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Playing Games on the Acer Chromebook 516 GE is Fun, But It’s Still … – Gizmodo

The Acer Chromebook 516 GE is Acers first gaming Chromebook.Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo

Its been a while since Ive been on a Chromebook. I was a dedicated user of the Google Pixelbook when it launched. Its 2-in-1 form factor fit my life surprisingly well, and I even turned it into a podcasting machine on the go. But then the laptop started aging out, and I needed something that could handle video and photo editing in a way that Chrome OS couldnt. I also wanted to play games on it. The Pixelbook became redundant once I upgraded my computer to a Windows-based Dell XPS 15, and its been collecting dust ever since.

Now, we have gaming Chromebooks, a phrase I never thought Id be typing out. These are different from the gaming laptops youre used to from brands like Razer or Alienwarethey dont even have the power of my Dell XPS 15. Instead, they have specs tuned to launch games from the cloud. The benefit of all this is it makes the overall ChromeOS experience feel more premium for a fraction of what I paid for the Windows-based XPS.

The Acer Chromebook 516 GE is one of the three models that Google has trotted out in this latest campaign. The GE stands for Gaming Edition, and it refers to Chromebooks that have screens with high refresh rates, recent generation Intel processors, and unique gamer-y touches like RGB-lighted keyboards. The Chromebook 516 GE has all those things, making it a great all-purpose laptop. Im particularly struck by how light and easy it is to cart aroundI miss that part of having a Chromebook. This is my first experience with cloud gaming on ChromeOS outside of Stadia (RIP). Some features felt like the Windows gaming experience Im used to, but there were instances when I remembered ChromeOS also has limitations.

Acer's gaming Chromebook is an excellent package for anyone wanting a beefy ChromeOS machine. But its gaming capabilities are limited to the cloud.

Acer's gaming Chromebook is an excellent package for anyone wanting a beefy ChromeOS machine. But its gaming capabilities are limited to the cloud.

What is it?A gaming-focused Chromebook

Price? $650

LikeSolid Chromebook performance, 120Hz display, enough ports for work or play

DislikeBattery life could be so much better, still prefer a mouse over the built-in trackpad

The Acer Chromebook 516 GE is a 16-inch laptop weighing slightly less than four pounds. Its not dense like my Dell, so it feels easier to tote around one-handed. It has a 2560 x 1600 resolution display, though its not a touchscreen like most Chromebooks. Instead, you get a display with a 120Hz refresh rate, convenient if youre subscribed to a cloud service like Nvidia GeForce Now or Xbox Game Pass, which lets you stream games at high refresh rates. If youre thinking of getting one of these Gaming Edition machines, nabbing a subscription to one of these services is something youll want to consider, especially because youre not going to hit those frame rates locally.

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Inside, the Chromebook 516 GE runs on the Intel Core-i5-1240P, which is a mid-range Alder Lake-P series processor. The chip is paired with Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics and 8GB of RAM, enough to broadcast the game from the cloud. The Chromebook 516 GE is only available with 256GB of space, and youll feel its limitations if you frequently deal with large image and video files and prefer to do it all offline. Theres a 16GB variant of the Chromebook 516 GE with more storage space coming to market soon.

The right side of the Chromebook 516 GE has an HDMI port, a USB-A port, and a USB-C port.Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo

The left side of the Chromebook 516 GE has an ethernet port, a charging port, and a headphone jack. Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo

Acers Chromebook 516 GE has plenty of ports, which is always an excellent addition to a Chromebookthe Pixelbook only had two USB-C ports, so I had to Frankenstein it with dongles whenever I needed it to podcast. On the 516 GE, theres a USB-A 3.2 port, HDMI port, and USB-C port for charging on one side, and on the other side is an additional USB-A port, another USB-C port, and an Ethernet plug-in, which is seriously necessary for cloud gaming. Theres also a 3.5mm audio jack and support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2.

The Acer Chromebook 516 GE is the relatively no frills choice of the Gaming Edition devices that Google introduced last year. The other models include the Lenovo Ideapad Gaming Chromebook with similar specifications and the Asus Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip, a convertible model with a display with a high refresh rate of 144Hz. All three laptops are around the $600 mark.

The Chromebook 516 GE can be paired with any compatible Bluetooth controller to play cloud games. Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo

Just because this is a gaming laptop doesnt mean it performs like a gaming laptop. The integrated graphics are merely there to help the apps keep up with the graphics the cloud is rendering for you. In the case of Nvidia GeForce Now, there was an RTX 4080 graphics card in a distant server farm running the copy of Control that I booted up to test the Chromebooks ability to handle ray-tracing.

Reader: it did fine, and its because the Chromebook had to do very little except send my inputs to the cloud and show me video of the game. You will have to pay $20/month for GeForce Nows highest tier. You might also endure fan noise, but paired with a SteelSeries Stratus+, it felt as native as playing a console on a small screen (the screen is much smaller than any TV Id play on). Also, GeForce Now works with my Steam library, so I could play through the first hour of Half-Life 2 like I was back in my college bedroom, avoiding schoolwork on my laptop.

I used the Chromebook 516 GE to play games on several platforms. In addition to Nvidia GeForce Now, I played through Xbox Game Pass, Amazon Luna, and Steam, which went into beta on Chromebook only a few weeks after this laptop launched. On Xbox Game Pass, I hopped into Disneys Dreamlight Valley to play the character I started on the Nintendo Switch version of the same game. Its almost surreal that Im so easily able to jump into the game between two platforms.

Games can be launched natively from ChromeOSs app drawer. Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo

Steam was the client I had the most trouble setting up, but only because it took me a while to figure out there was a specific option I had to enable so that games wouldnt launch in a fixed resolution. Also, its technically still in beta, so its not a finalized experience. I followed all the instructions I found online, and it was a relatively simple process to get it installed. It requires switching ChromeOS into developer mode and toggling on Chrome flags, developer-centric features you can enable to test this out on your own. I then figured out I had to enable another flag called borealis force double scale so Steam games could display adequately on ChromeOS.

I tried downloading Sid Meiers Civilization VI and Shadow of the Tomb Raider to run their respective benchmarks out of curiosity. I managed to get a campaign in Civilization VI started, enough that I was almost curious to look up a guide to figure out how to play the game. But when I tried the built-in benchmark, the Chromebook crashed, and I had to force restart. On the heavier side, Shadow of the Tomb Raider didnt go beyond the splash screen. I tried running that benchmark, and each time, the Chromebook 516 GE would shut down and force a restart.

For my final trick, I downloaded Far Cry 5 and Total War: Warhammer II to see if they would take. Thats when I remembered the Chromebook 516 GE only has 256GB of storage space. Far Cry 5 is nearly 67 GB when locally downloaded, while the latter is 57 GB. When I tried downloading anything else, the Chromebook was out of space. Rather than clear up some space and wait for the downloads, I figured youd get the idea by now: dont expect this thing to run even casual modern games locally.

I did play older games using Steam on the Chromebook 516 GE. Stardew Valley runs fine, as do older titles like Torchlight II. The Chromebook may have integrated graphics, but theyre better than anything from around 15 years ago. I also played through the beginning of 2013's Tomb Raider reboot while the frame rate hovered between 30-35 fps.

The Chromebook 516 GE is emblazoned with Chromebook markings. Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo

Now that weve established you can get some gaming done on the Chromebook 516 GE, lets talk about getting work done. I wrote a few end-of-the-year articles on this machine before all the CES hype, and found the keyboard especially comfortable, but only after I had lobbed off my claws. Acers keycaps, in particular, are thin enough that I couldnt tell if my nail was on the chassis or the key, which made typing a little frustrating. I managed about 110 words per minute after cutting my nails.

The Chromebook 516 GE has a neat RGB backlit keyboard. Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo

I mentioned earlier that some of these Chromebook gaming laptops have RGB backlightsthis is one of those models. I love being able to change the lights on the Chromebook directly from the settings panel without having to download some third-party keyboard suite. Even when I wasnt playing a game, it was nice to have rainbow keys while I was typing away at an article. Acer even outlines the WASD keys, so youre ready and prepared for gaming with a mouse and keyboard.

My only other annoyance was the small arrow keys. When on a laptop, I rely on them for scrolling through web pages. The trackpad also feels like something Id find on a cheaper Chromebook. Its not the most fluid, especially when attempting something precise, and I often felt like the pointer could overshoot at any time. I found any excuse to use a Bluetooth mouse to control the device.

The Chromebook 516 GE is light and portable, but dont leave the charger behind. Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo

The Chromebook 516 GE is fine for getting work done. Its light enough to cart around in a backpack all day and the ample amount of portsfor a Chromebook, anywayhelps get various use out of the machine. Theres even HDMI out so that you can tether an external monitor. I could see this Chromebook serving as a cloud gaming hub for a dorm room, the way a streaming dongle does for the TV in the living room.

But Id caution leaving without a charger in tow. Acer promises nine hours on battery, but the Chromebook 516 GE lasted a mere six hours in our internal battery rundown test. We test by looping a YouTube video with the screen brightness set to about 200 nits. There are proper gaming laptops with worse battery life, but in the world of ChromeOS, its not enough to leave without a backup power situation. At the very least, the Chromebook 516 GE is a fast charger. I got it up to 100% in about 90 minutes.

Its nice to know you can run a game on ChromeOS. But dont try running a recent one. Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo

The Acer Chromebook 516 GE isnt going to take you to the esports arena, but it makes a massive archive of cloud based PC-based gaming available at an accessible price point. This laptop will also do well with indie games, which are just as engaging as the titles coming out from major game publishers, and often less resource intensive.

At $650, its $300 more expensive than other Cloud gaming solutions like the Logitech G Cloud, but it also provides you with a full laptop. For a dedicated gaming machine, you might want to look to either the G Cloud or something like the Steam Deck, depending on your needs, but this is a good entry level option in a similar price point for someone who moonlights as a gamer.

On the productivity side, the Chromebook 516 GE is a fine Chromebook for day-to-day use. The keyboard is comfortable for long bouts of typing, and ChromeOS has improved since Google introduced more ways to sync up the software with an Android smartphone. But this is far from a gaming laptop like in the Windows world. If anything, at least Chromebook manufacturers have found a way to beef up the systems without increasing the price point, as Chromebooks are still considered secondary machines rather than primary ones.

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Waze Gets Major Update on Android Auto With Coolwalk Support – autoevolution

Waze Gets Major Update on Android Auto With Coolwalk Support  autoevolution

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2023 Cyberthreats Threads: The Advanced Security Response – Newswire

TSplus has just released an updated version of Advanced Security, the all-in-one cybersecurity program for remote desktop installations. It is the opportunity to remind users how the software can protect them against growing cyberthreats.

Press Release - Jan 27, 2023 15:00 CET

IRVINE, Calif., January 27, 2023 (Newswire.com) - In 2023, cybersecurity experts predict that ransomware attacks will keep increasing, raising the ransoms to recover encrypted data to unprecedented amounts. Both public and private spheres are under threat. That is why it is crucial that organizations of all sizes, from large corporations to single-person enterprise and freelancers working from home, use the right protection.

TSplus Advanced Security includes a powerful Ransomware Protection feature, which works as a defensive shield against ransomware attacks: using advanced analysis techniques. Possessing both static and behavioral analysis to catch ransomware unknown to antivirus and antimalware software, it immediately detects and blocks attacks even before they happen. It then quarantines the suspicious documents or programs and sends a warning with details of the attack. The admin can then decide to whitelist what is considered safe. When the feature is active, it automatically checks all opened apps and files. To ensure a greater level of protection, Ransomware Protection also creates bait files in key folders where ransomware attacks often originate.

Moreover, Administrators can quickly identify and recover affected files after an attack thanks to the snapshot feature.

Protecting Careless Remote Desktop Users From Scams

Phishing, vishing, smishing and other types of online scams are not about to stop. Fake emails, fake marketing, fake websites... The list of ways to get access to key information and important files to exploit their data is long. It is therefore the responsibility of admins to correctly protect remote access and Windows sessions in order to prevent irredeemable damage to businesses due to the unawareness of the users.

Advanced Security offers several features in order to decrease the internal risks of Remote Desktop use as much as possible:

Preventing Hackers rom Stealing Corporate Data

The global financial crisis is pushing cybercriminals to improve their techniques to take advantage of the situation.

With this problem in mind, TSplus recently developed the Hacker IP Protection: a great feature that instantly blocks over 613 million IPs identified as threats from day one of use. This list of well-known authors of online attacks, on-line service abuse, malware, botnets and other cybercrime activities is updated daily using multiple sources in the security community.

Next, the Brute-Force Defender feature automatically blocks fraudulent attempts to connect to a session using wrong credentials. To complete this security, the Homeland Protection allows the restriction of access per geographic areas. Admins can easily define which countries are considered as safe to connect. Finally,Endpoint protection is a quick way to restrict access per registered device and to prevent the wrong people from accessing sensitive corporate data.

Blocked IPs from bots and malicious sources are listed in the IP Management tab for easy administration.

TSplus Advanced Security is now available in version 6.4 with enhanced features.For more information, the changelog can be consulted online.

Update now or download the 15-day trial version from the website.

Source: TSplus Corp

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2023 Cyberthreats Threads: The Advanced Security Response - Newswire

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communities thwart co-location – United Federation of Teachers

In a momentous victory for community and student activists working in tandem with the UFT, the Department of Education on Jan. 23 withdrew proposals to widen Success Academy's footprint in city public school buildings in Queens and the Bronx that critics had warned would harm the educational progress of the students already in them.

Schools Chancellor David Banks issued a statement indicating that community opposition to the proposed co-locations at two campuses in southeastern Queens and a building in the northwest Bronx was the decisive factor in calling off the votes by the citywide Panel for Educational Policy.

"I'm glad that they finally listened to the voices of the stakeholders: the parents, the children, the educators, the community," said Ehimanre Ebhomielen, the chapter leader for Preparatory Academy for Writers, one of four schools based at the Springfield Gardens Educational Complex in Queens. "It was going to take away resources from those who needed them most."

Kelli Dallas, the chapter leader for Leaders for Tomorrow, one of the two Bronx middle schools on the Richard Green campus where Success Academy wanted to put a new elementary school, said the united opposition to the Bronx co-location proposal was fundamentally about not harming the public school students. "I don't think our community is saying no to charter schools," she said. "It's saying no to co-locations."

Dallas said she believes the chancellor changed his mind once students at the affected schools got "politically involved" against the co-locations. "When I heard the kids speaking," she said, "his decision was right on time."

UFT Queens Borough Representative Amy Arundell said she was "really proud" of how UFT members in the affected schools in the two boroughs came together with community members and elected state and city officials.

"We used our common concern and diversity of voices to amplify the struggle," Arundell said. "All of us playing our roles got us to this moment that was why it was so powerful."

In a statement hailing the withdrawal of the proposals, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said New York City public school students "have been forced to endure years of systemic disinvestment in their schools, punctuated by a seemingly endless cycle of co-locations that further devalues the education our children receive."

Students at MS 72 in Rochdale Village, Queens, let their opposition to a proposed co-location be known during a community walkthrough at their school on the Catherine and Count Basie campus.

Under legislation pushed through by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo nine years ago at the height of his feud with Mayor Bill de Blasio, the DOE must either provide charter schools with free space in its own buildings or pay their rent in private buildings. Success Academy founder and CEO Eva Moskowitz, a close political ally of Cuomo and now Mayor Eric Adams, has been the charter operator most keen on co-locations.

Some critics accuse Moskowitz of trying to gin up demand by the stark contrast between the high-gloss charter schools outfitted by her well-endowed chain and the under-resourced public schools in the same building.

Jason Hunter, an Advanced Placement biology teacher at Excelsior Preparatory HS in Springfield Gardens, testified at a Dec. 15 hearing on the proposed co-location that Success' arrival would "highlight the disparities in resources between public schools and charter schools." He pointed out that Success Academy had been offered a nearby site that once housed a parochial school and rejected it.

Public school advocates, however, draw a different distinction between Success Academy charter schools and public schools. "We take in students that have been let out of charter schools, that come from all sorts of economical and sociological statuses, and see them shine," said Dallas, the Bronx chapter leader. "That's what we do."

In late 2022, the PEP approved Success Academy co-locations at a school building in Far Rockaway, Queens, and one in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, despite local opposition.

The community outcry became even louder against the next three proposals headed to the PEP for a vote. Student walkouts and powerful testimony at December hearings on those proposed co-locations triggered negative publicity that intensified the questions about the wisdom of the potential incursions.

School leadership, faculty and public school families from the affected Queens and Bronx schools argued that contrary to DOE claims that Success would be moving into underutilized buildings, the schools were using their space to serve students in a variety of ways and the co-locations would force the sharing of common spaces like auditoriums, gyms and cafeterias to the detriment of the public school students.

Members of these school communities also noted that their schools will need more space starting in September when Success was hoping to open its new schools in their buildings because of the new law reducing class size. Several affected schools also would have risked the loss of federal grants that are contingent on continued growth in student enrollment.

At one hearing in Queens, Barbara Lewis-Williams, the first vice president of the Community Education Council for District 28, said the co-location push didn't square with Chancellor Banks' previous pledge to be guided by community input on education decisions. "The community is saying we don't want Success Academy in our schools," she testified. "When are our voices going to be heard?"

Not quite six weeks later, Banks responded to the community objections.

Najwa Waysome, an 11th-grader at Excelsior Preparatory HS who helped organize a student walkout and march between the two Queens campuses on Dec. 15, said she was "kind of surprised," but also very happy that the co-location was off the table. "I feel very proud," she said. "We managed to keep our school safe and keep it our own. We did everything we could to get the word out."

Moskowitz persuaded parents of students attending other Success charter schools to pack all the hearings to speak in favor of the co-locations. But in the end, it was the voices of the members of the affected school communities that resonated.

"My school has one gym, one cafeteria and one auditorium for three schools," testified one student at the Catherine and Count Basie campus in Rochdale Village. "And Success Academy is trying to cram us even more."

Zila Zac-Koswener, an occupational therapist who covers four Bronx schools, including the two at the Richard Green campus, said Success officials had been overconfident about the co-location sailing through. They went so far, she claimed, as to refurbish a girls' bathroom on the first floor of the building to put in new toilets suitable for elementary school students.

The plan falling through, Zac-Koswener said, left her "absolutely thrilled. Everyone I spoke to thinks it was amazing we could accomplish this. We're going to be celebrating the rest of the week."

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NSE co-location case: NSE to pay 100 crore in penalties to SEBI for lapses | Mint – Mint

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District 27 Supports Cuts To Charter School Co-location – The Wave – The Wave, Rockaway’s Newspaper Since 1893

A resolution supporting the opposition to co-locate Success Academy students at two southeast Queens public schools was passed unanimously last week by District 27s Community Education Council.

The CECs motion of support came on the heels of the citys unexpected withdrawal of the proposalswhich could have placed charter school students in classrooms at MS 72 in Rochdale and at Q420 on the Springfield Gardens Educational Complex. The plans removal followed a hearing in which parents and elected officials voiced their concerns that the charter school placements would pose significant challenges for the existing schools.

In December, the PEP voted to approve the move of Success Academy students from MS 53 in Far Rockaway to the campus of Waterside School for Leadership in Rockaway Park, beginning in September 2023. The Waterside Childrens Studio School, which currently shares the building with Waterside middle school students, will be relocated to the former Stella Maris High School building, which was renamed PS 593.

We need to pass this resolution even if it is a symbolic gesture to let [our neighboring] school communities know we are in support of opposing the charter school co-locations, said Tabio DaCruz, the UFT Alternate Representative for District 27.

New School in Richmond Hill

Meanwhile the School Construction Authority is looking at a four lot parcel at 120-08 Jamaica Avenue to construct a 697-seat primary school, according to Danielle Schaaff, community relations manager at the School Construction Authority.

If the proposal moves forward, it will need the final approval of the City Council before construction can begin.

Schaaff said there have been 119 SCA projects completed in District 27 since 2020 at a total cost of $147 million. These capital improvements include auditorium, cafeteria and heating upgrades, new playgrounds, window replacements, roof work and building additions.

When questioned about anticipated seats to accommodate new residents moving into

Downtown developments in Far Rockaway, Schaaff said the SCA is in conversations with the Office of District Planning and closely monitoring projected numbers, but there is no current plan to create new seats.

Superintendents Report

Superintendent David Norment said his initiative to retrain teachers in reading and math instruction is underway.

The way we teach our students to read is shifting from a whole language approach back to phonics-based instruction, said Norment.

By June of 2023, all District 27 team members, principals, pre-k and kindergarten teachers will be retrained in the science of reading, he added. Teachers will also receive instruction on new strategies for teaching math to students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Norment said the district is reaching out to elected officials to help fund the training.

Were not going to see a bump in our state test scores immediately, he warned. But this is a long-term fix to better instruction for our students.

In Other News

A vote to approve the new name STAR Leadership Academy for PS 377 in Ozone Park was scheduled for the CECs February meeting.

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Friedson bill aims to spur affordable housing on county-owned land – BethesdaMagazine.com

More opportunities for affordable housing alongside capital projects like libraries, firehouses and police stations took a step forward, thanks to a bill approved by the County Councils new Planning, Housing and Parks committee on Monday.

County Council Vice President Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1), who is also chair of the committee, is lead sponsor of the bill. It would require the countys Department of General Services to conduct the feasibility of so-called co-location of affordable housing in capital projects, before a full program of requirements and specifics of the project is finished.

According to the bill, the study would consist of a description of a capital project, any specific requirements, environmental or site limitations, project cost (if available), costs of co-locating affordable housing, a finding of whether housing is feasible, and other considerations.

County Council members Will Jawando (D-At-large) and Natali Fani-Gonzlez (D-Dist. 6), approved the bill alongside Friedson on Monday. David Dise, director of the countys Department of General Services, said in an interview that hes supportive of the legislation.

The committee approved amendments to the bill Monday that allow the Department of General Services to start drafting a program of requirements and look at site selection and land acquisitionbut the feasibility study must be submitted to the County Council before any of those are completed.

Affordable housing advocates, including Greater Greater Washington, the Coalition for Smarter Growth, Montgomery Housing Alliance and Affordable Housing Conference of Montgomery County support the bill.

Dise said there is no impact of the bill on internal processes for capital projects because his department is already doing the analysis. The legislation requires his department to report sooner to the council on the feasibility of co-locating housing, he said.

Dise added that one impact the bill could have, if passed, is that council members might want to look at different types of housing than is proposedswitching from townhouses to a high-rise building, for example.

In an interview, Friedson said those conversations should be welcomed, as county officials need to explore all types of affordable housing to address residents needs.

Friedson, now in his second term, said his interest in introducing the bill stems back to early in his first term, when council members were told that co-location of affordable housing wasnt possible with the White Flint Fire Station, a capital project near North Bethesda. Friedson couldnt understand why that occurred, given the redevelopment of the area and need for housing.

Is the reason why we dont do co-locations [of housing] at certain sites because it could potentially delay a project, or because it could potentially cost more money or add additional complicationsis that reason enough not to co-locate housing? Friedson said. Because thats really the threshold question here.

The legislation is aimed at prompting discussions about whether county land and capital projects can handle the cost and additional impacts of affordable housing, Friedson said.

Friedsons bill now heads to the full County Council for review in the coming weeks.Related Stories

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SEBI to challenge Securities Appellate Tribunal order in NSE co-location scam: What is the case? – The Indian Express

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) will challenge the order of the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), which set aside Rs 624 crore disgorgement order against the National Stock Exchange (NSE) by the market regulator in the co-location scam, according to a report by The Indian Express.

On Monday, the tribunal also set aside another order by the market regulator that had asked the former NSE chief executives and managing directors Ravi Narian and Chaitra Ramkrishna to disgorge a substantial portion of their salary.

Apart from this, SAT directed NSE to deposit Rs 100 crore to the Investor Protection and Education Fund (IPEF) created by the SEBI. In its order, SAT said, We must observe that when serious allegations were made against a first-level regulator, namely, NSE, Sebi should have been proactive and should have conducted the investigation seriously.

Sebi had adopted a slow approach and, in fact, was placing a protective cover over NSEs alleged misdeeds. It is only when questions were placed on the floor of the Parliament that Sebi woke up and instituted an investigation. The scope of the investigation was limited.

Co-location is a data centre facility where third parties can lease space for servers and other computer hardware. They provide infrastructure like power supply, bandwidth and cooling for setting up servers and storage of data. Customers usually rent out space by rack, cabinet, cage or room.

The NSE introduced co-location facilities in 2009 and offered traders/brokers the ability to place their servers within NSEs data centre for a fee. By being in close proximity to the stock exchange servers, traders/brokers would have faster access to the price feed and the execution of trades, due to the low latency connectivity.

In January 2015, a whistleblower wrote a complaint to SEBI, alleging that some brokers who leased space at the NSE co-location facility, were able to log into the NSE systems with better hardware specifications while engaging in algorithmic trading. This allowed them unfair access from the period 2012-2014, as the hardware specifications gave them a split-second advantage in accessing the price feed.

A minuscule difference in time can lead to huge gains for a trader. At that time NSE used to disseminate information through unicast, which is a single, direct request sent from one host to another, with only those hosts interacting over the route.

Following the complaints by the whistleblower, SEBI formed an expert committee under the guidance of its Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) to examine the allegations against NSE. It found that stock brokers at NSEs co-location facility were given preferential access, as they could log onto multiple dissemination servers through the multiple IPs assigned to them.

The committee also found that NSE followed a static mapping process for allocating members IPs to dissemination servers due to which a few brokers were able to log on to the fastest dissemination servers. At least 15 brokers were identified by SEBI for having preferential access.

Following its investigation into the issue, SEBI in 2019 directed NSE to disgorge Rs 624.89 crore and barred the exchange from accessing the market for funds for six months.

SEBI also asked the former NSE CEOs, Ramakrishna and Narain, to disgorge 25 per cent of their respective salaries drawn during a certain period. They were also prohibited from associating with a listed company or a market infrastructure institution or any other market intermediary for a period of five years.

In February 2022, the regulator once again fined Ramakrishna and Narain for corporate governance lapses in the appointment of NSEs group operating officer, Anand Subramanian, who was later arrested by the CBI. Ramakrishna was arrested in March 2022 and continues to be in jail for another matter regarding the illegal phone tapping of NSE employees.

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Consultation begins for SSE Renewables first solar and battery co-location project in Ireland – Solar Power Portal

Published: 25 Jan 2023, 13:43

The battery energy storage system would be co-located adjacent to SSE Renewables substation at the 18 turbine Richfield Wind Farm in Bridgetown, County Wexford. Image: SSE.

SSE Renewables has begun a public consultation for its proposed 21MWp solar photovoltaic (PV) array and 10MW/2hr battery energy storage system (BESS) facility in Ireland.

The announcement follows a fleet-wide assessment by SSE Renewables of its existing onshore wind farms to determine possible co-location sites.

The proposed solar farm would be built in the townlands of Hooks and Yoletown, whilst the BESS would be co-located adjacent to SSE Renewables substation at the 18 turbine Richfield Wind Farm in Bridgetown, County Wexford, which has been operational since 2006.

Public consultation will open to members of the public tomorrow (26 January) to gather views from local people in County Wexford.

Project development will also depend on Irelands current grid connection consenting regime facilitating hybrid technology grid connections to allow for the co-location of generation sources, added the renewable generation company.

Last year the Irish Government launched a consultation to create a policy framework that better supported the development of energy storage, describing the technology as a critical system service needed to manage a low carbon electricity system.

"We're taking action at SSE Renewables to deliver the clean energy the world needs right now. At Richfield in County Wexford weve identified an ideal opportunity, located in Irelands Sunny South East, to further explore how we can co-locate solar, battery and wind farm technology to realise our full homegrown renewable energy potential, said Heather Donaldonshore, renewables development and construction director at SSE Renewables.

The proposed development can generate new solar power for immediate use, while also storing surplus renewable energy in a battery storage system for use when its needed most. The result is that this co-location project at Richfield can help export greater levels of renewable energy output to the national grid and contribute to Irelands target of generating 80% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

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Consultation begins for SSE Renewables first solar and battery co-location project in Ireland - Solar Power Portal

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Three More Indicted in Drug-trafficking Conspiracy – DEA

KANSAS CITY, Mo. Three more defendants have been indicted as part of an investigation into an armed and violent drug-trafficking organization operating in the Kansas City, Mo., metropolitan area.

Anthony D. Harris, 40, and Latrell O. Dean, 19, both of Grandview, Mo., and Seville S. Gardner, 37, address unknown, were charged in a 112-count superseding indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury on Tuesday, Jan. 24. The indictment, which was unsealed today following Gardners arrest, replaces an indictment returned on March 1, 2022, with three additional defendants and 28 additional counts. Dean was already in law enforcement custody on a separate, but related, matter.

In addition to Harris, Dean and Gardner, the superseding indictment retains 24 defendants charged in the original indictment: Kevin C. Cokes, also known as Big K and Uncle, 61, Mercedez M. Gardner, also known as Twin, 37, November D. Gardner, also known as October and Nuttie, 24, Idella Gardner, also known as Lupi, 35, Delmar L. Hatcher, 52, Nathaniel B. Chapple, 25, Treandre R. Walker, 25, Hazel M. Berymon, 65, Carlton L. Burns, also known as Pooder, 25, Christopher J. Hicks-Berry, 36, Kyeir C. Theus, 36, Tony L. Davis, 53, Michael R. Parks, 63, Brian T. Boxly, 46, Parris J. Walker, 28, Jachobette J. Gardner, 43, Reginald L. Mitchem, 43, Martell C. Cratch, 31, Matthew Rogers, 60, Gloria Hutchinson, 38, Eddie L. Nicholson, Jr., also known as Junior, 55, Toneisha R. Blackmon, 30, and Shania N. Bailey, 24, all of Kansas City, Mo., and Deone D. Gardner, also known as Twin, 29, of Belton, Mo.

Two defendants charged in the original indictment, Eliot E. Cox, 33, and Anthony D. Stuckey, 67, both of Kansas City, Mo., are omitted from this weeks superseding indictment as they already have pleaded guilty to charges contained in the original indictment.

Among the charges added to the superseding indictment is one count of conspiracy to tamper with a witness. November Gardner and Deone Gardner allegedly conspired to use physical force against an undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to influence or prevent the undercover agent from testifying at their trial.

The superseding indictment alleges that 26 of the 27 defendants participated in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine, fentanyl, and marijuana in Jackson County. Cokes is charged with participating in a separate, but related, conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

Harris and Gardner are solely charged in the drug-trafficking conspiracy. Dean is also charged with one count of participating in a robbery conspiracy with Walker, one count of the armed robbery of a Dollar General store in Raytown, Mo., one count of the use of a firearm during a crime of violence (the Dollar General robbery), one count of possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Dean allegedly possessed a Glock 9mm pistol in furtherance of the drug-trafficking conspiracy and in furtherance of the possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute.

In total, in addition to the two drug-trafficking conspiracy counts and the witness tampering conspiracy, various defendants are charged in two armed robbery conspiracy counts, three business robbery counts (two Family Dollar robberies in Kansas City and the Dollar General robbery in Raytown), 23 drug-trafficking counts, 30 counts related to illegally possessing firearms, one count of destroying a motor vehicle in a drive-by shooting, and 50 counts of illegally using a telephone to facilitate a drug-trafficking conspiracy.

According to court documents, the ATF began investigating an armed drug trafficking organization operating primarily in east Kansas City, Mo., in April 2021. Members are known to sell marijuana, crack cocaine, powder cocaine, purported ecstasy pills, purported Percocet pills (believed to be counterfeit pills made with fentanyl), and purported OxyContin pills. Members are known to carry firearms and commit acts of violence. Court documents allege the organization is connected to at least two shootings in which three victims were wounded.

As a result of that year-long investigation and subsequent indictment, more than 200 law enforcement officers from the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Independence, Mo., Police Department participated in an operation on March 8 and 9, 2022, that led to the arrests of 25 of the defendants. Officers seized 27 firearms, 1,877 rounds of ammunition, more than 11.1 kilograms of marijuana, 300.9 grams of cocaine, 278.91 grams of other illegal drugs, and $34,439 in cash.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron H. Black and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie C. Bradshaw. They were investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Independence, Mo., Police Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Buchanan County, Mo., Sheriffs Department, the Johnson County, Kan., Sheriffs Department and the St. Joseph, Mo., Police Department.

KC Metro Strike Force

This prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justices Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against a continuum of priority targets and their affiliate illicit financial networks. These prosecutor-led co-located Strike Forces capitalize on the synergy created through the long-term relationships that can be forged by agents, analysts, and prosecutors who remain together over time, and they epitomize the model that has proven most effective in combating organized crime. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.

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Three More Indicted in Drug-trafficking Conspiracy - DEA

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