Should you turn your computer off at night‚ or is it fine to just slap down the laptop screen once you're done? Like all of life’s great questions‚ there is no simple one-size-fits-all answer‚ but there are good things to know to inform your choice.It’s estimated that just 37 percent of people shut down their computers every night‚ according to a poll of 1‚000 Americans cited by Panda Security. It’s often assumed that it’s best practice to shut down when the day is done‚ as if the computer needs a good night's rest just like the rest of us. However‚ it’s not always necessary to turn off your computer after each use.Left unattended‚ most computers will go into “sleep mode” after a certain amount of time. Most laptops will also go into sleep mode if you close the screen‚ although this can be changed in your settings.This is effectively a low-power mode that uses relatively little energy‚ keeping all of your files‚ programs‚ and data still gently running in the background but left on temporary pause. This means it’s quicker for you to get back to work when you hit the keyboard or wiggle the mouse. It’s also good if you want to run updates‚ scan for viruses‚ or do other activities while you’re not using your computer.However‚ this does come with some drawbacks. It’s not wise to leave your computer on sleep mode if you're connected to an unsecured network in public‚ as it could be more vulnerable to cyberattacks. Leaving a computer in sleep mode will also use up some electricity – something to consider if you're keeping a close eye on bills. Speaking of electricity‚ you may also want to invest in a surge protector‚ which will protect the computer from power spikes that could damage its components. Completely turning off your computer occasionally is also worthwhile as it clears the RAM‚ which will help it operate more smoothly. Another factor to consider is how often you will be turning it on. Switching on a computer takes a fair amount of energy and (some argue) this surge can put a strain on the system‚ potentially decreasing the lifespan of the computer. This is why some experts recommend that frequently used computers should only be powered on and off once per day at most‚ and a full shutdown should only be put into action when the computer will not be used for an extended period of time.“It depends on how often you use it‚” said Steven Leslie‚ Geek Squad agent‚ speaking to Digital Trends. “If you use your computer multiple times per day‚ it’s best to leave it on. If you use it for a short time — say an hour or two — just once a day‚ or even less‚ then turn it off.”“Leaving a computer on all the time is less stressful than turning it off and on several times a day — but it is constant stress‚” added Leslie. Altogether‚ the question boils down to how you personally use your computer. As a general rule‚ leaving your computer on for days at a time won’t bring it any harm if you’re regularly using your laptop‚ but it’s worth giving it a weekly full shutdown and taking some precautions. An earlier version of this article was published in March 2022.

The 1915 Çanakkale Bridge‚ recognized as the world's longest suspension bridge‚ stretches across the Dardanelles Strait and represents a significant infrastructural achievement. It connects the European and Asian continents within Turkey‚ offering a swift passage that eliminates the need for a traditional ferry journey that normally lasts about an hour and a half.Standing at 2‚023 meters (6‚637 feet) between the two towers‚ the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge is now the largest suspension bridge in the world. “Turkey has overtaken Japan‚ which has the longest bridge in the world in terms of the midspan‚ and has taken the first place‚” said President Erdogan during the inauguration‚ report AP News. The bridge took almost five years to construct and was built by both Turkish and South Korean companies to strengthen ties between the two nations‚ costing $2.7 billion (£2.06 billion). It is now the only motorway in Turkey that links both Europe and Asia outside of Istanbul‚ and the journey itself takes just 6 minutes.   The bridge connects Gelibolu‚ on the European side and Lapseki on the Asian side. Its name – 1915 Çanakkale Bridge – references a major naval victory of the Ottoman Empire over British forces during World War I as the Brits attempted to take control of the strait. An earlier version of this article was published in March 2023.

Early data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest that the latest round of COVID-19 shots are 54 percent effective at preventing symptomatic disease. The updated vaccines offer protection against the JN.1 variant that’s currently dominating worldwide‚ and yet uptake continues to be low.“Everything from this study is reassuring that the vaccines are providing the protection that we expected‚” lead author Ruth Link-Gelles‚ head of the CDC’s vaccine effectiveness program for COVID and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)‚ told CNN.The data for the study were collected from 9‚222 individuals who took COVID tests at a CVS Pharmacy or Walgreens location through the CDC’s Increasing Community Access to Testing (ICATT) program‚ between September 21‚ 2023‚ and January 14‚ 2024.While the CDC’s stated aim with its COVID vaccination effort is to prevent severe disease that can cause hospitalization and death‚ Link-Gelles explained to CNN that measuring the impact on symptomatic disease is a good early indicator of the success of a vaccine. There’s a larger population of people who get infected than who are hospitalized with more serious illness‚ so you have more data to play with.“That’s a really nice feature of this analysis‚ that it checks that box: Yes‚ the vaccine is working‚ it’s providing protection‚ it’s providing protection for JN.1‚ which is the current most common variant‚” she said.The 54 percent figure is broadly in line with what we’ve seen with previous COVID vaccines and with early data from other countries‚ Link-Gelles told the Associated Press. A recent study in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine also suggested that vaccination “consistently reduced the risk of long COVID symptoms”‚ highlighting the potential of these interventions beyond even the acute disease phase.As we know‚ the protection from the vaccines doesn’t last forever. The CDC recommends that all adults and children over the age of 6 months receive a dose of the updated vaccine for maximum protection‚ even those who got their vaccines and boosters earlier in the pandemic.In reality‚ however‚ the uptake has been limited. At the time of writing‚ 21.8 percent of US adults and 11.1 percent of children had reported receiving an updated shot. This is in contrast to the figures for flu vaccine coverage‚ which for adults nationally (including Puerto Rico) sat at 46.7 percent as of January 13.Different health authorities have different recommendations around who should get a COVID vaccine and how often. In the UK‚ for example‚ only people who meet certain eligibility criteria have been offered a vaccine this winter‚ and the shots are not currently available for people to pay for privately. Once again‚ uptake has been lower than authorities would like‚ with data from frontline health staff showing that only 21.8 percent had received a COVID booster by November 2023‚ while only 39 percent had been vaccinated against the flu.  The number of people dodging the vaccines has sparked concerns about the impact of increased staff sickness on health services already struggling with winter pressures‚ as well as the risk to vulnerable people from a COVID-19‚ flu‚ and RSV “tripledemic”.On the flip side‚ the UK’s policy of running vaccination campaigns for COVID only in seasonal cycles has led to concerns that some with increased vulnerability to severe disease will be left without adequate protection for long periods of time if they can't access a vaccine.If a vaccine is available in your area‚ the message from health experts is clear: keeping up to date with COVID-19 shots remains the best way of limiting the impact of the virus – which has not gone away – on ourselves and our wider communities.The study is published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Gail Collins is a partisan Democrat columnist for The New York Times. How partisan? From 2007 through Election Day 2021‚ she wrote 58 columns that included the story that Mitt Romney put his Irish setter on the roof of his car in a luggage crate on a family vacation trip to Canada. She’s so partisan that when Barack Obama won the presidency in 2008‚ she wanted George W. Bush to resign so Obama could be inaugurated on the spot. It’s in this vein that Collins has taken up the story of Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota running against President Biden for the Democratic Party nomination. She’s expressing relief that Phillips has no plans to run as a third-party candidate in the fall. She wishes Biden had drawn some intimidating challengers in these nearly invisible primaries. “Imagine the great race the Democrats could have if Biden‚ 81‚ decided he was stepping down‚” she wrote. “It’d be further evidence he was a terrific president. So eager to remember him as a terrific president.” He’s not stepping down‚ and he’s horrible‚ not terrific. But Collins is already bracing for the fall with Biden having Jimmy Carter-level approval ratings. A third-party “threat” is “always worrisome when it comes to messing things up‚” like Ralph Nader taking votes away from Al Gore in 2000. “I still haven’t forgiven him.” She added to the “spoiler” list Green Party candidate Jill Stein‚ who drained votes from Hillary Clinton in 2016 and “won enough votes in Pennsylvania‚ Michigan and Wisconsin to cost Hillary Clinton the White House.” Democrats can’t imagine anyone would vote for a far-left candidate because there’s no way they’d vote for the Establishment Democrat. Stein is running again in 2024‚ so Collins warned: “You don’t want to go down in history as the progressive candidate whose third-party run drained just enough votes from Biden to put Trump back in the White House. (Looking at you‚ Cornel West.)” Then Collins brought up “the dreaded No Labels people‚” who might run Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.). She wrote “the idea of Joe Manchin as president is pretty terrifying‚ but in the real world‚ the most No Labels could do is take votes away from Biden.” Collins can’t acknowledge the irony of the Democratic Party trashing anyone who would want to participate in democracy by running for president. She noted how Phillips found some state Democrat parties have refused to allow anyone but Biden on the primary ballot. She didn’t mention Semafor.com reported on a conference call organized by the “center-left Democratic group Third Way” and “progressive” Move On talking about playing dirty with third-party candidates. “If you have one fingernail clipping of a skeleton in your closet‚ we will find it‚” one unidentified speaker said during the call. “If you think you were vetted when you ran for governor‚ you’re insane. That was nothing. We are going to come at you with every gun we can possibly find. We did not do that with Jill Stein or Gary Johnson‚ we should have‚ and we will not make that mistake again.” This is the kind of crowd that our journalistic elite uses as sources. The same people who think it’s viciously personal to question Biden’s mental decline or his fraternizing with Hunter’s business clients might present us with “one fingernail clipping of a skeleton” in someone’s closet to save Biden's bacon.  The Left is addicted to power‚ and they're not at all idealistic about it. They will crush people to acquire power and to maintain it. You can double that feeling of anti-democratic menace when the alternative is Donald Trump.

Alex Thompson‚ a White House reporter for Axios‚ has a new scoop titled "Inside Biden's obsession with 'Morning Joe'." Thompson explored how "Biden's years-long love of MSNBC's staple morning show" affects how the White House runs — and who Biden listens to. It might also explain why MSNBC added an hour to the show. Zoom in: The president often calls co-host Joe Scarborough — a former Republican congressman who's now a harsh critic of Donald Trump — to get Scarborough's take on issues and sometimes vent about media coverage‚ according to people familiar with the relationship. During the day‚ Biden has long asked his staff whether they saw a story‚ a poll‚ or a segment that had been on the show. He's included show regulars in off-the-record conversations with policy experts. Biden pays particular attention to — and has consulted with — "Morning Joe" regulars such as longtime reporter Mike Barnicle‚ foreign policy expert Richard Haass and historian Jon Meacham‚ who has assisted on several Biden speeches. Vice President Kamala Harris watches "Morning Joe‚" too: She and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff hosted a dinner last month at the vice presidential residence for Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski‚ his co-host and wife. Because Biden watches "Morning Joe" so often‚ most of his top aides watch or track the show to anticipate potential questions from him. "Biden aides have remarked how longtime Biden aide Steve Ricchetti seems to watch much of the four-hour show every morning. He and other aides often reference the show." That also means they get on-air interviews. Scarborough interviewed Biden last year. Brzezinski sat down with First Lady Jill Biden in January. In early 2021‚ Kamala Harris was wary of a Mika interview request‚ but "The West Wing stepped in and insisted she do it because of how important that relationship is for them" and Biden‚ a former Harris aide told Axios. The president apparently also favors CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS‚ and Biden gave him an opportunity for a softball interview. Biden consults widely with "Morning Joe" contributors. The president has included retired Adm. James Stavridis‚ a Scarborough regular‚ in an off-the-record briefing at the White House with other experts. This relationship is so close that Joe and Mika and their contributors would not comment on the record. They might have commented if any of it were untrue.  This is funny: "A White House official told Axios that many of Biden's top staff members think the show gives Biden a fairer shake on issues than other news shows and media outlets." Translation: they're suckups‚ just like they used to be for Donald Trump.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that the Sunshine State will step up to do even more to help Texas combat the massive flow of migrants along the nation's southern border."Biden has the authority to close this border today if he wanted to. He lacks the will to get the job done. He lacks the capacity to see the problem for what it is‚" DeSantis said on Thursday while standing behind a podium bearing a sign with the words "STOP THE INVASION" in all capital letters."We're providing up to one battallion of Florida National Guard‚" DeSantis announced‚ and "our first ever deployment of the Florida State Guard‚" he added. He said that the aim is to assist the Lone Star State to "fortify this border."DeSantis ditched the presidential campaign trail earlier this month and endorsed former President Donald Trump after coming in a distant second place to Trump in the Iowa GOP presidential caucuses."Since 2021‚ Florida has provided direct law enforcement and military assistance to Texas‚ including FLNG [Florida National Guard]‚ which supported the Texas Military Department through mission sets including static observation points‚ roving patrols and engineer assistance with obstacle improvement‚" a press release states. "FHP [Florida Highway Patrol] has made contact with nearly 150‚000 illegal aliens‚ conducted over 27‚000 traffic stops‚ resulting in 2‚102 Human Smuggling or Human Trafficking charges with 2‚278 overall arrests.""FDLE [Florida Department of Law Enforcement] has sent rotations of officers to assist the Texas Department of Public Safety with arrests of violent felony suspects including gang members. Suspects were arrested on various Texas state charges including human smuggling‚ burglary‚ firearms‚ smuggling of persons‚ smuggling of persons with a firearm‚ child endangerment‚ escape from federal custody and possession of controlled substance. FWC [Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission] has deployed a total of 540 FWC personnel‚ 525 four-wheel drive patrol trucks and 24 vessels‚" the press release notes.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Why should AIO coolers get all the bling? Veteran PC cooling specialist Lamptron has just proved that the humble air cooler can look just as glitzy‚ with its latest model sporting a 6-inch screen. The Lamptron ST060 plants a full 1‚920 x 1‚080 display on top of your CPU socket‚ giving you loads more flexibility than the usual little screens you see on the pump blocks of AIO coolers. Continue reading This CPU cooler costs more than a GPU‚ but it does have a screen MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best graphics card‚ Best gaming PC‚ Best SSD for gaming

Naraka Bladepoint is easily one of the most stylish games I've ever seen. Blending traditional Asian fashion and martial arts combat with magic and mysticism‚ Steam's chart-topping battle royale is a visual masterpiece in itself‚ and when you add the fact that the Bruce Lee-themed cosmetics are back‚ it's like the perfect Red Envelope to start off your Lunar New Year. And Steam's playerbase agrees - the game has seen a huge spike in player count. Continue reading Steam battle royale rereleases coveted skins‚ gains 50‚000 players MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best fantasy games‚ Best battle royale games‚ Free PC games

There was an FPS‚ released all the way back in 2013‚ called Receiver‚ that found an incredible new way of making shooting in videogames engaging. We’re used to just aiming and pressing a button - it’s almost casual. But in Receiver‚ you had to operate every single element of your gun‚ pressing separate keys to eject the magazine‚ refill it with bullets‚ slot it back in‚ rack the slide‚ disengage the safety‚ cock the hammer‚ and then fire. All of a sudden‚ this most common of videogame acts had substance‚ richness‚ meaning. A new RTS game‚ that feels like a blend of War Thunder‚ Command and Conquer‚ and - of all things - Microsoft Flight Simulator‚ potentially achieves something similar. With a hyper fixation on detail and the entire world map to fly‚ sail‚ and fight over‚ this could be something very special indeed. Continue reading Realistic War Thunder style RTS lets you fight on the entire world map MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RTS games‚ Best simulation games‚ Best strategy games