When Apple dropped the M5 Max into the latest MacBook Pro, the obvious question was how far the chip could be pushed beyond the usual creative and productivity workloads. Andrew Tsai decided to find out, loading up 20 Windows games and running them through the CrossOver translation layer. The results were surprising to say the least, with the MacBook delivering solid frame rates in demanding titles that were never designed with Apple silicon in mind.

CrossOver handles the translation work, converting Windows game instructions into something macOS can process and swapping DirectX calls for Metal, with MetalFX upscaling available to sharpen visuals without hitting performance. Tsai ran everything on a fully loaded MacBook Pro with the 40 core GPU version of the M5 Max, 48GB of memory, and 18 CPU cores. Most games were tested at 1440p with a handful pushed to 4K, adjusting settings throughout to keep frame rates as smooth as possible.

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DOOM from 2016 opened the session by running at a locked 60 frames per second in 4K on ultra settings, helped along by a MoltenVK tweak that Tsai found works particularly well on the M5 series. Wolfenstein Youngblood matched that result at 4K with online play running without issue, and Wolfenstein 2 handled maximum detail at 4K just as comfortably. The more demanding titles required a little more work. Death Stranding 2 needed a patch from the CrossOver beta to clear up some water and geometry glitches, but settled into a steady 50 frames per second at 1440p on medium with MetalFX upscaling. Black Myth Wukong pushed past 50 frames per second at the same resolution on medium settings with MetalFX handling 66 percent of the rendering load, and Horizon Forbidden West held a consistent 50 frames per second at 1440p on medium with quality upscaling engaged.

Ratchet and Clank Rift. Apart felt entirely at home, achieving 60 frames per second at 1440p on high with MetalFX quality setting on. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 was likely the standout performance, exceeding 80 frames per second and reaching 100 at 1440p high while scaling from a lower internal resolution. The rest of the lineup carried the momentum forward. Ready or Not achieved 100 frames per second at 1440p high, with MetalFX handling 80% of the scaling work. Sekiro achieved 60 frames per second on its top setting, and Elden Ring matched it at 4K. Ghost of Tsushima operated at a consistent 70 to 80 frames per second at 1440p high resolution, with quality upscaling from 960p. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth settled at 52 to 53 frames per second at 1440p low, with temporal anti-aliasing and 66 percent scaling, implying that going to 1080p will smooth things down even more.

This setup will not replace a high-end Windows gaming rig with a dedicated discrete GPU, but it does make a convincing case for the MacBook Pro’s ability to hold its own when necessary. Creative workers have long relied on these devices for video editing, photo work, and 3D rendering, and now they can now play Windows-only titles on the same gear without having to carry a separate device. Battery life lasts quite well during gaming sessions, thanks to the efficient architecture that keeps power use under control, and connecting external disks or docks is simple, with no surprises on the storage or port front.

Tsai wrapped up by noting that console emulation is looking increasingly promising on this technology, with the 40 core GPU providing the raw power to tackle demanding scene translation and rendering in real time. For those already using a MacBook Pro with the M5 Max, the takeaway is simple. A substantially wider collection of games is now available on your existing system, with no new hardware required and no complicated workarounds in the way.
[Source]

Austria is the latest country to prepare a social media ban for its children, but it’s going even further than others by including anyone under 14. In a press release, the Austrian government said it has introduced a comprehensive catalogue of measures meant to shield minors from the harms of social media. According to the press release, an official bill will be introduced by the end of June.

Andreas Babler, a vice chancellor and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Austria, said the government’s efforts would include the new age restriction, improved media literacy and clear rules for social media platforms. Austrian lawmakers didn’t detail what the upcoming rules would be, but the country is likely to follow in the footsteps of many others who have or are pursuing similar bans. While Australia was the first to implement a social media ban for anyone under 16, other European countries like Spain and the UK are also looking into comparable restrictions.

More recently, Indonesia approved new regulations that would prevent anyone under 16 from using social media platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Roblox. Indonesia’s social media ban just went into effect, but the country only specified that the law’s implementation would be carried out gradually until all platforms are in compliance, according to AP.

[Casey Bralla] got his hands on a Rockwell AIM 65 microcomputer, a fantastic example of vintage computing from the late 70s. It sports a full QWERTY keyboard, and a twenty character wide display complemented by a small thermal printer. The keyboard is remarkably comfortable, but doing software development on a one-line, twenty-character display is just not anyone’s idea of a good time. [Casey] made his own tools to let him write programs on his main PC, and transfer them easily to the AIM 65 instead.

Moving data wasn’t as straightforward in 1978 as it is today. While the Rockwell AIM 65 is a great machine, it has no disk drive and no filesystem. Programs can be written in assembler or BASIC (which had ROM support) but getting them into running memory where they could execute is not as simple as it is on modern machines. One can type a program in by hand, but no one wants to do that twice.

Fortunately the AIM 65 had a tape interface (two, actually) and could read and store data in an audio-encoded format. Rather than typing a program by hand, one could play an audio tape instead.

This is the angle [Casey]’s tools take, in the form of two Python programs: one for encoding into audio, and one for decoding. He can write a program on his main desktop, and encode it into a .wav file. To load the program, he sets up the AIM 65 then hits play on that same .wav file, sending the audio to the AIM 65 and essentially automating the process of typing it in. We’ve seen people emulate vintage tape drive hardware, but the approach of simply encoding text to and from .wav files is much more fitting in this case.

The audio encoding format Rockwell used for the AIM is very well-documented but no tools existed that [Casey] could find, so he made his own with the help of Anthropic’s Claude AI. The results were great, as Claude was able to read the documentation and, with [Casey]’s direction, generate working encoding and decoding tools that implemented the spec perfectly. It went so swimmingly he even went on to also make a two-pass assembler and source code formatter for the AIM, as well. With them, development is far friendlier.

Watch a demonstration in the video [Casey] made (embedded under the page break) that shows the encoded data being transferred at a screaming 300 baud, before being run on the AIM 65.

Apple has quietly pulled the Mac Pro from its online store, bringing an end to a machine that spent nearly two decades as the definitive choice for creative professionals who needed every last bit of computing muscle available. Built on the Power Mac foundation, the early towers earned their place in post-production houses and research labs by offering the kind of internal expandability that let users slot in extra storage, graphics cards, and specialized hardware as their needs grew, a level of flexibility that made them genuinely hard to walk away from.

Then 2013 arrived and Apple replaced the tower with a compact cylinder that looked striking but quickly revealed its limitations. The tight design restricted airflow badly and left no room for standard expansion cards, forcing users onto external connections that never matched the speed or flexibility of internal options. Heat built up fast under heavy workloads and upgrades were a headache. By 2017 Apple was publicly acknowledging the design had not worked out and promising something better.

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Three years later the Mac Pro returned in a tower form that earned the immediate nickname of cheese grater thanks to its perforated metal shell. PCIe slots, multiple drive bays, and support for high end graphics cards gave professionals the modular flexibility they had been asking for, and it felt like Apple had genuinely course corrected. The goodwill did not last long though. The 2019 model received just one meaningful update over its entire lifespan, a move to the M2 Ultra chip in 2023, and then nothing.

While all of that was playing out, the Mac Studio had been quietly making the Mac Pro look increasingly hard to justify. Comparable or better performance in a fraction of the size and at a significantly lower price, driven by the same Apple silicon that eliminated the need for traditional internal expansion in the first place. Most users found they could handle even demanding workloads without ever needing to open a case. The Mac Studio also received regular chip updates that kept it ahead of the larger tower in real world performance, and sales figures suggested most buyers had already figured that out for themselves.

With demand fading and no next generation tower waiting in the wings, the decision to discontinue the Mac Pro was more a matter of when than if. There is no replacement coming. The Mac Studio now sits at the top of the desktop lineup, with the Mac mini handling lighter professional workloads and the iMac covering the all-in-one end of the market.
[Source]

As we said, day 2 was the day of comebacks in the BGIS Grand Finals, with teams like K9 and NINZ showing what they are actually made of. Unfortunately, no one could topple Soul, as they finished first in the standings, which means they do have a real chance of clinching that championship today. However, a challenge could be coming from both GodLike and Genesis, who are just behind in the standings. The final day is here, and anything can happen. Here’s what the schedule looks like for today.

BGIS 2026 Grand Finals Day 3 Schedule & Timing

Like yesterday, the live broadcast will begin at 12:30 PM IST. Fans can catch the games like on Krafton’s YouTube channel in Hindi, English, and a few other regional languages. Or, if you want to support your team live, head over to the Chennai Trade Center. Tickets are available on the Swiggy Scenes app, and there’s free entry available, too. Maps for today will include:

• Match 7 — Rondo
• Match 8 — Erangel
• Match 9 — Erangel
• Match 10 — Erangel
• Match 11 — Miramar
• Match 12 — Miramar

The BGIS Grand Finals format is pretty simple. 16 teams compete in 18 matches over three days. Points are awarded for each finish, and also for how long a team survives. In the end, the team with the most total points (position + finish) will be the winners.

BGIS 2026 Grand Finals Standings After Day 2

Warmer weather is on its way, and your bedroom deserves a springtime refresh. My favorite bedroom trend right now is soft heather gray and fresh seafoam blue, and IKEA is the place to head if you want to embrace the look without breaking the bank. Below, I’ve rounded up my top picks as inspiration for your own bedroom.

There are charming bud vases and delicate floral bedding to bring in a touch of nature, and the curvy glass Tokabo table lamp reminds me of a mushroom. I’ve also been won over by the Solskydd portable Bluetooth speaker, which can stand on its base or be mounted to a wall, where it looks almost like a piece of understated artwork.