Aussie Flood Appeal Dream System - Total Donations!
Our Aussie Flood Appeal is over!
We ended up gathering donations totaling $6,289.77 AUD - a great effort by everyone! This amount is sure to go quite a way in helping Queenslanders get back on their feet. We have converted to Australian Dollars since that is what will be given.
On behalf of the whole TweakTown team and all of the lovely sponsors involved, I would like to thank each and every one of you for donating. As previously mentioned, the lucky winner will be announced on Tuesday March 8th via video. Tomorrow we have the work of sorting out all 600+ raffle tickets that will be thrown into a box for the drawing.
Stay tuned and find out if you are the winner in a couple of days. This coming week a check will be written and sent to Queensland government Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal. We will take a photo of the check and post it alongside the winner video on Tuesday.
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Samsung's 10-inch tablet to ship as announced, iPad 2 is not the monster in Samsung's closet
There was a short period of time over the last few days where everyone thought Samsung were going to delay their Honeycomb-based, 10.1-inch tablet. But fear not my dear readers, Samsung are not scared of the iPad 2 and their tablet will ship as expected.
"We will continue to make every effort to provide the most powerful, well-designed and productive mobile device to customers," Executive Vice President Lee Don-Joo is quoted by Yonhap as saying. Samsung are being very mum about the release date, but it can't be overlooked that Apple is making it hard for everyone else trying to release tablets.
But this is how it happens when Apple are able to control everything from proprietary hardware, design, marketing, retail, wholesale all the way to getting it into your hands. Samsung obviously source parts from a bunch of different places and don't have the same control Apple do. Apple are therefore able to bend their price a bit and this will most likely be Samsung's biggest hurdle.
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N64oid, a Nintendo 64 emulator for Android-based devices
N64oid is a Nintendo 64 emulator optimized for Android. N64oid is capable of running most games smoothly with sound, but requires a high-end device like the Nexus S, Nexus One, Droid, Samsung Galaxy, etc.
The Nintendo 64 emulator also allows you to save or load from any point as well as use the in-game save support. Included is a configurable, translucent on-screen keypad that is very easy to use. Key mappings to map game keys to hardware buttons, option to use the G-sensor as the analog stick and a bunch of other settings that can be tuned to your needs.
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Havok physics engine on Android 2.3 - shown off on Xperia Play
Xperia Play is getting an exciting partnership in the form of the shake of hands with Havok and their Physics engine. Below is a video that shows off the engine running on a Sony Ericsson Xperia Play.
The video shows off what seems to be 30fps footage, with destruction that is actually quite impressive for a mobile phone. The physics seem natural for the small unit, and I'm guessing this is just the beginning of physics on a mobile device. It looks like we'll soon be tapping the power of current, oldish consoles in our mobile handsets sooner rather than later!
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The Twilight Zone: Season One (1959) Blu-ray Movie Review
Before I start, for all those under 25 years of age. No, The Twilight Zone is not some new, awesome forum for Twilight fans. Neither is it a documentary on either the Twilight books or films. So click away if you were expecting that. For everyone else, The Twilight Zone is the original and classic science fiction TV series from the late 1950's and spanning into the early 1960's. Every episode is a self-contained story within itself, with a different cast and setting. Many Hollywood writers and actors had stints on The Twilight Zone early on in their career; it really is a 'who's who' museum of sorts.
The first season of The Twilight Zone features 36 half hour episodes over its 5 discs. Episode highlights include 'Time enough at last' featuring a nuclear holocaust survivor and 'The four of us are dying'.
The Twilight Zone really is a classic of the Television medium, with a level of quality that was unmatched for decades. While some younger viewers might be turned off by the black and white nature of the series, I'd strongly suggest that a new generation give it a go - I doubt they'll be disappointed.
Video
The Twilight Zone is presented in a full screen aspect ratio of 1.33:1 (its original aspect ratio), encoded with AVC MPEG-4 compression.
Like most TV series of the time, The Twilight Zone was shot on 35mm film, before being transferred to video. All previous TV, VHS and DVD masters were derived from these video transfers. However, recently copyright owner Image undertook a major restoration of the series from the original camera negative, revealing a level of detail and quality never seen before.
For fans of the series, the quality on offer here is nothing short of a miracle. Check out almost any shot featuring a facial close up to see exactly what I mean. Obviously, there is no colour in the image, but the gradients of black and white are pleasing, with very little black crush.
Overall, a beautiful transfer and one that does not disappoint.
Audio
The main restored audio track is encoded in uncompressed PCM 2.0 (dual mono) with an unrestored audio track using the same codec.
Obviously, with a mono track no one is expecting amazing sonic quality, and if you aren't you won't be disappointed. This audio track is really about restoring the audio that viewers heard 50 years ago and not about re-creating it to appeal to today's generation.
There's not much that really needs to be said about the audio. Suffice to say it is highly audible and very clear. And that's all we really expected.
Overall, a very serviceable track and a pleasing restoration without going overboard.
Extras
Wow. This really is the definitive Twilight Zone collection - they've thrown the kitchen sink at this one. There's so much good stuff, newly produced and vintage, it really is a feast for fans. Let's jump in.
19 of the 36 episodes feature an Audio Commentaries; featuring original actors, screenwriters and Twilight Zone aficionadas such as authors and film historians. I didn't listen to each and every one due to the obvious time factors, but I thoroughly enjoyed what was on offer here - fans will definitely learn a lot and be enthralled by the tidbits and trivia they'll learn. Additionally, every episode bar one features an Isolated score from Hollywood legends such as Jerry Goldsmith and Bernard Hermann.
Next up are a few unaired goodies; the original cut of the episode 'Where is everybody' is a few minutes longer than the finished cut and the episode which is generally considered to be the pilot for the series - 'The Time Element' which runs for nearly an hour.
A 2002 re-creation of select episodes were performed as radio plays and are presented here with a single still image as a background. All 18 episodes equal around 14 hours of audio. Plasma owners would be recommended to simply turn off their display.
Finally, we have a bunch of vintage Interview segments, Rod Serling's undated Emmy Award Acceptance Speech and promo spots for the series.
Overall, a very impressive collection of extras. It's hard to imagine this will ever be bettered.
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BitFenix Unleashes Shinobi
BitFenix Unleashes Shinobi
Gaming chassis made deadly by design
(BitFenix Design Lab, March 7, 2011) - Today, gaming hardware maker BitFenix is pleased to announce the latest addition to its lineup of PC chassis designed for hardcore gamers. Named Shinobi, this mid tower ATX chassis delivers impressive cooling, excellent expansion possibilities, and a bevy of DIY friendly features all wrapped up in a design that articulates the bold yet clean BitFenix design philosophy.
"We wanted to create a no-nonsense gaming chassis that was not only functional, but also exuded the killer design concept that BitFenix is known for. I believe that with Shinobi, gamers will get to see what we mean first hand," says BitFenix Product Manager David Jarlestedt.
Named after some of the most feared assassins of the modern age, Shinobi is designed to allow gamers to silently and efficiently dispatch their competition. Available in both window and non-window versions, Shinobi can blend into virtually any environment. Purists will appreciate the solid steel side panel of Shinobi, while users who want to highlight the hardware installed within will love the Shinobi Window's uniquely-crafted side panel window. Enveloping the top and front covers is the signature BitFenix SofTouchآ™ Surface Treatment that lends a luxurious matte finish and soft feel while resisting fingerprints and stains.
But the spirit of a true warrior must extend beyond the superficial. Shinobi also brings the tools gamers require to remain a cut above their adversaries. Inside, Shinobi can accommodate a wide variety of hardware - long graphics cards are not a problem, and up to three 5.25" optical drives or eight 3.5" hard drives can be installed for maximum expansion possibilities. With the included 5.25" drive bay adapter, users can also install a 2.5" SSD drive. To keep things cool when battle heats up, Shinobi can also be outfitted with a bevy of fans - up to seven 120mm fans can be installed, and optionally two of them can be upgraded to 140mm fans. Four high-speed USB 2.0 ports and audio jacks come standard, allowing gamers to effortlessly connect their gaming peripherals. No matter what the situation calls for, Shinobi rises to the occasion.
To get the gamer into battle as quickly as possible, Shinobi is equipped with a slew of DIY friendly features. Its easy-to-use tool-free design makes drive installation a breeze, and a large cutout on the motherboard tray enables quicker changing of CPU coolers should the need arise. Finally, removable filtered fan intakes means quick cleanup, shortening the time it takes to charge back into the fray.
Of course, Shinobi is also built with the same quality and attention to detail of all BitFenix gaming products. From the brushed gunmetal BitFenix logo, to the luxurious coated interior, Shinobi users can experience the BitFenix difference both inside and out. Shinobi Window users can also look forward to easy-to-use tool-free drive locking mechanisms to help speed their installation along.
BitFenix Shinobi will be available on store shelves beginning March 2011 with an estimated MSRP of 49آ€ (incl. 19% VAT) and $59.
BitFenix Shinobi Window will be available at the same time with an estimated MSRP of 59آ€ (incl. 19% VAT) and $69.
For more information on Shinobi, please visit http://www.bitfenix.com
About BitFenix
BitFenix is the result of the collaboration of several veterans in both the technology and gaming industries. From the same minds behind some of technology's most venerable products, BitFenix creates hardware and peripherals that grant the user the utmost control, strength, and performance to complete their computing tasks. Combining a deep understanding of gaming and other high-demand computing applications with superior engineering and design know-how, the BitFenix Team is dedicated to creating the go-to computing products and peripherals for those who refuse to quit. For more information, check out http://www.bitfenix.com.
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Khronos Releases Final WebGL 1.0 Specification, Brings Accelerated 3D without Plugins
Khronos Releases Final WebGL 1.0 Specification, Brings Accelerated 3D without Plugins
The Khronos Group released the final WebGL 1.0 specification to enable hardware-accelerated 3D graphics in HTML5 Web browsers without the need for plug-ins. WebGL defines a JavaScript binding to OpenGL ES 2.0 to allow rich 3D graphics within a browser on any platform supporting the industry-standard OpenGL or OpenGL ES graphics APIs. WebGL has the support of major silicon and browser vendors including Apple, Google, Mozilla and Opera with multiple browsers already shipping with WebGL implementations including the beta releases for Mozilla Firefox 4.0, all channels of Google Chrome 9.0, an Opera preview build, and Apple Mac OS Safari nightly builds.
WebGL leverages the pervasive availability of OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics on almost all browser-capable desktop, mobile and embedded platforms and the recent developments in Web technology including the massive increases in JavaScript performance. The ability for Web developers to directly access OpenGL-class graphics directly from JavaScript, and freely mix 3D with other HTML content, will enable a new wave of innovation in Web gaming, educational and training applications and graphically rich user interfaces to make the Web more enjoyable, productive and intuitive.
There is already a thriving middleware ecosystem around WebGL to provide a wide diversity of Web developers the ability to easily create compelling 3D content for WebGL-enabled browsers. These tools include: C3DL, CopperLicht , EnergizeGL, GammaJS, GLGE, GTW, O3D, OSG.JS, SceneJS, SpiderGL, TDL, Three.js and X3DOM. Links to these authoring tools and WebGL demos can be found here.
n addition to the WebGL specification, Khronos has created a comprehensive WebGL test suite that can be downloaded free of charge. Implementers of WebGL capable browsers can run the test suite and upload their passing test results in order be able to designate their implementations as conformant to the WebGL specification. More details on WebGL conformance tests can be found here.
"WebGL enables an entire new class of applications on the web. Being able to take advantage of first-class 3D hardware acceleration in a browser on both desktop and mobile allows web developers to create compelling and immersive experiences for their users," said Vlad Vukicevic of Mozilla and chair of the WebGL Working Group.
"HI CORPORATION is very excited about WebGL and believes that the combination of WebGL and HTML5 will become a very important platform," said Hirotaka Suzuki, CTO. "HI CORPORATION is deeply committed to WebGL and is planning to bring many of our technologies to the arena."
"NVIDIA helped to form the WebGL initiative as we believe it will fundamentally change the Web experience and we are committed to provide the optimal WebGL experience across Quadro and GeForce graphics on desktops and Tegra-based superphones and tablets," said Neil Trevett, president of the Khronos Group and vice president mobile content at NVIDIA. "The Khronos WebGL Working Group is a uniquely productive forum that has brought together the expertise of both browser and GPU vendors. Khronos is committed to working with the Web community to ensure WebGL is a dynamic and enabling piece of the Web HTML5 ecosystem for both desktop and mobile platforms."
"WebGL will finally free web developers from the confines of 2D without the need for a plug-in," said Tim Johansson, lead graphics developer, Opera Software. "Once WebGL becomes pervasive, we can look forward to a new era in creativity on the Web. Opera is excited to be part of the WebGL initiative. We intend to support WebGL in our browsers, whether on computers, mobile phones or TVs."
"Qualcomm is pleased to be an early adopter of open standards for mobile 3D graphics applications, including OpenGL ES and WebGL. We look forward to helping our partners lead the connected, mobile experience by integrating WebGL into our power-efficient Snapdragon wireless platforms that include Qualcomm's embedded Adreno GPUs and Qualcomm's enhanced, high-performance family of integrated CPUs," said Raj Talluri, vice president of product management for Qualcomm. "Integrating WebGL acceleration into our Snapdragon platforms will allow developers to deliver stunning new 3D applications through the web that perform comparably to native applications that are preinstalled on today's Smartphones and Tablet devices."
Khronos is also today announcing the formation of the WebCL working group to explore defining a JavaScript binding to the Khronos OpenCL standard for heterogeneous parallel computing. WebCL creates the potential to harness GPU and multi-core CPU parallel processing from a Web browser, enabling significant acceleration of applications such as image and video processing and advanced physics for WebGL games.
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