NVIDIA: good things comes in threes

NVIDIA has released a new Game Ready Driver for Apex Legends and two other games, and a bundle for GeForce RTX GPUs that includes Metro Exodus, Anthem, and/or Battlefield V. Additionally, there are three new G-SYNC Compatible Displays.

The latest GeForce Game Ready driver will optimise the Apex Legends experience, as well as that for Devil May Cry 5 and Tom Clancy's Division II.

Game Ready Drivers are available on or before launch day for most major titles and are tuned for best performance and flawless gameplay. Every Game Ready Driver is also Microsoft WHQL-certified.

A new Triple Threat bundle

Buy an eligible GeForce RTX 2080 Ti or 2080 GPU, desktop and laptop and get Metro Exodus, Anthem, and/or Battlefield V. If gamers buy a GeForce RTX 2070 or 2060 GPU, desktop or laptop, they can pick one of the three.

Three more G-SYNC Compatible Displays

GeForce gamers can play their new titles on a trifecta of new G-SYNC-compatible displays. The G-SYNC Compatible programme expands the G-SYNC ecosystem, and aims to bring consistency and educate consumers on which displays will provide a good entry level variable refresh rate (VRR) experience.

Three new monitors have been added to the list of G-SYNC Compatible Displays: the BenQ XL2540-B/ZOWIE XL LCD, Acer XF250Q and Acer ED273 A.

Under the G-SYNC Compatible programme, NVIDIA works with monitor original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to validate the experience on monitors that support the AdaptiveSync protocol. Those that pass are designated as G-SYNC Compatible. 

Source: NVIDIA blog post. Available today, a new Triple Threat bundle enables those who buy an eligible GeForce RTX 2080 Ti or 2080 GPU, desktop and laptop to get Metro Exodus, Anthem, and/or Battlefield V.

Details:

Download the Game Ready driver. To download and install, fire up GeForce Experience and click the Drivers tab.

Triple Threat bundles vary by country. Get Triple Threat bundle details for:

Australia/New Zealand
Indonesia
Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
The Philippines
Vietnam

Browse the list of G-SYNC Compatible displays

Google likes mobile optimised sites. What are you doing about it?

World Markets Korea, an online marketing company based in Seoul, Korea, has listed some of the criteria that Google now looks at in determining mobile-friendly sites.
The criteria include text size, the amount of space between links and whether the content fits across a mobile screen. After reviewing these areas Google will then decide if your site is 'Mobile Friendly', the company said.

Businesses should get their web designers to update their sites accordingly. World Markets Korea also offers mobile optimisation services.

As of April 21 2015 Google gives preference to what it refers to as 'Mobile Friendly' sites when ranking a website in its searches. The move reflects a growing interest in using mobile devices to surf the Internet. As far back as the first quarter of 2014 Ofcom Research had already noted that smartphones and tablets account for 52% of users surfing the internet. 

According to Statcounter, Asia has seen an increase from 27.1% in June 2013 to 41.3% in June 2014 in proportion of Internet access from mobile devices, a year on year increase of 52.3%. In Oceania the increase is from 21.7% in June 2013 to 29% in June 2014, a year on year increase of 33.6%. 

Want to know more?

Businesses can check compliance with Google's criteria on Google's 'Mobile Friendly' test page. 

Asians grapple with comfort with air conditioning

Hong Kong startup Ambi Labs has launched a crowdsourcing campaign for Ambi Climate, an add-on to optimise an air conditioning (AC) environment based on feedback from ten markets in Asia over two years. 

Source: Ambi Labs.

The company conducted online surveys across ten key markets in Asia with over 4,000 respondents, and has found that the primary AC challenge is in maintaining comfortable conditions, while high costs and the carbon footprint are also concerns.

Overall, 72% of respondents in the region identified with at least one AC usage issue, such as finding the room too warm, too cool, too dry or too humid at times.

Ambi Labs' research indicates that these difficulties are largely due to the outdated design of existing AC remotes. "Current remote controls encourage the user to focus on power and temperature buttons, so it is unsurprising that many users engage in inefficient on/off control behaviour - they switch on their ACs when they are hot, and switch them off when it gets too cold. The resulting 'yo yo-ing' in temperature, as some of our research participants called it, is both uncomfortable and a waste of energy. They have also complained about needing to adjust their ACs as much as every 30 minutes," said Julian Lee, Founder and CEO of Ambi Labs. 

Ambi Climate is designed to manage the AC while minimising energy consumption with machine learning techniques. According to the company, the product can predict conditions in the area, remember user preferences, local weather patterns and the building's heating and cooling profile. 

"Recently, several learning thermostats and AC controllers have appeared on the market, but most of these predict the schedule of the user, i.e. when they are home and when they are out, and automatically switch the AC on and off to match. Our research shows that this isn't a challenge in Asia - users typically switch on their ACs when they need them, and do not need help in this regard," said Lee.

The funding campaign ends in August.