IT-Code-News: IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 01/05/2012

USB drive that uses voice recognition to unlock, costs only $50
USB flash drives can be hard to hang onto sometimes. They always seem to disappear at the worst time possible. And I'd venture to guess that most people don't run any sort of encryption on a flash drive. This new device claims to be the "only USB storage drive that protects its contents with a password spoken by its owner."

But, what if you have a cold or are in a room with other people? Don't worry! The flash drive features a back-up text version where you can type your password instead. This is for those times where you have laryngitis or just forgot the spoken password. At 8GB, it's not the largest drive on the market, or the best looking, but it certainly is cool.

If you make security easier, such as this, then people are more likely to use it. And since it analysis the voice along with the password, just knowing what to say won't allow access. Unfortunately it still has a text-based password which could get out and compromise security, but it's still a novel device to show your friends.

'Evil is Back', Diablo III's latest TV spot is deliciously evil
If you don't want to have to sit through Family Guy tonight to catch the latest Diablo III TV spot 'Evil is Back', then you might want to watch the 30-second advertisement below.

Well, that looks just a little awesome, doesn't it? The TV spot doesn't really show anything about the game itself, but right now Diablo III anything is good. Diablo III arrives for PC and Mac on May 15. If you didn't play the beta, or participate in the open beta weekend, then you've missed out.

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I'm an old school Diablo fan and the latest game is great. It does have its problems, but what game doesn't? For me, a beta that works perfectly, no glitches, no crashes, no BSODs, no CTODs, and 3-screen support out-of-the-box, you've sold me, Blizzard. The full game should be even better, and I hope to play with you when it hits! Add me!

Mobile App of the Day: Street View on Google Maps for Android
Our Mobile App of the Day is Street View on Google Maps for Android.

With Street View on Google Maps, explore the world at street level.

With Google Maps Street View, you can explore the world at street level. See popular landmarks, check out places you want to visit in your hometown or far away, and take a virtual trip around the world.

To use Street View, open Google Maps, search for a place or long-press the map, and tap the Street View option.

To learn more about Street View and see where it's available, visit maps.google.com/streetview.

You can download Street View on Google Maps for Android directly from Google Play on your Android device, or here.

Download of the Day: Fraps 3.5.0
Our Download of the Day is Fraps 3.5.0.

Fraps 3.5 adds the much requested feature to allow AVI movie files larger than 4 gigabytes. Fraps will now write hybrid OpenDML/AVI files and allow large movies on NTFS drives. There's still an option to split at 4 gigabytes for legacy AVI 1.0 support.

Please be aware that the minimum system requirements have changed in Fraps 3.5.0. We now require a CPU with SSE2 instructions (Pentium 4 & above). Windows XP or higher is also now required. If you have an older system (Win2K or non-SSE2 CPU) you can still download the previous Fraps 3.4.7 release from the download page.

Changelog

Fraps 3.5.0 - 26th April 2012

- Support for large AVI movie files (above 4 Gigabytes) on NTFS drives
- Added option to split AVIs at 4 Gigabytes for legacy AVI 1.0 support
- Fixed loop recording using large amounts of disk space for short clips
- Fixed benchmark logs not being saved if game was quit before benchmark ended
- Fixed View folder not opening window on some machines

- NEW MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: CPU with SSE2 required (Pentium 4 & above)
- Windows 2000 is no longer supported (Windows XP & above)

You can download Fraps 3.5.0, here.

Australian Government looks into the ridiculous "Australia Tax", the cost of tech and games
Being based in Australia is good for a few things, our pay over here for jobs is quite good, public health is amazing, and countless other things. But the things that I like to spend my hard-earned cash on, tech and games, is ridiculously priced compared to the rest of the world.

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The Australian government is now going to be looking into this, where all major computer and software publishers will be sent invitations to defend their pricing policies at a Federal Parliament inquiry. MP Ed Husic has been campaigning for fairer local pricing, and welcomed the inquiry, saying:

People here scratch their heads trying to work out why they get fleeced on software downloads. When the Productivity Commission asked IT companies why they charge so much for downloads, even they found the answers were not persuasive.

With the strength of the Australian dollar, most people expected things to drop in price, but, they didn't. No one really seems to care, as I can walk into most retailers in this country (and in particular, my state: South Australia) and electronic and gaming retailers are usually quite busy with customers. But, with the great Aussie dollar, most gamers (like myself) are buying and importing games from overseas.

Kotaku spoke to Ed Fong from Ubisoft last year, who has said:

Ultimately the consumer is going to tell us what they want to pay for a product. Because if we're priced out of the market, we'll see more people going online - the consumers will let us know. And consumers are as vocal as they have ever been, they have communication channels and we'll hear what they have to say.

They also spoke to Activision's Managing Director, Ben Graetz, who said:

Well, the cost of most things, when you benchmark overseas, tends to be a bit high here in Australia, and there are reasons for that. Speaking specifically about games, there's a number of factors - it's not quite as simple as doing a match on exchange rates. I'm very proud of the fact that we manufacture locally, we're helping to create and stimulate jobs. We have options on that, but we chose to do it locally for those reasons. We distribute locally as well as through our partners - so that's two things already that are independent of exchange rates. In addition to that, the way we go to retail is different compared to overseas, and the cost structures are different. So it's not quite as simple as looking at exchange rates.

I look forward to seeing what this does for the industry.

AMD Catalyst 12.4 Windows 7 Driver Analysis

Introduction

Catalyst 11.12 Windows 7 Driver Analysis

It's been a fairly quite year for the Catalyst driver set so far and while AMD have indeed been busy with the latest crop of Radeon HD 7000 series video cards that we started seeing in December, there hasn't been much on the software side of things that really stands out.

Looking through the latest release notes it feels very much the same with not much in terms of specific performance improvements outside of some Morphological Anti-Aliasing tweaks that are seeing a strong boost. If that translates over to the more traditional AA method we won't know until a little later.

Outside of that, though, there's a huge amount of bug fixes in some popular games and applications which will no doubt be the thing that drags you to the latest driver.

Release Notes Highlights

NEW FEATURES

Windows XP support for the AMD Radeon HD 7900 Series, AMD Radeon HD 7800, and AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series

In addition to Windows 7 and Windows Vista support, Catalyst 12.4 now also introduces Windows XP (64-bit/32-bit) support for the AMD Radeon HD 7900, AMD Radeon HD 7800, and AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series

Super Sampling Anti-Aliasing: Level of Detail (LOD) Image Quality enhancements

Supported on the AMD Radeon HD 7900, AMD Radeon HD 7800, and AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series
LOD Image quality enhancements have been improved when enabling Super Sample Anti-Aliasing and Adaptive Anti-Aliasing through the AMD Catalyst™ Control Center for DirectX® 10 and DirectX® 11 applications.
Applications must support in game Anti-Aliasing for the feature to work (Forced on Anti-Aliasing through the Catalyst Control Center is not supported for DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 applications)

Morphological Anti-Aliasing (MLAA): Significant performance enhancements

Supported on the AMD Radeon HD 7900, AMD Radeon HD 7800, AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series, AMD Radeon HD 6000 Series, and AMD Radeon HD 5000 Series
MLAA now operates up to 80% faster than previous versions

Texture filtering quality improvements

Supported on the AMD Radeon HD 7900, AMD Radeon HD 7800, and AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series
Improvements have been made to the texture filtering algorithm (for both DirectX9 and DirectX10/DirectX11 applications) to increase the quality of rendered textures, with no impact to performance

Resolved Issues for the Windows 7 Operating System

Elder Scrolls: Skyrim: no longer hangs on single GPU configurations when used with AMD Catalyst 12.3 CAP1 and later CAP releases

Elder Scolls: Skyrim: flickering square corruption is no longer observed.

Rage: Vsync is no longer disabled after task switching.

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: no longer crashes when launched in High Performance Mode.

Stalker - Call of Pripyat: flickering is no longer observed in trees with specific Catalyst Control Center settings.

Tom Clancy HAWX 2: no longer crashes on game launch.

Windows Media Center: no longer crashes when run in Eyefinity mode and High Performance mode settings.

AMD Steady Video: an error message is no longer displayed when enabling AMD Steady Video for the Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.0 plugin.

Duplicating displays no longer generates random corruption.

Tearing is no longer observed on the third screen in 3x1 and 1x3 Eyefinity configurations.

A system crash is no longer experienced when enabling Crossfire in a 4 display configuration.

The advanced video quality settings are now correctly displayed in the Catalyst Control Center.
... Read the rest in your browser!

Stealth and Ravager: Newest Additions to MSI's Interceptor Series™ Computer Cases
MSI, the world's premiere computer hardware and systems manufacturer, is partnering with exclusive licensee Pro-Com Products Inc. in continuing the award-winning Interceptor Series of computer cases to serve one purpose: Protecting Your Vital Gear.

Stealth

The rugged steel chassis comes with a brand new Shock-Resistant Finish (SRF) - a rubberized tactile feel to round out the sleek, yet subtle, design. Also includes:

· VGA Stabilizer - provides an easy slide out tray to support the weight of high-end GPUs and avoid warping PCI-e slots. (Supports multi-GPU systems)

· The top-angled front panel includes two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, headphone/mic jacks and a designated SuperCharger USB 2.0* port ready to replenish your mobile devices faster.

*Powered USB 2.0 ports required on motherboard

Ravager

Looking to make its mark on gaming systems (literally), the Ravager comes with an exclusive Custom Lacerated Imprint for a more aggressive design and also features:

· Removable Drive Cage - gives you the flexibility to add in even longer graphics cards, additional cooling, or just free up unnecessary space.

· Top panel connectivity with two USB 3.0 ports (native 20-pin header), two USB 2.0 ports, and headphone/mic jacks.

In addition to each unique design, both cases also include:

· Advanced Thermal Design - two high quality fans for optimal airflow and special top panel ventilation; supports up to three additional fans.

· Cable Camouflage - full support for cable management and routing, with an extra 0.75" of spacing behind the motherboard tray for better airflow and flawless system builds.

· Easy Snap HDD Trays - install 3.5" devices without bending or warping trays; supports SSDs with bottom screw mounts.

· Water Cooling Ready - pre-cut rubber holes for advanced hydration systems.

"We are proud to continue expanding on the successful Interceptor Series with MSI as a way to protect your vital components with a high quality chassis," said Rajiv Kothari, Director of Product Management at Pro-Com Products. "The Stealth and Ravager cases are created with the feedback from reviewers, enthusiasts, and the general public - the ultimate combination of functionality, design, and value."

Availability and Pricing

The brand new Interceptor Series Stealth and Ravager computer case is now available with an MSRP of $119.99 at your favorite e-tail and retail stores.

Intel Acquires Industry-Leading, High-Performance Computing Interconnect Technology and Expertise
Intel Corporation today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement with Cray Inc. to acquire certain assets related to its high-performance computing (HPC) interconnect program. With the agreement, Intel gains access to Cray's world-class interconnect personnel and intellectual property.

The Cray interconnect team is responsible for the award-winning Gemini interconnect as well as the upcoming Aries interconnect, designed to work in Cray's next-generation supercomputer, codenamed "Cascade," which will integrate Intel® Xeon® processors. The transaction is expected to close before the end of the current quarter, subject to customary closing conditions being met.

"Delivering continued advancement in high-performance computing, including breaking the Exascale barrier, requires tremendous innovation in interconnect technology," said Diane Bryant, vice president and general manager of Intel's Datacenter and Connected System Group. "The acquisition of Cray's industry-leading interconnect technology and expertise provides exceptional strategic assets that further enhance Intel's HPC portfolio. We're excited about the value this will allow us to bring to our customers."

Digital Storm Integrates Intel's New 3rd Generation Core Processors into its Award-winning Line of Gaming PCs& Laptops
Digital Storm, the predominant name in computer system integration and engineering, is proud to announce integration of Intel's new 3rd generation Core processors into its entire line of gaming PCs and laptops. Now Digital Storm customers can harness the power of the world's most advanced processor in their dream machine.

Digital Storm systems featuring Intel's new 3rd generation Core processors offer gamers and enthusiasts a distinct advantage thanks to the CPUs unique architecture. With the addition of 3D Tri-Gate transistors and a 22nm process, Digital Storm systems will generate less heat and deliver higher performance compared to Sandy Bridge CPUs.

"We've tested Ivy Bridge in every one of our systems and we've measured extraordinary overclocks at 4.8GHz at unbelievably low temperatures across the board," remarked Rajeev Kuruppu, Digital Storm's Director of Product Development. "With the addition of Intel's latest chipset, our entire line of gaming PCs and laptops offer customers the utmost in computing power."

Available Tags:USB , TV , Google , Android , Download , Windows 7 , AMD , Catalyst , Windows , Driver , Intel , Gaming ,

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 01/05/2012

Introduction

Release Notes Highlights

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