IT-Code-News: IT News HeadLines (Legit Reviews) 04/02/2010

BioShock 2 to Have Midnight Launch February 9th

2K Games highly anticipated shooter, BioShock 2, will be available at midnight at GameStop and Best Buy stores nationwide. 2K announced the midnight openings in conjunction with a brand new trailer that debuted last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Hoping to pile some extra coal into the hype train's engine, 2K took up the whole first commercial block of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with a 3-minute-15-second launch trailer. It's a cool clip, but we get the uneasy feeling that the heavy reliance on non-gameplay, first-person action is just a touch misleading. That said, it's just a couple of inches above this sentence, so you can judge for yourself.

Patriot Announces Sector 5 Series 2250MHz DDR3 Memory

Patriot Memory, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash and computer technology, today announced the launch of its new Sector 5 Series Extreme Performance DDR3 memory. Designed specifically for overclockers and enthusiasts using Intel based platforms, the Sector 5 boasts an amazing 2250MHz with timings of 9-9-9-27. Individually hand tested on the Intel P55 chipset platform; the Sector 5 modules offer incredible performance for users looking to reach new heights in overclocking and benchmarking. Engineered for the gaming enthusiast and intense overclocker, the Sector 5 is one of the fastest modules on the market and will be offered as a 4GB kit (2 x 2GB modules) under the part number PVV34G2250LLK.

Patriot Sector 5 2250MHz DDR3 Memory Kit

"Our goal is to provide the hardcore enthusiast with a performance module that is actually going to perform at the specified timing with stability", says Les Henry, Patriot's VP of Engineering. "Consumers can feel confident that what we advertise for our speeds and timing is true to the specifications. Additionally, users can expect headroom to reach faster speeds. We have been able to hit speeds over 2400MHz with these modules in our lab."

AMD Athlon II X4 635 2.9GHz Quad Core Processor Review

The AMD Athlon II X4 635 is the fastest quad-core processor in the Athlon II series with its overall clock frequency of 2.9GHz. With a street price of $127 and just a 100MHz boost over its predecessor is the Athlon II X4 635 worth it? Read on to see how it performs in the benchmarks and to see how it handles being overclocked on our AMD 785G test system.

AMD Athlon II X4 635 2.9GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor

"The AMD Athlon II X4 635 is the latest and greatest quad-core Athlon II processor to be released. The AMD Athlon II X4 635 comes priced at a low price of $125.99 plus shipping. Based on the Propus Die, the Athlon II X4 635 has a clock speed of 2.9GHz with a 2000MHz HT link and memory support for both DDR2 and DDR3. The chips overall clock frequency is just 100MHz faster than the AMD Athlon II X4 630, which costs $108.99 plus shipping. For an extra ~$20 you get another 100MHz speed bump, which might make some of you yawn, but at least AMD is headed in the right direction. Both the AMD Athlon II X4 630 and 635 processors are great quad-core CPUs that are ideal for someone looking for the threaded performance that only a quad-core processor can offer..."

File-Sharing Scam Targets Twitter

Beware of file sharing sites (again)! Hackers are skimming Twitter log in and password info knowing that users recycle their passwords and are using the information gleaned to do some dirty deeds. Browse smart and don't engage in risky online behavior to ensure security of your private information kids.

Twitter has identified a scheme that uses compromised file-sharing sites to steal the log on information of users. The service said it had discovered a number of compromised "torrent" sites that had been set up specifically to skim usernames and passwords.

Apple's iPhone OS 3.1.3 Upgrade Has a Security Fix

Apple on Tuesday issued a point update to its iPhone OS, making only a few fixes to the phone's software despite not having patched it in months. It's likely there won't be a major fix until the release of OS 3.2, which will likely coincide with the release of the iPad slated for later in March. OS 3.1.3 fixes not only the iPhone but the iPod Touch as well. According to the release notes, there are four security vulnerabilities addressed in the update. One prevents buffer overflow from a maliciously crafted mp4 audio file, which may allow for arbitrary code execution.

There are also some bug fixes. One improves the accuracy of the reported battery level on the iPhone 3GS, another resolves an issue where third-party apps would not launch in some instances, and the final fix addresses a bug that may cause an app to crash when using the Japanese Kana keyboard. As always, Apple does not issue just upgraded files. It puts the whole disk image online and updates everything, which means a 291MB download.

February 3 News from Around the Web

Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB SATA 6Gbps Solid State Disk @ TweakTown and other reviews from around thew web can be found by visiting our forums!

"At this point do we really even need an intro for the Crucial RealSSD C300? For months Crucial has taunted us with videos, screen shots and snippets of information. At Storage Visions just days before CES we met with Crucial and they were waving a drive around; our eyes were like a dog fixated on its master swinging around a fresh piece of bacon. You can look, you can touch, you can take pictures but you cant plug it in. Damn it man, stop with the cruelty! Today Crucial finally let a RealSSD C300 out of their grasp and somehow we managed to have it land on our doorstep. The RealSSD C300 uses Marvells new SATA 6Gbps solid state drive controller, the first of its kind. Crucial took Marvells hardware and let Crucial engineers produce the firmware for the drive."

FurMark 1.8.0 Hot Like Hell Edition Available

We just got word that the first 2010 edition of FurMark is available for download. And this new 1.8.0 version is said to overheat your GPU(s) like hell and will help heat up your room this winter. For those who don't know what this application does, FurMark is a popular OpenGL graphics card overclocking validation utility that push to the max your graphics adapter. FurMark is a quick way to check the stability of your graphics card after an overclocking.

I updated the post-processing effect (post FX) to simulate an intense heat around the torus. I also added a new effect based on vertex displacement mapping to increase the global workload of fur rendering. The displacement mapping controls the height of fur and youll see some parts of the torus with very short fur. This new version is targeted to recent graphics cards with an increased rendering workload. The scores youll get with your graphics card will be lower than the ones got with previous versions of FurMark.

Rumor: Aliens Versus Predator Demo To Arrive This Week!

According to internet rumors, sources say that Sega & Rebellion will reportedly announced that the demo to the highly anticipated Aliens versus Predator will be released February 4, this Thursday. We expect to see the demo available on Sony's PlayStation Network (PSN), Xbox 360 Dashboard, and Steam for the PC.

Sitting down at Rebellions Oxford HQ to play Aliens vs Predator on a projector the size of my flat was an unnerving experience and thats a sentence which Ive put together very carefully because it tells you nearly all you need to know about the game. The most important thing in it is that the game is unnerving rather than explicitly scary. Its tense, not terrifying and that in itself marks a rather dramatic departure from Rebellions previous AVP game.

EA Forced to Change 'Dante's' Super Bowl Ad

Electronic Arts has been forced to change its Super Bowl advert for action game Dante's Inferno following concerns raised by broadcaster CBS. Yesterday, EA announced that the 30-second ad will air during the fourth quarter of the NFL's showpiece final on February 7. Dante's Inferno will be released two days later on the PS3, PSP and Xbox 360 platforms, but CBS took offense with its tagline 'Go To Hell'.

The "Hell Awaits" ad will introduce many football fans to the "hack and slash" adventure based on Dante Aligheri's The Divine Comedy. The game features lead character Dante as he descends through the nine circles of hell in search of his companion Beatrice.

Cooler Master GX Power Supply Series Announced

Cooler Master just announced three new power supplies that are going to be part of the GX Power Supply series. The models come in your choice of 550W, 650W and 750W and all are targeted at upper mid-range to high-end gaming systems. The three models in the GX series are known as the GX 550W (RS-550-ACAA-E3), the GX 650W (RS-650-ACAA-E3) and the GX 750W (RS-750-ACAA-E3). Cooler Master informed Legit Reviews that the GX-Series will be available in the United States, but only the 650W and 750W. The 550W power supply will be carried in other regions. All models in the GX series also comes backed with a five year warranty. No word on pricing at this time.

The Cooler Master GX series comes with a range of advanced features such as a powerful single +12V rail, huge bulk capacitors with a >17ms hold up time which means that the power supply will be able to handle peak loads better, low noise dual layer EMI filters that reduces noise in the power lines, an energy efficient dual mode Active PFC/PWM controller, an efficient transformer that reduces the 5Vsb power loss when the system is in standby mode and a wide range of protection designs that will prevent damage to the system in case of a malfunction.

New Underwater Plane To Explore Ocean Depths

Care to take a "flight" to view the Titanic at 12,600ft down in the cold Atlantic? No problem at all for the Necker Nymph which is a three person submersible capable of reaching depths of 36,000ft! How much you say? Just a paltry $88,000 a week to rent the Necker Belle, the luxury liner that carries the Necker Nymph which is available for and extra $25,000 per week.

A new "underwater plane" will plunge wealthy riders down into the ocean depths for a hefty fee. U.K. company Virgin Limited Edition recently announced the Necker Nymph, a three-person "aero-submarine" that can dive to depths of 36,000 feet which is deeper than Mount Everest is tall.

Could NASA be Grounded Indefinitely?

According to a Time article, Obama's latest budget proposal would provide over $100 billion in funding to NASA, but does not allocate any of it to continue the Ares rocket testing through the Constellation-project which was geared toward a 21st century lunar landing and eventually Mars. Projects the $100 billion would be allocated for include extending the life of the ISS (International Space Station), better robotics, new flight techniques, and unmanned spacecraft. Sound off in our Forums and let us know what you think!

The initiative, for now at least, is more about what NASA plans to cancel than what it plans to pursue. The six-year-old Constellation program, which had been focused on developing new boosters, Apollo-like orbiters and a 21st century lunar lander, all with the goal of making long-term stays on the moon possible, will be scrapped, after $9 billion and a single flight of the Ares 1 booster last October. The longer-term goal of venturing out to Mars is being tabled along with it.

Study: 73% Use Bank Password Everywhere

The more technology driven we become, the more passwords we'll have to memorize or safely store to maintain access to various systems, devices, and financial accounts. To make this easier, it seems a large percentage of people are just recycling the same password for multiple accounts. Protect your money and identity by varying your passwords! In other news, the moon is not actually made of cheese.

For years computer security experts have been preaching that users should never share the same password across their connected lives -- at online banking sites, at Amazon, on their Web mail services, even on their cell phones. Apparently, most people ignore that advice.

AMD Athlon II X4 635 2.9GHz Quad Core Processor Review

Thursday, February 4, 2010

IT News HeadLines (Legit Reviews) 04/02/2010

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