BitFenix Raider Case Review
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John Carmack Says 64-Bit Version and Mod Tools Coming to RAGE
If you recall, around the time RAGE came out last October there was talk of a 64-bit version and even mod tools. Those mod tools were mentioned as early as May of last year (back when the game had a September launch day) and was said to be shipping with the game. Well, when RAGE came out the 64-bit version and mod tools were nowhere in sight, but that was the least of id Software's problems with the game. John Carmack, id Software co-founder and technical master, recently tweeted the 64-bit version of RAGE "is definitely going to be released," but that it is still in quality assurance testing. As for the mod tools, id Software will be "sharing new information soon," which is about as vague of an answer as one can give. Still, at least it looks like id Software has not left RAGE behind and is planning on supporting it, but we just need to keep watching for more information.
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Age of Empires Online Now on Steam
Fans of free-to-play games certainly have had no shortage of titles to choose from lately. A good amount of MMORPGs have dropped the subscriptions in favor of an F2P model, while some FPS, action, and fighting games are launching as F2P right away. Real-time strategy fans are not left entirely out of the dust due to Age of Empires Online, but it was more of an MMO than an RTS. Now, Age of Empires Online is available on Steam and includes an update stripping away the more tedious MMO elements. The past version of the game had Age Three and Age Four at level 20 and 30, respectively, but the update lowers those to a more reasonable seven and fifteen. You can read the full patch notes here, and there are a lot of them, to see just what AoEO has to offer.
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Regulating Microbes for Biofuel Production
In the interest of replacing fossil fuels, numerous groups are working on ‘green’ systems to produce biofuels. A somewhat common idea is to use microbes as chemical reactors. Several micro-organisms, such as the E. coli bacteria, are good choices for this, as they have already been used to in chemical synthesis processes. These processes are not always that effective though, but researchers at Berkeley Lab have developed something that can triple chemical output.
The Dynamic Sensor-Regulator System (DSRS) technique controls the metabolic pathways within a microbe to optimize production. If the genes that activate the pathways are not expressed correctly the process may have a bottleneck or produce toxic enzymes that will impair a microbe’s ability to produce chemicals. The DSRS keeps the gene expression stable at the optimum level for high yields, and when tested in E. coli, the yield was tripled.
Further work on the DSRS technique may increase performance even more, and there is definitely room for improvement. Even after increasing the output three-fold, the yield was still only 28% of the theoretical maximum.
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NVIDIA Announces Updated New GeForce.com Site Design
NVIDIA has officially announced a new revision of its GeForce.com community website for gamers, dubbed GeForce.com 2.0. One of the best new features is one-click driver download from the home page, an improvement from having to click through several pages to get to the driver you want. Other new features include a redesigned home page layout to allow for easier navigation, user comments available through Facebook and Twitter accounts, and an improved backend to improve page load times. While you are checking out the new site, be sure to check out the numerous articles talking about the Kepler platform. Highlights include an overview of the GTX 680, new GTX 680 driver, GeForce 600M notebooks, and using the GTX 680 to power NVIDIA Surround technology.
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ECS Announces New Thin Mini-ITX Motherboards
ECS has announced a new pair of motherboards based on the Thin Mini-ITX standard. The CDC-TI supports Intel CPUs in the Atom D2700, D2550, and D2500 lines. There are two DDR3 SO-DIMM slots that can take up to 4GB total. Other features of the board include two SATA ports, two USB 2.0 ports, two Mini-PCIe slots, and VGA and HDMI output. A fanless heatsink will help to keep the noise low in the system. The H61H2-TI supports Intel LGA1155 CPUs using the H61 Express chipset. The board has two DDR3 SO-DIMM slots for up to 16GB of RAM. The board also has two SATA ports, two USB 3.0 ports, two Mini-PCIe slots, and HDMI output.
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Team Fortress 2 Announces New Hats, Strange Parts
There are three new hats that are now available in Team Fortress 2, and there will be a very limited number available. There is only one way to get your hands on these hats, with a different condition for each of them. One of each hat will be available per day, with the hats going to the player that gives out the most gifts, wins the most duels, or purchases the most map stamps on that day. In addition to the new hats, Strange Parts are now available to augment the stats that strange weapons track in game.
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Huge Battlefield 3 Patch Lands Tomorrow
Do you remember that huge Battlefield 3 patch DICE was teasing a little while back? The one without a solid release date except for "before the next DLC?" Well, we now have something definitive on that front as DICE has confirmed the big Battlefield 3 patch will arrive tomorrow for PC gamers. The servers went offline earlier in anticipation of the patch, which everyone will be able to download starting tomorrow. The patch clocks in around 1.6GB, so be sure to start the download early if you have work or school during the day. A little bit of everything is being fixed in the patch, like the commo rose, an improved minimap, and about a million other things you can check out in the full patch notes.
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From Two Lasers, Many Colors Come
One of the best parts about being a physicist is every day you run the chance of seeing something you have never seen before. This happened to researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara who fired two lasers at a gallium arsenide semiconductor and got multiple frequencies of light back. This could have great implications on communication technologies, such as fiber optics, that use multiple frequencies to transmit more information on the same cable.
The two lasers the researchers used were a high-frequency optical laser and a low-frequency, but powerful, free-electron laser. When the optical laser hits the semiconductor, it causes electrons to be ejected from their parent atoms. Normally these electrons would just fall back to their atoms and emit the same color light as what hit him. The free-electron laser changes that though. Instead of the electrons just leaving and returning to the atom, the free-electron laser accelerates the electrons, so now when they fall back, they carry with them more energy. The amount of energy is directly related to the frequency of light the semiconductor emits, with more energy meaning a higher frequency. The researchers were able to create 11 different frequencies from the semiconductor, all at the same time.
There is one catch though that will prevent this technology from being used commercially in the near future. A free-electron laser is about the size of a building. However, the researchers believe a transistor capable of producing a strong terahertz field can replace the free-electron laser.
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New PlayStation Rumors Appear - Launch in 2013, Codename Orbis, No Used Game Support
Rumors on new computer hardware and gaming consoles is a dime a dozen, and like every rumor should be taken with a fistful of salt. Still, it is interesting to see just what the rumors are saying and to have a point of reference once actual specifications are revealed to see just how off (or on) the mark anonymous tipsters were. Sony has long said there is a ten year life cycle for the PlayStation 3, and considering it did not launch until 2006, we are right about halfway into its life. That has not stopped rumors and rumblings on the PlayStation 4 from cropping up, like today. Anonymous (yet "reliable") sources have told Kotaku the PlayStation 4 is in development and is codenamed "Orbis." The PS4 is set to launch during the 2013 holiday season, which fits in line with the PS3 launch season, but again goes against Sony's stance on a ten year PlayStation 3 life cycle.
If you are wondering what will be powering the PS4, or Orbis as Kotaku thinks it will be called, the sources peg it as running an AMD x64 CPU and a Southern Islands GPU. Those two chips working in combination will help the PS4/Orbis run games at up to 4096x2160 resolution and handle 3D gaming at a steady 1080p. The PS3 can only muster 3D gaming at 720p, so already that would be an improvement. The 4K resolution could also be beneficial since Sony, like other TV manufacturers, are slowly moving over to 4K TV sets, and it would be impressive to see a PS4/Orbis game running at that resolution. Developers have reportedly been receiving dev kits of the PS4 already, which would mean a good supply of launch titles if the 2013 release turns out to be true.
A disappointing part of the PS4/Orbis rumor is that all games will be tied to your PSN account. Games will be available digitally or on Blu-ray disc, but the disc versions will be tied to your PSN account, which means no more used games. From the sound of it, you can trade-in the Blu-ray disc, but anyone purchasing it afterwards will have severely limited functionality until they pay the full price. If you recall, the Next Xbox is also rumored to do something similar, but we will just have to see how that all pans out. The PS4 will also require an active Internet connection at all times, and supposedly will not even turn on if no Internet connection is detected. Backwards compatibility is also on the chopping block, so you better hang on to your PS3s if you want to relive "older" games.
Remember, everything here is just a rumor. Whether or not any of it comes true will have to wait, but companies do not typically comment on rumor. We could see something at E3 or one of the later conventions this year (or next), but I would not put any money down on that chance.
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On the Way to Transparent and Flexible Phones
Transparent electronics you can wrap around your wrists have traditionally existed only in the realm of science fiction, but some recently discussed work at Rice University may make fiction fact. During the American Chemical Society’s national meeting, one of the Rice researchers discussed the transparent and flexible nonvolatile memory they had developed. This coupled with flexible and transparent touchscreens, circuits, and batteries may make the folding, transparent phone possible.
In 2010, rice researchers had discovered it was possible to use silicon oxide for nonvolatile memory. Normally the material acts as an insulator, but after applying a strong voltage, channels would form of pure silicon, because the electricity removed the oxygen atoms. These channels make up the electronic circuit and lesser voltages can be used to break and reconnect them, thereby allowing a bit to be written. A still lesser voltage can then be used to read the bit without disturbing the circuit. To make the memory transparent the researchers simply kept the density of the circuits below a certain threshold. If the circuits are too dense, then they can be seen.
More recently the researchers have successfully made a two-terminal memory device that can be placed on a flexible substrate. By stacking these memory devices, the researchers can create a 3D configuration, which will very likely be needed for any commercial use in the future.
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New SimCity Not Origin Exclusive, but Will Require Always-On Connection
Today we have some good news with some not so good news. The good news is the new SimCity will not be Origin exclusive when it launches late next year, while the not so good news is it will require an always-on Internet connection to start playing. The always-on requirement is, according to the game's lead designer Stone Librande, is due to SimCity's player-driven economy and not because of DRM. The new SimCity has a large focus on multiplayer, regional impact, and a player-dependent economy, so it makes sense to connect to the Internet upon startup for updates. This is not entirely a bad thing as it helps to give the game more depth, but it is not good if you are hoping to play a little while waiting at an airport or some such. The ability to purchase SimCity through whatever digital platform you wish is a good thing, but keep in mind you will need Origin to run the game. So, that is a two-edged sword really, as Origin will not be the only place to pick up SimCity but you will need it in order to play.
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Mass Production Method for Graphene Found
Graphene is easily one of the most important materials man has discovered recently. The atom-thick sheet of carbon transmits heat and electricity better than anything else, while still being harder than diamond and flexible. Making the material though is not easy and often requires a great deal of energy or caustic chemicals. Now researchers at Case Western Reserve University and in South Korea have developed a way to produce graphene cheaply and in large quantities.
This method starts with graphite and dry ice which is processed into graphite flakes and carboxylic acid using a ball miller. The acid attaches to the edges of the graphite flakes and then the flakes are placed in solvents. These solvents cause the carbon to separate and form graphene sheets five or fewer layers thick. To test the viability of the sheets, the researchers compressed them into pellets and measured their conductivity. Compared to just oxidized-graphite pellets, these pellets conducted electricity 688 times better.
The researchers also found a way to make graphene films using this method, as pellets are not useful in every situation. This involved pouring the solution of solvent and graphene sheets onto silicon wafers, before heating it all to 900 ºC. This resulted in the graphene having the carboxylic acid removed from the edges, while the graphene formed a film on the silicon.
By using different solvents and carbon sources other than dry ice, the researchers believe this technique can be customized for different uses. Of course, more work will have to be done to verify this and to determine the quality of the graphene produced.
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Game of Thrones RPG Further Expands on the Brutal World of Westeros
Already pledged your allegiance to one of the five warring houses in HBO's long-awaited Season Two of Game of Thrones? Cyanide Studios' upcoming Game of Thrones RPG also promises to be just as exciting for PC and console players, with an original story penned by no less than George R. R. Martin himself. Set during the events following the suspicious death of the King's Hand Jon Arryn at King's Landing in the first book of A Song of Ice and Fire, players can choose between becoming Mors Westford, a devoted man of the Night's Watch or Alester Sarwyck, a Red Priest struggling to free himself from House Lannister's manipulative clutches.
Fans of both the HBO TV series and the novels will find familiar Westeros locales here such as the imposing Wall and the Lannister-controlled King's Landing all gorgeously rendered in Unreal Engine 3. Combat-wise the game utilizes an Active Pause System, which slows down time during skirmishes so you can better manage tactics when things get a little too hairy for your character. Playing as Mors allows for a more direct melee approach to attacks while Alester uses ranged and magical powers. Lots of dialogue opportunities will arise as well, and Cyanide promises these to be critical to the success to some of your adventures. Game of Thrones RPG is set to be unleashed on May 15, 2012.
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A Permanent Death and Thriving Vampire Politics Abound in World of Darkness
"It all begins when you die." So declares the desperate narrator, trapped in a nightmarish universe infested by blood-sucking immortals. World of Darkness is that universe, an MMORPG that's starkly different from virtually any other existing online RPG out there. EVE Online's CCP are helming this gritty vampire game set in the White Wolf mythos, and will span multiple cities within a single world. An intriguing angle is the focus on building political influences, which can be built by spending quality time mingling with potential allies in the vampiric equivalent of a coffeeshop. The possibility of sentencing someone to die a permanent death will also be present, but that gruesome responsibility will only be given to designated "princes" of each city.
The extensive World of Darkness presentation below covers some ground about what lurks behind the game, and also features a trailer and some preliminary in-game footage at the end of the video.
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