Samsung Green DDR3L 1600 2x4GB Review
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Introducing the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 - Dual GK104 GPUs on One PCB
The wait is officially over. After rampant speculation and some teasing by NVIDIA, we finally know what the Green Team have in store. Today at the GeForce LAN, NVIDIA introduced the world to the GeForce GTX 690. This is NVIDIA's new dual-GPU flagship card and it packs two GK104 graphics processors. Yes, you read that right. The GTX 690 has two GK104 GPUs running the show, which NVIDIA says is double the performance of a single GTX 680. NVIDIA has the two GK104s on a 10 layer, 2oz PCB with an aluminum and magnesium cooler featuring polycarbonate windows and dual vapor chamber coolers. This alone makes the GTX 690 the most solidly constructed video card around, and should help keep thermal performance within respectable figures.
NVIDIA's new Power Boost technology is a major component of the GTX 690 (and the 680), and is the reason for the huge performance increase. The base clock of the GK104 GPUs comes in at 915MHz, with a boost clock of 1015MHz, but that boosted number can vary while gaming. As for the numbers on the GPUs, you can expect 3072 CUDA cores, 64 ROPs, 128 Texture units, and 4GB of GDDR5 on a 512-bit interface. The 690 requires two eight pin PCIe power connectors, so you should take that into account when purchasing a power supply. There are three DVI connectors and one mini HDMI port to let you run NVIDIA Surround without issue. Nothing has been skimped out here compared to the GTX 680, which means the 690 is essentially two 680s on one PCB. Impressed? You should be.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 will cost $999 at launch. It will have a limited launch on Thursday, May 3rd, with more availability on May 7th. The price may scare away some people, but when you look at the performance and reduced noise, you should have an easier time stomaching it.
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New Trailer Appears for Portal 2 Perpetual Testing Initiative DLC
Yesterday we announced a level editor is coming to Portal 2 in the Perpetual Testing Initiative DLC. Valve is providing an easy-to-use level editor to create as many intricate puzzles as you like in order to test your friends and random people on Steam. You can upload your puzzles to the Steam Workshop for anyone to browse and try out, so this is a good way for you to really channel GLaDOS. Hopefully you are not as diabolically evil as her, but you can try to be with the level editor. Today, Valve has released a new trailer for the Perpetual Testing Initiative DLC narrated by Aperture's very own Cave Johnson. You will just have to watch and listen along to see what new kind of hilarity Cave Johnson brings to the table, but I will say he has not lost his edge.
The Portal 2 Perpetual Testing Initative DLC will be available for free on the PC and Mac on May 8th.
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Adding a Polymer to Improve Printed Electronics
One of the promising features of organic electronics, such as organic solar cells and OLEDs, is that they can be printed like a newspaper. Using large rollers, all of the components can be pressed into a flexible substrate and give you a flexible and fully functional piece of technology. Getting to that end though is proving difficult because of how sensitive some of the materials involved are. For example, conductors are occasionally made of calcium, magnesium, or lithium, which are all very reactive. (Lithium, for example, must be kept submerged in non-reactive oil, or it will react with air.) Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered a way to improve other conductors, which are less reactive.
By coating the conductor in a thin layer of polymer, a strong surface dipole is made, which improves conductivity. Fortunately the polymer used in the experiments is not only inexpensive but also compatible with current roll-to-roll production methods used to print electronics. The researchers used this to create the world’s first completely plastic solar panel, which is shown above.
This method works with many conductors, including silver, gold, and aluminum, which vary in cost, as well as transparent metal-oxides and graphene. With so many materials able to benefit from this, we can definitely expect this discovery to impact future technologies.
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Possible Skyrim DLC Hinted at in Most Recent Patch
Remember how we should be hearing something on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim DLC next week? Well, the most recent patch files may contain some information on just what the DLC will be like. An enterprising Bethesda forum member scanned through the update files of the last patch (1.5.26) and found some mentions of Snow Elves, the Snow Elf Prince, new vampire feeding animations, and crossbows. For those unfamiliar with The Elder Scrolls lore, Snow Elves are better known as Falmer in Skyrim, which are those blind elf-like creatures you find in some Dwemer ruins. The Snow Prince was the savior of the Snow Elves at the Battle of the Moesring, but was killed by a little Nord girl during the battle. The Nords had much respect for the Snow Prince's fighting ability and buried him in Jolgeirr Barrow on the island of Solstheim.
The Falmer had an affinity for spears, as evidenced by the Snow Prince being buried with his spear, so perhaps those will join the crossbow as a new weapon. As for the vampire feeding animations, those could just be to add more variety or be a part of a larger package. Maybe it is setting up for a larger vampire plot since we have not really had anything major for them since Daggerfall and Morrowind. Whatever the case will be for this and other information will just have to wait until next week.
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Ferroelectric Amino Acid Discovered
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Aveiro, Portugal, have discovered that the simplest known amino acid, glycine, is ferroelectric. Ferroelectric materials can have their magnetic polarization flipped by an external magnetic field, like bits in a hard drive.
Biological molecules, including glycine, have already been shown to be piezoelectric, which means stress on them generates an electric current, but biologic ferroelectric materials are considerably rarer. In fact, they are so rare that researchers have not yet considered what their potential might be. An obvious possibility is using them to store data and even to construct nanorobots that flow through our blood stream.
Such nano-devices are far into the future though. There is still a great deal of research to be done on this one amino acid before it will see any practical uses.
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Nintendo to Offer Full Game Downloads this Fall for 3DS and Wii U
Nintendo will be stepping fully into digital distribution this fall when it offers full game downloads for the 3DS and Wii U. Currently you can purchase classics and shorter games for the Nintendo systems, but the company is looking to better compete with its rivals. Nintendo will have the digital versions ready on the same day the disc version launches, starting with New Super Mario Bros. 2 for the 3DS in August. The Brain Age sequel for the 3DS will follow, while the Wii U will have all of its games available digitally when it launches later this year. Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata said that customers will need to set aside enough space on their SD cards to store the 3DS games, but hopes to have the pricing between digital and physical be pretty close. However, digital games will not be able to be shared between different 3DS systems, so you will need to be prepared to buy extra copies if you have more than one system. Iwata said certain retailers will be able to sell digital versions of the games, which will then have a 16-digit code to be used on Nintendo's e-Shop.
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Evaluating Potential Metamaterial Components
Metamaterials are among the most interesting discoveries of modern science. These precise structures can be designed with special magnetic and electrical properties, which allows for invisibility cloaks, superlenses, and perfect light absorbers. There are difficulties with metamaterials though; including the energy losses due to the material they are made of. Researchers at the DOE's Ames Laboratory have been working to find potential replacements, with some success.
The material a metamaterial is made of is important as it not only has to be a conductor but also interact with light well, and possess other properties. The best metals currently known for this are silver and gold, but the researchers decided to look at what graphene and high temperature superconductors have to offer. Unfortunately, the tests on those two materials showed they would not be as good as the two precious metals. Even though graphene and superconductors conduct electricity better than silver and gold, they are not suitable for metamaterials.
The research was not a waste though, because of the creation of tests for metamaterial components. Having a standardized benchmark for testing potential replacements for silver and gold will help researchers find them, and bring us new technologies like super-antennae and super-solar panels sooner.
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Sony Confirms PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale - Launches this Year
Sony has confirmed all the rumors as it officially announced PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, its take on Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. franchise. Developed by SuperBot Entertainment, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale will launch later this year and features a cast of Sony characters duking it out across themed stages. The confirmed cast so far features Kratos, Parappa the Rapper, Ratchet, Sly Cooper, Colonel Radec, Fat Princess, and Sweet Tooth. Some of the stages shown are based on levels from Patapon, God of War, Ratchet & Clank, and Jak & Daxter, with plenty more still unknown. The game is a four-person brawler with static and interactive elements on every stage, and you can even take the fighting online in a "robust tournament mode." More characters will be revealed over time, including third-party ones, and SuperBot will show more of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale at E3.
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Using Animated Characters to Reach Out to Teens About Violence
One of our most important responsibilities in life is raising and teaching our children. Reaching out to children with important messages is not always easy though. To help get through to the youth, researchers at Drexel University joined forces with an animator and some Philadelphia teens to create Briana and Damon.
Briana is a good student and wants to go to college, like her sister, while Damon has an after-school job at a local barbershop. Both hang out with friends, stay out of trouble, and are voiced by the youth who were involved with developing the videos. To keep things as authentic as possible, the researchers had the youth work with the animator to create not only the street-smart kids but also their neighborhood.
The purpose of the videos, currently on Briana’s and Damon’s Facebook page, is to teach youth how to avoid violence. The youth involved in the focus group for the videos actually contributed what they know about violent acts, such as shoplifting and damaging property, based on what they know their peers have committed.
The hope for these videos is that they will be able to get across to youth how they can prevent violence. This is not something always easy for researchers, who normally communicate with each other more than the community, even though the community can often benefit from the research. By engaging youth with a medium they enjoy and even helped to make, the researchers hope the anti-violence methods will engage the youth more, and be more impactful.
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Samsung to Use New Chip for Next Phone
Samsung has announced that the next iteration of the Galaxy line of Android phones will use the Exynos 4 Quad CPU. The 1.4GHz chip is "based on a design by the British firm Arm Holdings and promises greater computing power and improved battery life." The Exynos 4 Quad will offer double the performance of the Exynos 4 Dual while also offering a 20% reduction in power requirements. The addition of two more cores will allow the phone to handle more tasks at once, and should increase the overall capabilities of the phone. Full details of the next Galaxy phone will be revealed on May 3.
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Portal 2 Level Editor Arriving this May for PC and Mac
Remember last year when Valve said it was working on a level editor for Portal 2, but did not give a date for when we could have it? Well, wonder no more as the level editor for Portal 2 will arrive on May 8th in the form of the Perpetual Testing Initiative DLC. This free content will only be available for the PC and Mac, and allows you to "easily create, share, and play Portal 2 puzzles." The DLC contains an easy-to-use level editor that will let you create any number of "mind-bending puzzles" to test your friends or others on Steam. You can upload your puzzles to the Steam Workshop to allow other Portal 2 owners try them out and hopefully leave you some constructive feedback if there are any necessary changes. This level editor is certainly a long time coming, but soon everyone will have an easy time creating new puzzles for Portal 2.
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Chrome Coming to Android Very Soon
Google is hard at work getting the mobile version of the Chrome web browser ready for the Android Operating System. According to Google, the mobile version will be ready to emerge from beta testing "in a matter of weeks." Google has released two beta versions since February, with the most recent version adding the ability to view desktop versions of web pages and add bookmarks to the home screen. Unfortunately for myself and many others, Chrome for Android is only available on version 4.0 of Android, code named Ice Cream Sandwich.
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First DLC for TES V: Skyrim to be Announced Next Week?
It looks like Bethesda is gearing up for an announcement on the first The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim DLC. In a Twitter post, Bethesda's Pete Hines says he is working on getting more information out on Skyrim DLC and it could be announced next week. He is also working on a release date for the Kinect support for the Xbox 360, but the DLC is what more people are interested in I am sure. So far, all we really have to go on are a couple of trademarked names (Redguard and Dawnguard) and the fact that Bethesda's Todd Howard said the DLC for Skyrim will be more "substantial" with an "expansion pack feel." Hopefully that means we will have more content similar to Oblivion's Shivering Isles expansion and not just a new house to acquire. If you just cannot wait for the Skyrim DLC, you are more than welcome to check out Skyrim Nexus or the Steam Workshop to download any number of stellar mods.
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Valve at Work on a Linux Steam Client
Valve is certainly a busy company, what with all the games under development and maintaining its Steam service. The latter is the subject of this article, as Valve has announced it is working on a Linux Steam client. A copy of Left 4 Dead 2 will be included once the Linux client launches, and Valve is planning to bring other titles to the OS soon. Source Engine games will run natively on Linux (no Wine support necessary) and hopefully other studios get on board as well. Gabe Newell himself is working on the Linux port as he likes what the open-source OS brings to the table and even advocates it as a platform. Newell is less optimistic about Windows 8 and everything it is changing, so maybe he wants Steam on alternatives in case W8 is not as popular as Microsoft is hoping. There is no mention of just how far along the Linux client is, but it is beyond the experimental stage and Valve is actively looking for Linux developers.
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