NZXT Sentry Mix Fan Controller Review
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Seeing Light in a New Way
Much of modern telecommunications relies on optical fibers to carry information, but this is limited by how we can view light. To allow multiple streams to travel along a single fiber optic channel requires there be something to distinguish the different signals. An example would be the polarization of the light, but the number of these we can use is decreasing. Part of the problem is we only have the ability to map and control the simplest, ground state of light. More complex light has additional characteristics that can be used for additional data channels, but were not accessible, until now. Scientists at the City College of New York have developed the Higher Order Poincaré Sphere to map complex light. The regular Poincaré Sphere is already in use to display polarizations and this expanded version allows additional information, such as spin and angular momentum, to be displayed. This construction will allow complex light to be described with single equations instead of pages of mathematics. Not only will this aid in telecommunications, which is approaching a bandwidth cap, but also quantum computing and cryptography.
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Out of Shape Photons
There are a lot of neat things scientists can do with fiber optics. An example is the time cloak which takes advantage of different frequencies of light travelling at different speeds. The reason for the speed changes has to do with the size and shape of the photon, which is connected to its frequency, normally. Scientists at NIST have successfully made a photon shaped like it is infrared actually have a frequency in the visible part of the spectrum. The answer to the question, ‘why?’ is to allow quantum computers to function better. Ideally a quantum computer will use photons to carry information between the quantum-memory components. Fiber optics work best with infrared light, but the particles used in the components respond to visible light better. This hybridized photon satisfies both the cable and the components and will keep future quantum computers running efficiently.
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Game Features Stress as the Opponent
There is a lot out there to deal with for many of us, even young people. Keeping grades up, making sure tuition is paid and more are contributing to an increase in stress and anxiety. To combat this, researchers at the Rochester Institute of Technology have partnered with St. John Fisher College to create a game to teach players how to manage stress. When creating their in-game character, the player is put through assessments to give their character their same anxieties and repetitive behavior. During the game, the player’s physiological state is monitored for the effects of stress and anxiety. That information is then used to control the character, so to play the game the user must learn to be able to control their psychophysiological state. The team hopes to have the prototype in clinical trials this fall.
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Financial Articles Written in Seconds with Software
On the floor of any stock exchange in the world, speed is paramount. Traders who get the information first get to react first and even a few seconds can make or loss them money. To get things going at super-speed, the new company MarketBrief has created software “journalists” that can write an article in three to 20 seconds. The key to the system is the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) uses eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) to publish its fillings. The software scans the fillings for keywords or numbers and inserts them into pre-defined sentences. The result may be very simple and boring, but considering it will beat a human journalist in a race every time, the traders who use it, probably won’t mind.
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Bethesda has a Better Plan to Combat Any Bugs in TES V: Skyrim
The release of a new RPG by Bethesda Softworks typically means you will be lost in the game world for dozens, if not hundreds, of hours. However, for all the splendor of the RPGs that Bethesda can create, one thing that has become all too common are bugs. Sometimes these bugs can be quite humorous, like dropping a paint brush repeatedly in Oblivion to create a pseudo stairs, or game-breaking by not allowing you to complete a certain quest or worse, corrupting your save file. Bethesda knows that this is a problem with its games since, due to the massive nature of the game worlds, finding every single bug can be quite the challenge. However, that should hopefully change with the launch of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, since Bethesda will create a unique direct connection to the game that will allow for on-the-fly tweaking. It is similar to a sports game that has you download a new roster throughout the season, plus Bethesda is running newer and better processes to catch more bugs before the game launches.
Skyrim's creative director, Todd Howard, is well aware of the bugs that seem to populate his team's games. He says that the Skyrim team is running automated tests on the game every night that searches for bugs and helps the team get rid of them. Howard also says that the direct connection will let the team tweak the data almost immediately. If a quest isn't triggering due to some unexpected previous action on the player's part, or if the game is unbalanced in an unforeseen way, that the Skyrim team can change those variables and update the game in a matter of hours. This should elimnate the need for a two week turnaround on patches for the past games, meaning we won't have to wait long at all to play an updated version of Skyrim once a bug is fixed. Howard is proud to say that Skyrim is a lot bigger than Fallout 3, but knows that with a larger game comes more problems. Hopefully, this new way of testing for bugs can eliminate as many of them as possible.
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New Borderlands Patch to Test Borderlands 2 Tech, Add Steamworks
It is looking like Gearbox Software still has a few plans left for Borderlands, but if you're hoping for a new piece of DLC, well, you are out of luck. No, what Gearbox has planned for Borderlands is a new patch for the PC version that will enable the developer to test out technology being used in Borderlands 2. The patch will also add Steamworks support, which will allow save files to be stored in the cloud. The technology being tested for Borderlands 2, launching in the "B-Test patch," will let Gearbox communicate better with you. Namely, it will allow the studio to see "which guns suck," what areas are being visited the most/least, and various other things. Gearbox president Randy Pitchford said that the B-Test allows for two-way communication between Gearbox and you, possibly meaning that Borderlands 2 will see better and faster patches for any broken content. At any rate, the new patch for the PC version of Borderlands will launch on September 9th.
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Mass Effect 3 End of Shepard's Story, Not the Game's Universe
I am sure I speak for a ton of people when I say that Mass Effect 3 is easily one of the games I am most looking forward to when it launches next March. Say what you will about some of the design decisions of the second game, the story that has been unraveling is one of the better ones to be told in recent RPGs. As such, Mass Effect 3 is being heavily anticipated by many people, myself included. However, many are wondering that when Mass Effect 3 wraps up if we'll get another game down the road or if that is simply the end of the line. Well, BioWare CEO Dr. Ray Mazuka spoke with PC Gamer at Gamescom, and when asked that question, said that Mass Effect 3 will be the end of Commander Shepard's story, but not of the game's universe. That means that future games set in the Mass Effect universe will not be about Commander Shepard, since Mazuka was firm that Mass Effect 3 is the finale of Shepard's tale. I am sure this is comforting for some of you, but if you were looking to see what happens to Shepard beyond ME3, well, you'll just have to hope the game provides really solid closure. The universe of Mass Effect is rather large and future games could go in dozens of directions with the stories, so it is good to see that BioWare simply won't abandon the universe it has created when ME3 wraps up.
So, after Mass Effect 3, what are you hoping to see game-wise in the Mass Effect universe?
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Hawken Lets You Pilot Your Own War Machine
During the late 90s PC gamers had a blast piloting giant mech robots, with the MechWarrior series. These first-person mech simulations let players duke it out against each other using fully mobile, customizable robots set in a post-apocalyptic future. There hasn't been a lot of robot mech simulations for the PC lately, but Los Angeles based indie developer Adhesive Games is bringing FPS mech combat back to life, with its upcoming game: Hawken.
In the Hawken universe, mankind's aggressive colonization of a distant habitable planet has turned into a chaotic mess. Resources have been dwindling at an alarming rate, and the precious few that remain are fought over using giant mechanized robots. Gameplay at this point is multiplayer based, with two modes unique to the game, along with team deathmatch and free-for-all deathmatch. From what can be seen in the trailer, the robots you'll be piloting aren't lumbering steel beasts, but rather agile war machines that that are fast, and armed to the teeth. The Unreal Engine-based title has no release date yet, but Adhesive Games hinted that it has plans on bringing Hawken to consoles and the PC. If you've got the urge for commandeering a giant robot right now, not to worry. You can sample a CryEngine 2 version of the MechWarrior franchise with the MechWarrior: Living Legends multiplayer mod, if you've got a copy of Crysis Wars lying around.
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Sharkoon Introduces Tarea Midi Tower Chassis
Sharkoon today introduced the Tarea midi tower chassis to its line-up of computer chassis. The Tarea is targeted at the low-end market, constructed out of steel, with both exterior and interior finished in black. The Tarea includes nine tool-less 5.25" drive bays, coupled with an I/O panel featuring USB, eSATA, and audio connectors. Cooling is covered by up to four 120mm fans (one front, one rear and two side panel), along with pre-drilled holes to assist with watercooling set-ups. The Sharkoon Tarea midi tower chassis weighs in at 6.2kg and will be available for around US$53 (€36.49).
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