NVIDIA To Cease GPU Driver Support For Windows 7 And 8 By October 2021

Despite being several years old, NVIDIA is still releasing GPU driver updates for older Microsoft operating systems including Windows 7, 8 and 8.1. However, this will no longer be the case once October 2021 rolls in, as announced by the company via a newly published support page on its website.

“Effective October 2021, Game Ready Driver upgrades, including performance enhancements, new features, and bug fixes, will be exclusively available for systems utilizing Windows 10 as their operating system,” NVIDIA wrote. “Critical security updates will be available on systems utilizing Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 through September 2024.”

Seeing that current games and applications are only compatible with the current generation Windows systems, NVIDIA’s (and even Microsoft’s) decision to cease support for the older platforms shouldn’t be an issue to most users. That is, provided that they have already upgraded to the popular Windows 10 system, which will soon hit its six-year-old mark late next month.

HIDE-Listed Premises Ordered To Close Immediately; Bazaars In MCO Areas To Cease Starting Monday

 

Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yakoob earlier announced that all premises including Ramadhan bazaars that are listed under the Hotspot Identification for Dynamic Engagement (HIDE) system will be ordered to close for three days, effective immediately.  The system’s list of high-risk locations, which serves as an preventive measure to prevent further spreading of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia, was released to the public earlier today via various sources, including the National Security Council’s (MKN) Telegram channel and the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) Twitter account.

Enforcement activities for all premises will be monitored by police, armed forces, the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry as well as local authorities, he added. The minister also revealed that all Ramadhan and Aidilfitri bazaars in areas under the Movement Control Order (MCO) will be closed from Monday.

In addition, Ismail Sabri noted that individual sport and recreational activities, as well as non-contact sports with compliance to physical distancing of at least 1.5 metres in open spaces are still allowed for health purposes. “At the moment, the government is studying the standard operating procedures (SOP) and if the daily cases continue to rise, the government will obtain the advice as well as risk assessment of the Health Ministry to enable the SOP to be tightened,” he said.

As a quick recap, locations listed under MCO includes the entire state of Kelantan, the areas of Gali and Tras in Pahang, the areas of Hulu Langat, Petaling, Gombak, Klang, Kuala Langat and Sepang in Selangor, and also Kuala Lumpur. Meanwhile, the locations under CMCO currently includes the areas of Kuala Selangor, Sabak Bernam and Hulu Selangor in the state of Selangor, Raub in Pahang, and the entire states of Penang, Johor, Sarawak and Sabah. Those under RMCO are the other areas within the state of Pahang, and the entire states of Kedah, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Perlis, Terengganu, as well as the federal territories of Putrajaya and Labuan.

Sony Will Cease PlayStation Store Service For PS3, PSP And PS Vita From July Onwards

Sony has quietly confirmed that it will be ceasing the PlayStation Network (PSN) Store service for its older video game consoles later this year. According to the company’s recently updated PlayStation support page, it is revealed that the service is slated to shut down on the PS3 and PSP on 2 July, while the PS Vita will lose access to it much later on 27 August.

What this means is that users will no longer be able to purchase any new content for the aforementioned PlayStation consoles once the PSN Store service officially ends. Sony added that wallet vouchers will no longer be applicable to the PS3, PSP and PS Vita around that time as well. Naturally, since the service is universal to PlayStation’s ecosystem, any remaining balance in your PSN wallet can still be used to purchase digital content for other platforms such as the PS4 or PS5 – provided that you own these consoles.

Fortunately, all is not lost for those who still game on the older generation Sony platforms. According to the company, any existing content such as games or media in a player’s library will still be retained and can be redownloaded at any time, even after the closure of the PSN Store. In addition, users may also still be able to redeem non-wallet vouchers on these consoles, such as PS Plus subscriptions and codes for claiming digital versions of certain video game titles.

The closure of the PSN Store will certainly cause inconveniences to fans of retro gaming (yes, these consoles are considered retro now), especially for acquiring console-exclusive titles such as Metal Gear Solid 4 for the PS3 and even Patapon for the PSP. Even though there is still a chance that used (or new, in some rare cases) copies of these games may still be available for sale, the most sure shot way of having them in your gaming library is by buying them digitally.

Purchasing these games digitally via PSN Store also guarantees that you’ll be able to nab them at a recommended retail price, therefore saving you the trouble of potentially sifting through physical copies sold by scalpers at unbelievable prices. That being said, the time is right if you are planning to fill up your library with these games, as you won’t be able to do so once Sony ceases its Store service for its aging consoles this summer.