out an action against the suspected man following the complaint of the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). It emerged that the suspect was involved in harassing a girl in Virginia state via social media.

According to the FIA spokesperson, the accused confessed his crime during the interrogation.

READ: ACCUSED INVOLVED IN RAPING, FILMING BOYS AT GUNPOINT ARRESTED

The suspected man was arrested from the Hayatabad area of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) capital Peshawar by the officials of the child pornography cell working under FIA’s Cyber Crime Cell.

Earlier on September 4, the FIA Cyber Crime Cell had arrested three accused in Islamabad for allegedly blackmailing a girl, threatening to share her photo on social media.

READ: FIA ARRESTS MAN FOR BLACKMAILING FAMILY IN MULTAN

The girl had approached the police saying that she was being threatened by some people to share her photo on social media.

“They demanded money from the girl and threatened that in case of a denial, they will immediately share her photo on social media,” the agency said adding that the FIA acted upon the request immediately and arrested the three suspects.

The post Man accused of harassing girl in US arrested in Peshawar appeared first on ARY NEWS.

The development team of Cyberpunk 2077 are hiring a developer to work on their upcoming untitled Computer Role Playing Game (CRPG).

CD PROJEKT RED had posted the advertisement for the position of Open World Designer was posted on Game Jobs website.

“CD PROJEKT RED is looking for an Open World Designer (Junior/Specialist) to join our Cracow team,” the advertisement read. “We are looking for candidates with boundless creativity to fill our game world with believable and exciting content consisting of communities and events that player will encounter.”

Read More: CD Projekt reveals plans about Cyberpunk 2077 game

The candidates will be required come up with design and organize events by availing a toolset. Moreover, they will also be asked to fixed glitches and maintain the open world content quality of the company.

The employee will be responsible for handling the paperwork and coordinate with different teams.

Read More: Cyberpunk 2077 maker says was hit by cyber attack

The candidates need to have passion for gaming and have a knack to mod the games. They should have communication skills and creativity with an idea of visual effects. Strong critical and analytical thinking are a must and must be fluent in speaking English.

CD PROJECT RED’s project Cyberpunk 2077 is a first-person shooter that was released on platforms namely Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S.

The game was met with positive reviews from fans and critics despite having delays to get its glitches resolved.

The post Cyberpunk 2077 team hiring developer for upcoming project appeared first on ARY NEWS.

The beta version of Battlefield 2042 is slated to be released next month and players reported receiving code right after pre-ordering it.

According to a report, multiple Reddit users had claimed that they got the codes after they registered for the beta on Amazon. A series of posts regarding the code leaks were seen on the micro-blogging platform named Twitter as well.

The leaks made the players believe as if the video gaming giant have already rolled out the codes ahead of the beta version’s release on October 8.

An official gave a clarification on the issue.

This was a simple store front error that incorrectly listed the pre-order offer for PS4. It's being updated now and you'll see the correct details shortly.

To confirm: there have been no changes to the pre-order incentives for Battlefield 2042. https://t.co/2BYSV35d9i

— Freeman (@PartWelsh) September 22, 2021

Thanks to those who helped alert it to myself and the gang – it’ll take a short while to update things but it’ll be sorted in good time

— Freeman (@PartWelsh) September 22, 2021

Just had a quick check before I hit the hay – balance in the universe is indeed restored! pic.twitter.com/sxmQuY0xpm

— Freeman (@PartWelsh) September 22, 2021

He stated that the company has not offered incentives for increasing the sales of beta version.

Read More: Battlefield Mobile to make an entry in action-packed game series

Earlier, Electronic Arts had announced that the game’s release has been pushed back from October 22 to November 19 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the development team.

“With the ongoing conditions not allowing that to happen safely, and with all the hard work the teams are doing from home, we feel it is important to take the extra time to deliver on the vision of Battlefield 2042 for our players,” the company added.

The game will be releasing on platforms namely PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X along with Xbox Series S, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows.

The post Battlefield 2042 beta version codes get leaked appeared first on ARY NEWS.

ProGrade Digital just released the first CFexpress Type A cards that aren’t made by Sony and while they aren’t “cheap” by any stretch of the imagination, they are more affordable than Sony’s offering. But does that discount come at a performance cost?

At the time of publication, CFexpress Type-A memory cards were only used by Sony in a few of its newer cameras like the Alpha 1. The format is much smaller than a CFexpress Type B card and while Type A cards will never be as fast, Sony chose them for its line of cameras because they have a secondary benefit: the small size lets them share a card slot that can also be used with legacy SD cards.

SD cards are actually bigger than CFexpress cards, which let Sony build a slot in both its cameras and its CFexpress card reader that lets the one slot pull double duty. For photographers, this means that Sony could support faster read and write speeds to get the most out of its new cameras while also not forcing photographers to pick up all-new media.

That choice is great because Sony’s CFexpress Type A cards are — at the time of publication — $400 for 160GB of capacity, a considerable investment.

As you can see above, ProGrade elected to keep its two memory card reader slots separate.

While the format isn’t widespread yet, ProGrade Digital believes it will become more popular in the future and as such has decided to join the party and just released its version of the media.

Performance-wise, both Sony and ProGrade promise the same read and write speeds and physically both devices look almost identical — in fact, both cards note the country of origin as the same as well: Taiwan. The only real differences between them appear to be minor design choices on the back of the cards and a $70 price margin.

The only real way to repeatedly test and determine if there is a difference between these two cards is to run them each through speed tests. Theoretically, I could fire a burst of photos on camera with each card and time how long it takes to clear the buffer, but there is no reason to believe that the speed tests here would provide a different result especially since — as I’ll explain below — I used two different card readers. Additionally, this method is much more repeatable and controlled.

For this test, I have both the Sony and ProGrade CFexpress cards as well as the official card readers from both companies: the Sony MRW-G2 and the ProGrade Digital CFexpress Type A and SD Reader. I ran both cards through both of the readers in order to both see if there was any benefit to using a card reader and card from the same manufacturer, but also to assure that there was no unfair advantage that would appear by using a Sony card on a Sony reader, for example. I did not think one would exist, but it’s safer to be sure.

I ran speed tests using the BlackMagic Speed Test application on an Apple MacBook Pro multiple times. Both card readers were connected via USB-C cables into the reader and into the laptop — I did not use the cable that converts the USB-C design to USB-A. Testing speeds on cards varies with each run that the card goes through and performance will vary slightly depending on individual cards and over time, but the screenshots below are good overall averages of what you can expect from the cards.

First I want to show the results from running both cards through the ProGrade Digital combination CFexpress Type A and SD card reader:

As you can see, both cards fell short of the promised “up to” 800 MB/s read spends and 700 MB/s write speeds. The ProGrade Digital card averaged around 679 MB/s write speeds and around 785 MB/s read speeds with the ProGrade reader. The Sony card performed pretty similarly, averaging around 683 MB/s write speeds and around 780 MB/s read speeds through the ProGrade reader.

While it appears the ProGrade Digital card read data a bit faster than the Sony and the Sony wrote data a bit faster than the ProGrade, the difference here is within a tolerable margin of error of around 5 MB/s, which means that there is effectively no difference in performance between these cards with the ProGrade reader.

Next, I ran both cards through the Sony combination CFexpress and SD card reader:

The Prograde CFexpress card averaged around 654 MB/s write speeds and 730 MB/s read speeds when tested through the Sony reader. The Sony card averaged around 651 MB/s write speeds and 731 MB/s read speeds through the Sony reader. The results here are much closer than when the cards were compared through the ProGrade card reader and are absolutely within the expected margin of error.

As far as I am concerned, this confirms that the cards should effectively perform identically across mediums and cameras.

Curiously, both the ProGrade card and the Sony card performed worse through Sony’s reader than through ProGrade’s reader by a factor of nearly 20 MB/s in both read and write, which is more than I feel comfortable attributing to just a margin of error. I am not familiar with the inner workings of card readers and what might make one perform better than the other, but in my testing, ProGrade does take the win here as far as media readers.

If you were afraid that the $70 discount in price between the Sony and the ProGrade cards would result in worse performance for ProGrade, I have good news: both cards should perform pretty much exactly the same.

One thing worth noting though is that as far as card readers go, ProGrade Digital’s CFexpress Type A and SD card combo reader appears to be a bit better than the Sony MRW-G2 Cfexpress Type A reader. Sony’s reader is also $120, while ProGrade’s is $80. So while I can comfortably recommend you can buy either the Sony or ProGrade card (whichever is on sale) and get the same performance, it appears the ProGrade card reader will give you better performance, albeit just a little.

That said, ProGrade’s reader is made of mostly plastic while Sony’s is an all-metal housing. I haven’t ever encountered a situation where I needed my card reader to be tough as nails, but if that’s important to you, Sony is likely the better choice even if it’s just a hair slower.

The EU aims to have a common charging port for mobile phones, tablets and headphones under a European Commission proposal presented on Thursday in a world first, with the move impacting iPhone maker Apple more than its rivals.

The move has been more than 10 years in the making, with the European Union executive touting environmental benefits and 250 million euros ($293 million) in annual savings for users.

Under the Commission’s proposal, a USB-C connector will become the standard port for all smartphones, tablets, cameras, headphones, portable speakers and handheld videogame consoles. Chargers will also be sold separately from electronic devices.

The EU executive will revise its eco-design regulation in the near future so that the external power supply is interoperable, which is the last step for a common charge.

The Commission said it was not targeting Apple and only acted because companies were not able to agree on a common solution despite a decade of talks, which have reduced the number of mobile phone chargers to three from 30.

Apple pushed back against the proposal.

“We remain concerned that strict regulation mandating just one type of connector stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, which in turn will harm consumers in Europe and around the world,” the company said in a statement.

It also voiced concerns about the 24-month transition period for companies to comply with the legislation once it is adopted.

Commission industry chief Thierry Breton pointed to the ungainly sight of multiple charging cables.

“My job is to kill off these sea snakes whenever I can,” he told a news conference.

Breton also dismissed Apple’s comments as old refrains.

“I have known these companies for years. Every time we put (forward) a proposal, they start to say ‘oh, it will be against innovation’. No, it’s not against innovation, it’s not against anyone. Like everything the Commission does, it’s for consumers,” he said.

IPhone and Android users have long complained about having to use different chargers for their phones. The former is charged from a Lightning cable while Android-based devices are charged using USB-C connectors.

Half the chargers sold with mobile phones in 2018 had a USB micro-B connector, while 29% had a USB-C connector and 21% a Lightning connector, according to a 2019 Commission study.

The proposal needs the green light from EU member states and EU lawmakers following which companies will have two years to adapt their devices.

The post In setback for Apple, EU plans one mobile charging port for all appeared first on ARY NEWS.

The popular instant messaging app WhatsApp offers a feature that allows users to save important messages so they can access them later without any hassle.

The feature called “Starred messages” lets users to bookmark messages they want to quickly refer back to later.

Here’s how this feature works:

Step 1: You first need to open any chat on WhatsApp and long press a message in order to save it.

Step 2: There is a star icon on the top of the screen. You need to tap on it to save it as an important message on the app.

You can also unstar a message in a similar manner. There is a section on WhatsApp that shows “Starred messages”. It is visible when you tap on the three-dotted button, present near the search bar icon.

READ: WHATSAPP TO ALLOW USERS TO CONVERT IMAGES INTO STICKERS

The drop-down menu will show a “Starred messages” option. If you want to unstar a message, you need to long-press on the message and then unstar that message by tapping on the star icon.

Users can also remove all the saved messages in one go. A three-dotted icon on the top lets you do that.

READ: YOUR WHATSAPP TO SOON LOSE SHORTCUT TO MESSENGER ROOMS

There is also an alternate method that allows users to find a specific message if you don’t want to use the Starred message feature.

The app has a “Search” option in individual chats and in the main window that allows you to type the message you want to search and WhatsApp will quickly show the messages related to your search.

The post This WhatsApp feature lets users quickly access important messages appeared first on ARY NEWS.

The game is all set to release on October 26 for platforms namely PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC.

We play as Star-Lord, also known as Peter Quill, who leads the group of Gamora, Drax, Groot and Rocket. He has to make them get their act together and onboard for the mission.

The intriguing part of the game is that other character’s decisions can play an important role throughout the story. They all have different styles of combat, approaches and strategies towards the mission and fighting the enemies.

Read More: Upcoming PUBG game is being developed on Unreal Engine 5: report

The game is made in such a way that the players feel as if they are part of the Avengers. It also focuses on the decisions that are being made and how their relations can play the role in the outcome.

There is a Guardian Request System as well. It is influenced by the relations with the team members. The players can ask each other for help but they may not always be coming to your aid.

Guardians of the Galaxy has a signature equipment feature as well with Quill having guns and use his boots to fly around. The players can use their special skills to their advantage.

A combination meter is effective in order to unlock different skills. The newly acquired abilities will make the player figure out the level of damage they can cause against the enemies and how many of them can be targeted.

The Stagger meters will be helpful in knocking the opponents down and make them at risk of further attacks.

The players can be able to acquire new materials by collecting supplies as the game progresses. The acquired equipment can be used for upgrading Quill’s weapons layout.

This allows Star-Lord to power his weapons or coming with an improved version of the scanner, which gives information about the enemies, which leads to better decision making and improve fighting skills.

Scientists have discovered another clue to the origins of the virus that causes Covid-19, with bats living in caves in Laos found to be carrying a similar pathogen that experts suggest could potentially infect humans directly.

The virus has killed millions since it emerged in China in late 2019, and controversy continues to swirl around where it came from.

Some experts say it is animal-driven but others have pointed to the possibility the pathogen leaked from a lab.

Researchers from France’s Pasteur Institute and the National University of Laos said their findings showed that viruses genetically close to the SARS-CoV-2 virus “exist in nature” among bat species in the limestone caves of northern Laos, which neighbours China.

Of the viruses they identified among the hundreds of bats tested in Vientiane Province, three were found to closely resemble the virus that causes Covid-19, particularly in the mechanism for latching on to human cells.

“The idea was to try to identify the origin of this pandemic,” Marc Eloit, who leads the Pasteur Institute’s pathogen discovery laboratory, told AFP.

Eloit, whose team analysed the samples collected, said there were still key differences between the viruses found and SARS-CoV-2.

But he said the work was “a major step forward” in identifying the pandemic’s origin, confirming the theory that the coronavirus that has spread across the world could have started with living bats.

The authors of the study, which has been submitted to Nature for peer review, warned that their findings suggest the new viruses “seem to have the same potential for infecting humans as early strains of SARS-CoV-2”.

“People working in caves, such as guano collectors, or certain ascetic religious communities who spend time in or very close to caves, as well as tourists who visit the caves, are particularly at risk of being exposed,” the authors said.

‘Natural spillover’

International experts sent to China by the World Health Organization (WHO) in January concluded that it was most likely that the SARS-CoV-2 virus jumped from bats to humans via an intermediate animal.

A competing hypothesis that the virus leaked from a lab like the specialised virology laboratory in Wuhan was deemed “extremely unlikely”, although it has yet to be ruled out.

Martin Hibbert, Professor of Emerging Infectious Disease at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine — who was not involved in the Laos research — said the most closely related virus was found to be able to infect human cells “as easily” as SARS-CoV-2 and therefore might be capable of infecting humans.

But he stressed that the virus is “not an ancestor of the pandemic strain”.

“This work confirms the expected diverse nature of bat infecting coronaviruses and increases the evidence that natural spill-over events from bats to humans can occur,” said Hibbert.

The authors of the Laos study, which has been posted on the site Research Square, said their results suggest the pandemic coronavirus potentially evolved through mixing between different viruses and species of bats.

James Wood, Head of Department of Veterinary Medicine at University of Cambridge — who was also not involved in the research — said it suggests “recombination between different viruses was likely involved, rather than there being a simple evolution of a single lineage over a long period”.

In a comment to the Science Media Centre he said this not only underscores the likely role played by bats and perhaps other animals living closely together, but also shows the “risks inherent in living wildlife trade”, where markets can help drive cross-species zoonotic transmission.

The post Bats with Covid-like viruses found in Laos: study appeared first on ARY NEWS.

As California struggles with another crippling drought, a Silicon Valley startup that believes robots can grow produce more sustainably said Wednesday it raised $50 million in a funding round led by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

Iron Ox uses robots that are integrated with a hydroponic system consuming 90% less water than traditional farms, said CEO Brandon Alexander.

The company is putting that system to work at a 10,000-square foot (930 square meter) greenhouse in Gilroy, California, where a self-driving robot named Grover moves pallets of Genovese Basil and a robotic arm system lifts the pallets for inspection. Sensors check the water for nitrogen and acidity levels for healthy growth.

“Then they say, ‘What is missing? What does that plant need that we’re not giving it’,” Alexander said. Any water not used can be pumped back into the system to be reused later.

Agriculture plays an important role in California’s economy, but water usage is increasingly in the spotlight. The last major drought in 2012-2017 cut irrigation for farmers, forced strict household conservation measures and stoked deadly wildfires.

Iron Ox grows Thai basil and strawberries and is working on cilantro, parsley, and tomatoes. The company is also building a new 535,000-square-foot greenhouse in Lockhart, Texas, 30 miles (48 km) south of Austin.

Alexander said hydroponics – saving water by growing plants without soil – is just one piece of the puzzle for future farming.

“To really eliminate waste, to really get to that next level of sustainability and impact, we have to rethink the entire grow process,” he said.

The funding round included investors from Crosslink Capital, R7 Partners, and Pathbreaker Ventures, among others. Iron Ox declined to comment on its valuation.

The post Bill Gates’ green tech fund bets on farming robots appeared first on ARY NEWS.

Microsoft has announced that Office 2021 will be launching alongside Windows 11 with the company already set the new operating system’s launch date for October 5.

Office 2021 will be available in the following versions:

• Microsoft Office Home and Student 2021
• Microsoft Office Home and Business 2021
• Microsoft Visio Standard 2021
• Microsoft Visio Professional 2021
• Microsoft Project Standard 2021
• Microsoft Project Professional 2021

Office 2021 is practically identical to Office Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC), a software suite that the company already distributes to business customers, according to a report.

Microsoft will continue to offer 32-bit versions as well and you do not need to purchase a Microsoft 365 subscription for the next version of Office as Microsoft’s MSRP remains as it was for the 2019 edition.

ALSO READ: ANDROID APPS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON WINDOWS 11

The company has not yet released much information about features the new version of Office will have. But, it has confirmed that Office 2021 will have a new standard font, XLOOKUP, Dynamic arrays and Instant Search, among other changes.

The post Microsoft Office 2021 will be available without subscription, launch date unveiled appeared first on ARY NEWS.

Apple Watch Series 7, the latest addition to Apple’s wearable tech family. The Series 7‘s new features have the potential to add more convenience to a lot of everyday tasks, from checking the time to responding to texts and tracking your sleep. 

Apple unveiled the $399 Apple Watch Series 7 during its product launch event on Sept. 14 alongside the iPhone 13 family, a refreshed iPad Mini, and a new entry-level iPad. The company hasn’t specifically said when the Series 7 will launch, beyond later this fall.

Here are the best exciting new features of the Apple Watch Series 7.

The Apple Watch is getting a new, QWERTY keyboard that takes advantage of its larger screen, which is about 20% bigger than the Series 6’s, allowing you to type similarly to the way you would on your phone.

What’s new: A full-size keyboard means that you won’t be limited to sending a canned response to a text, scribbling a quick note or dictating a message, as is the case with the Apple Watch Series 6.

How you’ll use it: The Apple Watch Series 7’s QWERTY keyboard will let you tap each key to type, or use Apple’s QuickPath feature to swipe between letters without lifting your finger.

The bottom line: The Series 7’s QWERTY keyboard should make it easier to send longer and more complex messages that are uncomfortable to scribble or too private to dictate. It’s another example of how the Apple Watch has evolved to become better at working independently of your phone in the years since its launch.

The Apple Watch Series 7 is getting its first major redesign since the Series 4 launched in 2018. The new watch will come in 41-millimeter and 45mm sizes for the first time, representing a shift away from the 40mm and 44mm sizes that were available on the Series 4 through Series 6.

The Apple Watch Series 7’s screen is about 20% larger than the Series 6’s and more than 50% bigger than the Series 3’s. The borders that frame the screen are also 40% smaller than those of the Series 6, allowing Apple to expand the screen size without making the device much larger. Apple says older watch bands will still be compatible with the Series 7.

Apple is also updating the Apple Watch’s display in a different way by making the screen more visible in always-on mode. It’s another addition that should make it even faster to get quick bits of information from your watch.

What’s new: The Apple Watch Series 7’s screen is up to 70% brighter in always-on mode when your wrist is down, according to Apple. However, Apple specifically says this applies to indoor usage, so it’s unclear whether you’ll see meaningful gains outdoors in direct sunlight.

How you’ll use it: The Series 7’s improved brightness means it should be even easier to see information like the time, your activity rings and your next meeting without having to wake the watch’s screen.

The battery of the Apple Watch Series 7 is expected to last as long as the Series 6, but Apple says it’s slashing the amount of time it takes to charge your watch. The Apple Watch Series 7 can charge up to 33% faster than the Apple Watch Series 6. It should take 45 minutes to charge from zero to 80%, and 8 minutes of charging should enable 8 hours of sleep tracking.

We’ve been asking for more battery life out of the Apple Watch for years, but that’s especially relevant now that Apple has added native sleep tracking to its smartwatches. Rather than extending the watch’s battery life, Apple is making it easier to quickly charge the watch during short windows throughout the day, presumably so that you don’t have to charge it overnight.

Apple is largely focusing on exercise tracking for the Apple Watch. The Series 7 should be more suitable for outdoor activity since Apple claims it has a more durable build.

What’s new: The Apple Watch Series 7 is rated for IP6X dust resistance (a first) and is coated in a crystal cover that Apple says is 50% thicker than that of the Apple Watch Series 6. That means you should feel at ease wearing it to the beach or during a hike.

How you’ll use it: The Series 7’s increased durability could pair nicely with the new cycling features in WatchOS 8. The new software brings an updated version of fall detection that Apple says can tell the difference between falling off a bicycle and a different type of accident. Apple also says WatchOS 8 should be able to automatically detect outdoor cycling workouts.

The post The best new features of Apple Watch Series 7 appeared first on ARY NEWS.

The Nikon 50mm f/2.8 Macro Prime lens is part of a pair announced in June. While the lens is designated as a macro, the 50mm focal length makes it more of a walkabout lens with macro capabilities.

While Nikon’s legacy macro lenses would still work using the FTZ adapter on the Z-System, the new lenses note another step of Nikon’s promise to deliver a wider range of native functionality lenses on its mirrorless systems. Nikon designed this new lens to be a small, lightweight, and compact everyday lens that can be used with both full-frame or APS-C Nikon Z mirrorless systems.

While it is a macro lens, the $650 Nikon 50mm f/2.8 offers a focal length that makes it a lens that can work double duty, both as a standard lens as well as one for close-up shots.

50mm is a lot wider than the standard 100mm or longer typically seen in macro lenses and thus frees this lens from the niche of only macro work. The 50mm f/2.8 is therefore quite diverse in its functionality and is suitable for both portrait and street photography, for example. But on the other side of the coin, users will notice it does lack a few key features when compared to the 105mm sibling, most notably the lack of Vibration Reduction (VR) and no special ARNEO coating.

The question is, does that matter?

The Nikon Z 50mm f/2.8 Macro lens is the smaller and more affordable lens of the duo of macro optics released this summer. While the 50mm “wide” focal length does give users more flexibility as a walk-about lens, it also means that users will have to get much closer to their subjects to get the true macro shots. The upside of the focal range is it will be much easier to get handheld shots without having to worry about camera shake and blurriness, at least in well-lit situations.

The 50mm lens is about half the size and weighs less than half than its 105mm sibling, which makes it truly compact and travel-friendly. Something keen eyes may notice out of the box is that the 50mm lacks the S-line designation the higher-end lenses from Nikon’s mirrorless lenses have. This lighter plastic body does make the lens feel “lesser” as well.

Despite the lens being rated as dust and weather resistant, because it is so small and has a mostly plastic exterior, it feels almost like a toy lens rather than something intended for capturing incredibly sharp and detailed professional images. This may perhaps mean that it makes for a better “everyday” lens since it will be less likely to stand out while traveling.

Like most new Z-Mount lenses, the focus ring can be programmed to control additional settings like ISO and exposure compensation when using AF mode.

The last feature worth noting here is unlike most modern macro lenses with internal focus mechanisms, the Nikon Z 50mm f/2.8 Macro uses a more traditional extending inner barrel system. The plus side to this design element is it allows the lens to be smaller when not using the feature, making it more compact for storage and travel. The downside is, of course, that it has a physically extending piece that can change its weight distribution.

I found myself dealing with a shorter “working” distance than other macro lenses in order to get the true 1:1 macro shots, and when shooting at the 1:1 focus distance, the maximum aperture was f/5.6 instead of the f/2.8. While the aperture was a bit of a headscratcher, the big frustration point for me with this lens was the fact you had to get incredibly close to the subjects for the 1:1 shots. So much so that it was very hard to frame a photo without blocking the light and casting a shadow or getting too close to the small insects I was trying to capture that I would unintentionally scare it away.

The autofocus works pretty accurately, especially when shooting video. However, when shooting up close for the 1:1 shots, it is important to flip the switch on the focus limiter on the side of the lens otherwise there will be a very noticeable lag and focus breathing present as it makes autofocus adjustments.

After a lot of testing, I found the peak sharpness to be between the f/4 to f/5.6 range with my images. I was surprised to find that the lens was getting slightly softer starting as early as f/8.

The Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 may not have the extra nanocrystal or ARNEO coatings like its 105mm sibling, but that does not mean the images produced by it are bad by any stretch of the imagination.

Shooting at 1:1, the depth of field is very thin, which was something I personally had to get used to, but I have found it visually interesting and a lot of fun to play with. That thin plane of focus aside, once focus is dialed in, pretty much edge to edge is sharp.

What was nice about this lens is how it is also a very nice walkabout lens. I found that while shooting it as a “normal” lens that it was quite easy to get incredibly sharp images at f/2.8 with only minor vignetting in the far corners. In that sense, I can see a lot to like about using this lens as you would with any 50mm lens and being happy with the results.

Below are some sample images captured with the Nikon Z 50mm f/2.8 Macro:

For photographers that are interested in macro images but aren’t quite ready to invest heavily into the niche lenses, this is a great first step into the field. The Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 Macro lens is capable of being an everyday generalist lens for landscape, street, and portrait work, on top of capturing fantastic macro images which means it can adapt to a variety of situations should you find that macro isn’t your favorite subject matter.

For the macro purist, however, there are likely better options out there for you and while the 50mm f/2.8 is nice, it has limitations.

There are plenty of DSLR macro lenses available to choose from including the $419 Nikon Micro-NIKKOR 55mm f/2.8 Lens which is arguably a better macro lens. That being said, there are only a handful of macro lenses specifically designed for the Nikon Z series currently available including the 105mm f/2.8 VR S Lens some manual Venus Optic (Laowa) Macro lenses, and the IRIX cine 150mm T3.0 Macro lens for $1,195 that jumps significantly in price.

Yes, if macro photography is new and a path of interest for your work, then the Nikkor Z MC 50mm F/2.8 Macro is definitely worth the investment to get you started shooting macro images on the Nikon mirrorless system and you will be very happy with the results you can capture.

However, if you have been shooting macro images for a while and already have a variety of macro lenses available in your kit, I would recommend skipping the 50mm f/2.8 macro and jumping right to the 105mm f/2.8 VR S Macro instead.

KARACHI: Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Crime Cell has restored the ‘hacked’ Facebook page of the Sindh Minister for Prisons Aijaz Jakhrani, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

Following the complaint of the Sindh Prisons Minister Aijaz Jakhrani, the FIA cyber crime cell regained access to the social page having around 60,000 followers.

According to the FIA spokesperson, the hackers had gained access to the social media page after sending a link. The hackers had shared obscene pictures on the Facebook page and retained access to the social media page for 12 days.

FIA Additional Director Cyber Crime Cell Imran Riaz said in a statement that the intelligence agency was taking steps to arrest the hackers at the earliest.

After getting back access to his social media page, Aijaz Jakhrani in a video message praised the FIA team for retrieving his Facebook page.

He thanked FIA Director-General (DG) Sanaullah Abbasi, FIA Additional Director Imran Riaz and Deputy Director Kaleemullah Memon for taking immediate action to recover his social media page.

Aijaz Jakhrani criticised his political opponents for playing dirty tricks to defame him by posting obscene pictures and stories after hacking his Facebook page. He added that the hackers will be arrested soon and their motives will be exposed.

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Apple recently rolled out its latest operating system, iOS 15, and it will have new and improved features for improving the use of Google applications.

The announcement was made by the technology company was made in a statement.

A Focus mode is announced in which the feature will help in getting tasks finished within a given timeframe. They will be able to receive timely notifications.

Not only the feature will be handy in getting work done, but it will also be helpful in a different manner. For example, the tool will inform drivers if the road ahead is closed or quick turns have to be made.

The latest feature named Google Home will let the users know if strangers are standing outside their homes. This will help take precautions and inform the police or authorities of any suspicious person.

The tool will serve as a reminder regarding any work or house chore that needs to get done promptly.

But the less important notifications will get transferred to the Notifications Centre. They can get accessed later.

The statement mentioned that Google Photos and YouTube Music will release even larger versions of their widgets in the future for providing easy access to music and memories on iPads.

Earlier, Spotlight was making it easy to find content from Google Drive. With the latest version, songs – which are searched – will start playing on YouTube Music.

TRIKALA, Greece: Greece on Tuesday tested a drone to deliver medicines to isolated places in an environmentally friendly way, sending the unmanned vehicle to a 200-person village.

The red drone with four rotor blades took off from the northwestern Greek city of Trikala and flew 3 kilometers (0.5 miles) to Leptokarya. It made two stops, landing outside a pharmacy and in a farmer’s field.

A pharmacy staff member unloaded the medicine from a storage compartment on the drone, and it took off again.

“Technology can give real solutions to real problems that we have today. Today we transported medicines to a pharmacy nearby, tomorrow it could be to transport medicines to some emergency,” said Trikala Mayor Dimitris Papastergiou.

The EU-funded program called Harmony aims to use low carbon and less resource intensive solutions for transport.

The drone program is intended to serve people with mobility issues, isolated villages and homes and sites of emergencies. Officials said the project is particularly crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It concerns situations where immediate help will be needed, or people and places that are isolated,” said Dimitris Anastasiou, president of the Trikala pharmacists’ association.

The Harmony program, which also has autonomous vehicles, will be tested in six cities in Europe and Britain.

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The much-anticipated World War II game, Call of Duty: Vanguard, is slated to be released on November 5. The details of its beta version have been announced.

According to reports, the version was supposed to be brought down on September 20, but the date was extended by two days.

The available maps in the beta version are Hotel Royal, Gavutu, Red Star and Eagle’s Nest.

The modes include Champion Hill, Team Deathmatch, Domination, Kill Confirmed
Patrol along with Search and Destroy.

Earlier, the developers at Sledgehammer have made changes to resolve the visual complaints.

As far as the sound tunings are concerned, the weapons and walking noise have seen changes. This results in players being able to listen to the footsteps of the enemies clearly.

Read More: Call of Duty: Vanguard captures horrors of Second World War

A new feature introduced in the game is Combat Pacing. It allows the players to choose the intensity of their matches. It has three types.

1. Tactical: It caters to franchise fans that are familiar with the timing. It is always played between teams of six players each.
2. Assault: Players will get enough breathing space along with many targets to kill. The number of players is between 20 to 28.
3. Blitz: It is the most intense level of the feature.

The game will capture the horrors of World War II.

The game will be published by Activision. It is a production of Sledgehammer Games, Treyarch, Raven Software, Beenox, High Moon Studios.

It will be available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S and Microsoft Windows.

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The United States imposed sanctions Tuesday on cryptocurrency exchange SUEX for its ties to ransomware attackers, as Washington seeks to crack down on digital crime.

The move comes after hacks and data breaches that have targeted a major US oil pipeline, a meatpacking company and the Microsoft Exchange email system, as well as ransomware attacks hitting various sectors.

The US Treasury Department did not say if SUEX was implicated in any of those incidents, but noted that 40 percent of the exchange’s known transaction history was linked to “illicit actors.”

“Some virtual currency exchanges are exploited by malicious actors, but others, as is the case with SUEX, facilitate illicit activities for their own illicit gains,” the Treasury Department’s statement said.

As a result of the sanctions, any assets of the platform under US jurisdiction are now blocked and Americans are barred from using SUEX.

The United States in July offered $10 million rewards for information on online extortionists abroad as it stepped up efforts to halt a sharp rise in ransomware attacks.

This year has seen a slew of prominent ransomware attacks which have disrupted a US pipeline, a meat processor and the software firm Kaseya — affecting 1,500 businesses, many of them far from the limelight.

Some $350 million was paid to malicious cyber actors last year, a spike of 300 percent from 2019, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

US officials say that many of the attacks originate in Russia although they have debated to what extent there is state involvement. Russia denies responsibility.