California's Department of Fair Employment & Housing has widened its anti-discrimination lawsuit against Activision Blizzard and claims the publisher has been shredding vital documents relevant to the ongoing investigation.
A recent report from Kotaku described the department as offering poorly paid, highly insecure positions, with a culture of hostility towards LGBTQ+ testers. The DFEH's rewording of "employees" to "workers" now hopes to take these contractors' experiences into account.
"As a contract employee, I feel there's a lot of pressure to excel, impress, and move through the ranks as fast as you can before your contract ends and you're forced to go 3 months without income or find another job," Axios reports one worker saying. "I take pride in what I do, but it feels like it's never enough."
Activision's contentious hiring of union-busting third-party law firm WilmerHale "directly interferes" with its own investigation, it says. By going to WilmerHale, Activision appears to be claiming that all work related to the investigation is privileged and can't be shared with DFEH.
The suit also claims that Activision HR shredded documents related to "investigations and complaints", against its legal obligation to retain them during the investigation. The relevant parts of the updated lawsuit were shared by Axios reporters Stephen Totilo and Megan Farokhmanesh, the former also noting that the DFEH "fixed their misspelling of Bill Cosby's name".
"DFEH is also informed and aware that documents and records have not been maintained as required by law or by the DFEH's Document Retention Notice," the complaint reads, "including but not limited to documents related to investigations and complaints were shredded by human resource personnel and emails are deleted thirty days after an employees separation."
Blizzard employee Jessica Gonzalez suspects that the costs of fines associated with destroying these documents may have been an easier blow for Blizzard to take than any penalties drawn from their existence in helping the lawsuit go through.
In an email to Kotaku, Activision denied the shredding allegations and issued a statement outlining steps it had taken to improve company culture—including the ousting of high-level executives like Blizzard president J. Allen Brack. The full statement reads:
"Throughout our engagement with the DFEH, we have complied with every proper request in support of its review even as we had been implementing reforms to ensure our workplaces are welcoming and safe for every employee. Those changes continue today, and include:
"We strive to be a company that recognizes and celebrates the diverse talents and perspectives that lead to the creation of great, globally appealing entertainment. We have provided the DFEH with clear evidence that we do not have gender pay or promotion disparities. Our senior leadership is increasingly diverse, with a growing number of women in key leadership roles across the company.
"We share DFEH’s goal of a safe, inclusive workplace that rewards employees equitably and is committed to setting an example that others can follow."
Beyond Activision Blizzard, California's DFEH has also probed into League of Legends creator Riot Games, accusing the studio of dragging its heels over sexual harassment allegations dating back to 2019. Riot denied the allegations, telling us that it "will never retaliate against anyone for talking to any government agency".
Probably tired of even trying to hide it, Steam has released that this year's big Steam Winter sale is officially starting on December 22nd, 2021, and closing on January 5th, 2022. So if you have someone to buy a gift or just want to drop a few great games in your library at a low price this is the time when you should do it. Another driver device error message you might encounter is error code 41.“The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28)”
| Option | Recommended use |
|---|---|
| Automatically select unsigned drivers | Useful for testing on computers that are running versions of Windows that do not require signed drivers. |
| Automatically select drivers built for older versions of Windows | Useful for testing driver compatibility with newer versions of Windows. |
| Automatically select all drivers installed on this computer | Provides maximum coverage in terms of the number of drivers that are tested on a system. This option is useful for test scenarios where a driver can interact with other devices or drivers on a system. This option can also exhaust the resources available for Special Pool and some resource tracking. Testing all drivers can also adversely affect system performance. |
| Select driver names from a list | In most cases, you will want to specify which drivers to test. Selecting all drivers in a device stack allows the Enhanced I/O Verification option to track objects and check compliance because an I/O request packet (IRP) is passed between each of the drivers in the stack, which allows for a greater level of detail to be provided when an error is detected. Select a single driver if you are running a test scenario that measures system or driver performance metrics, or if you want to allocate the greatest number of resources available for detecting memory corruption or resource tracking issues (such as deadlocks or mutexes). The Special Pool and I/O Verification options are more effective when used on one driver at a time. |
You may experience error code 24 when you try to use a device on your PC that is not properly installed or its driver is corrupted. Code 24 is a Device Manager error and it pops up on your computer screen in the following format:
“This device is not present, is not working properly, or does not have all its drivers installed. (Code 24)”
Error CausesError code 24 may be triggered due to several reasons. However, the most common causes for this error code include:
It is recommended to resolve the error code to ensure your PC works at its optimal performance. Error code 24 can lower the device functionality and PC performance dramatically.
Since this error code can mean several different things, troubleshooting it can be quite tricky but to make it simple to resolve, we have listed down some easy methods to repair error code 24.
Try these methods to fix error 24 on your PC and ensure your system works at its optimal pace. Let’s get started….
Problems with BIOS, the controlling software in the PC motherboard, can sometimes trigger hardware conflicts resulting in Device Manager error code pop-ups.
In such a scenario, it is advisable to update BIOS. To update, go to your PC motherboard manufacturer’s website. Here you will be able to find instructions on updating BIOS.
Follow the instructions carefully to resolve error code 24 on your system. If the error code still persists, then try other methods discussed below.
If you experienced code 24 on your PC after installing new devices, then it is advisable to remove them to resolve the error code.
If the device is attached to your computer, then simply disconnect and remove it immediately. Once you disconnect it, reboot your system to activate changes.
If device removal does not resolve the problem, then consider updating the device driver. Code 24 is also related to driver problems.
It can occur if a device driver is corrupted or outdated. In such an event, it is advisable to update the driver by installing the new and latest device driver version on your PC.
For doing this, simply download the latest device driver version from the manufacturer’s website and update it.
Finding problematic drivers and the latest device driver versions to update them, however, can be time-consuming and sometimes even frustrating. To avoid being in this situation, it is advisable to download DriverFIX.
DriverFIX is a cutting-edge, user-friendly and an innovative program exclusively designed to resolve device driver related issues and problems on computer systems
It is integrated with the newest technology and intelligent programming system that enables and empowers PC users like you to repair device driver error codes in seconds.
Once you install this software on your PC, simply run it. The software program instantly detects all problematic drivers and updates them with their latest versions available on the internet.
All this is done in mere seconds and it’s not time-consuming at all. Moreover, device driver updates are performed frequently to ensure that you don’t experience any driver problems again.
Click here to download DriverFIX and repair Device Manager error code 24 right away.
If you are one of the users that are experiencing this kind of annoyance, we have a solution for you. Follow this guide as presented and repair this annoying error.
2021 is nearing toward the end and with just a couple of days remaining in this year, we are happy to look forward to the next year. So in large anticipation of what will next year bring us, we are taking a good design look at this one and making a list for you of what graphic design software you should learn and use in the upcoming 2022.
Before we dive into it in more detail and predictions please be aware that this article is based upon my personal opinion drawn from the research of current trends and standards. That being said let's dive right into details.
Whether you like it or not, Adobe has cemented itself with its flagship application Photoshop and how things are looking this situation will not change any time soon. Photoshop is an extraordinary pixel manipulation software that has the ability to work with both animations and vector graphics as well making it a great single application for all-around design needs. It has been industry-standard design software for the web, print, and all other kinds of design all over the globe and this will not change in near future. With its constant updates and expansion of its abilities, this is a must-have tool in your design tool belt. If you are looking to find work as a designer you will have to know how to work with photoshop.
Many will tell you that is photoshop for raster graphics, the illustrator is for vectors. First started as illustrator 88 on Mac right away it took first place for vector graphics from FreeHand and it continued on its path of vector dominance. After some time and more integration with photoshop Adobe managed to overthrow Corel Draw as well winning the title for best vector editing software with illustrator. Same as with photoshop, if you are planning to work in a serious industry you will need to know the illustrator.
We are still in Adobe train and it is moving hard, InDesign is graphic design software aimed for paper publications. If you need to create and prepare any kind of professional publication for printing InDesign is the application to go to. With its specific print aimed features it is a must-have for any graphic designer.
Once the king of vector and print design but dethroned by Adobe Corel Draw still has some punches to stay relevant in the field. With some cool features like symmetry and long shadows, it stands out from its competitors for its ease of use. Corel was always focused on easy to learn, and difficult to master and it is still following that kind of thinking. Granted not many employers will require you to be a master of Corel Draw but some of them will request that you are familiar with the application. One of perhaps the greatest advantages of Corel over Adobe is not locking you into a subscription making Draw suit a great choice for freelancers and designers that want to own software, not rent it.
The first software from Affinity was Photo, made as a cheap version one-time purchase competitor for photoshop. Later it has released Designer, also a one-time purchase competitor for illustrators. If we are going to take a good look into a feature for feature comparison, both Adobe and Corel will win over Affinity but if we take a look at a price that is a one-time purchase Affinity will win over easily. Priced only at $54.99 it is a steal, and taking into account that many designers will not require any very advanced features found in Corel or Adobe applications Affinity is the way to go.
Speaking of price, nothing beats free, and both Inkscape and GIMP are completely free. offering very decent and competitive features applications will require you to get used to their own specific UI and workflow, but once you get a grasp of them, you will be able to do most design work in them. One of the downsides of using these free open source apps is their limited export options but if all that is required from you is to deliver a typical SVG, JPG, EPS, PNG, or PDF file you are good to go.
Free with basic functionality with the option to purchase more advanced features Colorcinch is a great application if you are on quickly developing and creating graphics for social media posts. Add quickly text or filters, quickly do the color adjustment and save for social apps. The application also within its basic boundaries can work directly on the website without you requiring to even install it making it one of a kind. Go try it at the official site and enjoy yourself.
If you have followed the graphic design scene you will notice that nothing has changed and it will not change in near future. This just speaks about how much industry is defined and how little change is there over time. I advise if you can to get and learn adobe suite since it is industry standard and is required from almost every employer today. Rest applications on the list are great alternatives and can bring you income and offer you a way to finish your project.
myBrowser is a Potentially Unwanted Program that allows users to access the internet. This browser suggests users install other PUP like myfiles, myemail, and others. This application claims to be a good reliable portable internet browser, however during our test use of the program several website scripts crashed and were not able to open up all the website assets required, leaving the users with a mediocre browsing experience.
While browsing the internet through this program, you might see additional ads and sponsored links injected into your search results and/or websites.
