Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Vapor-X Review
Read More ...
Sony Officially Announces New PlayStation 3 Model
The Tokyo Game Show has not even officially kicked off, but already we have a rather big piece of news. The rumored super slim PlayStation 3 has become a reality, as Sony officially took the wraps off a slimmer and lighter PlayStation 3 at a pre-TGS conference. This new model is about 20% smaller and 25% lighter than the current PS3, but packs in either a 250 or 500GB hard drive. The 250GB model arrives on September 25 for $269.99, and it includes a copy of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Game of the Year Edition (standalone release the same day) and more than $30 worth of content for DUST 514. For those wanting more storage, the 500GB model arrives on October 30 for $299.99, and includes a copy of Assassin's Creed III and 30 days free of PlayStation Plus.
Sony says both bundles are limited editions, but it is not clear for how long. If you have yet to pick up a PlayStation 3, either one of these models may be just what the doctor ordered. Curiously, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand do not receive a 250GB model, but rather one with 12GB of flash storage. It arrives in Europe on October 12 for €229, Australia on September 27 for $299.95, and New Zealand on October 18 for $299.95. The 500GB model lands in Europe and Australia on September 28 for €299 / $399.95, and New Zealand on September 27 for $519.95. Both the 250 and 500GB models arrive in Japan on October 4 for ¥24,900 and ¥29,800, respectively.
Read More ...
Casey Hudson has Plans for 'Another Full Game' in Mass Effect Universe
BioWare's co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk announced their retirement from the studio today, but both reiterated that BioWare will keep pushing forward. To further expound on that, Aaryn Flynn, general manager at BioWare Edmonton and Montreal, thanked the co-founders for everything they have contributed to BioWare and the industry, and then revealed what the company has up its sleeves. We already know about Dragon Age III: Inquisition, but it looks like Casey Hudson, executive producer on the Mass Effect series, is planning "another full game" in the ME universe. The team is of course adding more multiplayer and single player content to Mass Effect 3, but BioWare wants to hear the fans ideas on where to take the series next.
Executive Producer Casey Hudson and his team are coming off an amazing eight-year run with the Mass Effect trilogy. But they’re not done yet. We are releasing more multiplayer content and we have more single-player stories coming throughout the next six months, including Omega which is coming in the Fall. But the Mass Effect universe is vast, and Casey and our teams have plans for another full game. “Where to go next?” with such a project has been a question a lot of us have been asking, and we’d all love to hear your ideas.Hudson and others at BioWare are also building a brand new game in a fictional universe, which will be built from scratch "with all new gaming technology."
Both Dragon Age and Mass Effect started as single games but grew into vast universes. But we aren’t stopping there. While Casey continues to oversee the development of our new Mass Effect project, he and his leads are putting together their vision for an all new game set in a fictional universe, built from the bottom-up with all new gaming technology.Not only are we getting a new Mass Effect game, but eventually a brand new IP. Intrigued? That does not even begin the half of it.
Read More ...
In-Flight Wi-Fi Coming to Jet Blue in 2013
According to an e-mail obtained by The Verge, Jet Blue will officially announce that it will be adding in-flight Wi-Fi to several of its planes at the Low Cost Airlines Conference this week. The Ka-band satellites will be provided by ViaSat Exede technology and should start showing up on planes in January 2013. The service will remain free until at least 30 planes have been outfitted with the satellites, and after that basic use will remain free while more bandwidth heavy tasks will have an associated fee.
Read More ...
New Motorola Phone to Feature Intel Atom CPU
The mobile phone market is largely dominated by the ARM family of processors due to excellent energy efficiency and power. A new phone from Motorola, the RAZR i, will be powered by an Intel Atom processor which will run at 2 GHz, making it the fastest smartphone on the market. In addition to the speedy processor, the phone will also feature an 8-megapixel camera and a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen. Unfortunately, Motorola has only announced plans to release the phone in Europe and Latin America in October, but hasn't explicitly ruled out a United States release. No word on price or expected battery life was available.
Read More ...
IEM Event in China Canceled
The ESL has announced that the upcoming Intel Extreme Masters stop in Guangzhou, China has been canceled due to the ongoing dispute between China and Japan. The tournament was canceled as the expo that was to host the event starting on September 30 had to cancel as many presenters are from Japan. Qualifiers had already started for the event, and they won't continue. Director of Pro Gaming at ESL Michal 'Carmac' Blicharz said that the company "will soon announce more Intel Extreme Masters tournaments, including another one in Asia," and apologized to all fans that were looking forward to the event.
Read More ...
Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk Retire from BioWare
Sad news today from BioWare, as Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk have retired from the company they co-founded. Both wrote their own blogs about their retirement, which you can read Muzyka's here and Zeschuk's here. According to Muzyka, he notified EA back in April about his decision to retire in order to get BioWare prepared for the future. He feels the need to move on to a new chapter in his life, just like when he made the decision to go from an ER doctor to the head of a major video game studio. With the success of BioWare and the expansion the studio has had over the years, Muzyka feels it is time to move onto the next challenge; something other than video games even though he remains passionate about them.
Zeschuk also expressed interest in starting the next chapter in his life, but unlike Muzyka, his passion for video games has waned of late. The decision to retire was not an easy one for Zeschuk, but he knows BioWare is in capable hands thanks to the Core Values he and Muzyka have instilled in the team. He is not sure he will return to video games any time soon, if at all, but did say he will be focusing on his friends, family, and his passion for craft beer. Zeschuk plans to start new "web-based interview show" called The Beer Diaries, where he interviews "notable" brewers and showcases their beers. If all of that goes well, he will work on more beer-related shows, apps, and the like. If not, well, at least Zeschuk will get to try some tasty beers along the way.
Both Muzyka and Zeschuk want to thank everyone they have worked with at BioWare, EA, LucasArts, Sega, and any other publisher who helped get a BioWare game out the door. They want to thank the fans who helped turn BioWare into one of the premier studios of the day, and the fans' feedback is from a deep passion of the games. The two also want to thank each other for the past twenty years of success, insight, innovation, and achievement. Both seem excited for their futures away from BioWare, and I am not alone in wishing them the best of luck.
Read More ...
Humble Indie Bundle 6 Starts
The Humble Bundle Indie Bundle 6, another pay what you want, DRM free bundle, has started today and includes Rochard, Shatter, S.P.A.Z., Vessel, and the original Torchlight. Dustforce is also included if you beat the average payment for the bundle, which currently is just over $5.
Torchlight is an action RPG that is also making its Linux debut with this bundle. Vessel is a liquid-manipulation puzzle game that is also making its Mac and Linux debut, but the finishing touches are still being put on the code. It is also the only game that does not have a soundtrack included with the bundle. S.P.A.Z., or Space Pirates And Zombies, is a space shooter with physics-based combat and randomly generated galaxies to play in, including the Linux galaxy that it has not explored before. Shatter is a brick-breaking game with physics-based twist to it and is making its Mac and Linux debut, while Rochard is a side-scrolling platformer that also has the player use physics to progress. The beat-the-average game, Dustforce, which again is making its Linux debut, is another platformer that tasks you with cleaning up over fifty levels.
The previous Humble Indie Bundle broke the company's records as it surpassed $5,000,000 of payments and almost 600,000 sales. Will Humble Indie Bundle 6 set the bar even higher before it closes in two weeks?
Read More ...
Roll-to-Roll Printing Line Upgraded to Roll-to-Roll Assembly Line
One of the reasons there is so much given to flexible electronics is not because of their added resilience but their economic viability. Traditional electronics are made with a step-by-step method that can require multiple machines, and the time it takes to move a component from one machine to another is time taken from making another item for sale. Flexible electronics however could be mass produced within a single machine using a roll-to-roll process, similar to how newspapers are printed.
The PrintoCent Pilot Factory, at the VTT Technical Research Center in Finland, is one of the worlds most advanced roll-to-roll printing factories and has recently been upgraded to be a roll-to-roll assembly factory. Instead of just producing a single finished flexible component from the materials supplied at the beginning, this roll-to-roll assembly line will be able to produce more complicated devices with rigid components, such as modern semiconductor technologies. Later this year the researchers hope to add an injection molding machine that enable 3D printing by the assembly line.
This kind of production could drastically affect the future of electronics as it will enable mass production of devices such as displays, solar cells, and even some computing components. With such mass production driving the supply, the prices of these devices could drop considerably. Also with such an efficient production method, companies could create prototypes of advanced products cheaply and quickly, for pre-commercial testing purposes.
Read More ...
Lian Li Hits the Silicon Railroads with Train-Themed Mini-ITX Chassis
Lian Li may have just fulfilled the childhood dreams of a few railroad-loving PC enthusiasts with its latest aluminum mini-ITX chassis - a chugging steam train! The Taiwanese case maker calls this masterpiece the PC-CK101, which comes in two variants: the stationary PC-CK101 Standard and the moving PC-CK101 Premium, which happily includes six interlocking tracks that your train move onto. Both models sport two sections: the car, which houses the mini-ITX motherboard along with a 120mm fan; and the engine, which contains all the other hardware components. Cabling is routed through a tunnel from the car to the engine. A small 300-watt PSU sits at the engine's rear, with space for an optical drive at the front, as well as compartments for a 3.5” and one 2.5” hard drive. The PC-CK101 Standard will be released soon for $229, while the PC-CK101 Premium will be available for $379. Interested in getting your own PC-CK101 for free? Lian Li is also giving one away to a lucky PC owner.
Read More ...
Flame Command & Control Server Studied
Several months ago, the malware Flame was discovered, and shortly afterward it was linked to the Stuxnet and Duqu malware found in the past two years. Since then researchers have been examining the code as closely as they can to learn where it came from and how to protect against it. To that end, those at Kaspersky Labs have gotten an image of one of the command and control (C&C) servers for Flame, and made some very interesting discoveries.
When the researchers first looked at the login screen and control panel, they were surprised by its simplicity, as typical malware developers will make flashy pages. They believe the simplistic design was actually to fool uninvolved server administrators into thinking the C&C was a regular piece of software, and not something malicious. Obviously the researchers now know better and quickly dived into the code and found some very surprising, and at times disconcerting information.
Based on the comments within the code, the C&C was written by at least four developers and work started as early as December 2006, which is earlier than previous estimates. Development also continued until as recently as May of this year, when some code was updated. The C&C was designed to collect encrypted data from systems infected by Flame, and pass it along to the developers, but was also supposed to delete the data regularly. Due to some mistakes by the developers though, not everything was deleted, including a week's worth of stolen data that, compressed, was 5.5 GB large. That data was taken from just 5377 unique IPs, which indicates the actual size of the Flame botnet may be much larger than previous estimates.
The researchers also found something else which is quite troubling. The C&C was designed to operate more than just Flame. Three other clients were listed: SP, SPE, and IP. The logs that were not deleted from the C&C indicate that SPE is currently in the wild and activated, but it is not the newest of these clients and none of their purposes are known (except for Flame's). Neither SP nor IP have been identified, but they know IP is the newest of the four.
Read More ...
The Secret World May Become Free-to-Play
Funcom's CEO Ole Schreiner has let slip that The Secret World could be headed towards a free-to-play model sometime in the future. Schreiner didn't seem to be worried about the game's current position amongst the cutthroat MMO space, saying that they're "quite comfortable with where we are now." However, the Funcom head also did not rule out a shift in Secret's World's subscription model, either. "We have the tools to turn The Secret World into a free-to-play game – or even a hybrid – should we decide to do that somewhere down the line," said Schreiner. Given the relatively successful free-to-play conversion of Age of Conan, the challenges of replicating that with The Secret World is a feasible possibility with Funcom.
With Star Wars: The Old Republic scheduled to open up its gameworld with a hybrid free-to-play model this fall, The Secret World may stand a better chance at longevity if it does follow a similar route. Schreiner disclosed that this won't be an easy task, as The Secret World wasn't developed using a F2P business model in mind, so the switch could take more than a year before folks can actually play the game for free. In the meantime, current subscribers to The Secret World will get to unravel some new supernatural mysteries this week, with its latest content update titled Issue # 2 Digging Deeper.
Read More ...
ATM-Like Machine to Tackle Old Tech
What do you do with your old technology? Do you pass it on to someone who does not need the latest and greatest; do you donate it to a charity that asks for it; or do you simply throw it out? Considering all of the materials in modern technology, throwing a device away is probably not the best idea, and ecoATM, with the help of the National Science Foundation, are looking to change that.
As the company's name suggests, they have developed and produce what look like ATM machines, but instead of being a device to withdraw funds from an account, what they build will actually examine an older device and appraise its value for you. You may then decide if you want to sell that old device, such as a phone, to the machine for money or a gift card. After the transaction takes place, the old device is often found a new home, but a quarter of the time is disposed of in a more environmentally appropriate way than just putting it in a landfill.
To accomplish this, the machine uses machine vision, robotics, and even artificial intelligence, as it must properly determine the market value of what you give it. Currently it has better than a 97.5% accuracy rating for this appraisal, which is part of why ecoATM is looking to get it into more places. The aim is to have 300 machines deployed by the end of this year.
Read More ...
Hardware Roundup: Tuesday Edition
Today's roundup includes another review of the ASUS GeForce GTX 660 Ti DirectCU II TOP video card that was released a month ago. We also picked up a pair of headphone reviews with a look at the Tt eSports Shock One gaming headset along with the ASUS Vulcan ANC Pro Gaming Headset. If a small form factor case is part of your design plans, we have a review on the Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced, a reasonably priced Mini-ITX chassis. Our final review today covers the Corsair HX850 Professional Series power supply, an 80 Plus Gold certified modular unit. Enjoy your reading today and we'll see you back here again tomorrow.
Cases
Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced Mini-ITX Case @ Benchmark Reviews
Power Supplies
Corsair HX850 Professional Series Power Supply @ PC Perspective
Speakers/Headphones
Tt eSports Shock One @ XSReviews
ASUS Vulcan ANC Pro Gaming Headset @ Neoseeker
Video
ASUS GeForce GTX 660 Ti DirectCU II TOP @ [H]ardOCP
Read More ...
Obsidian Reveals More Details on Project Eternity
Project Eternity's Kickstarter keeps rolling right along, with more than $1.5 million pledged so far. The first stretch goal has been reached, with the second one fast approaching, so Obsidian Entertainment has taken the time to detail some of the basics of the RPG. Project Eternity allows for a maximum party size of six, which is your character and up to five companions. That does not include any temporary companions added "in special circumstances," but any permanent companion will not be forced on the player. The entire game can be completed just with your character since the story is about you, but companions can help give you some different perspective.
Josh Sawyer, project director on Project Eternity, sums up the game's premise as this:
The player witnesses an extraordinary and horrific supernatural event that thrusts them into a unique and difficult circumstance. Burdened with the consequences of this event, the player has to investigate what has happened in order to free themselves from the restless forces that follow and haunt them wherever they go.Due to that rather hefty set-up, your created character does not have to be of "any particular race, cultural background, sex, class, moral outlook, personality, organization, etc." Basically, your character is a victim of circumstance, and it is up to you how you choose to respond. You can be cool and collected or filled with so much rage you lash out at anyone. The game world reacts to your choices, but Obsidian are designing it in a way that does not restrict those choices.
Obsidian mentioned it the other day, but the races are still up in the air. The team is looking at recognizable ones (humans, elves, dwarves), out-of-the-ordinary ones ("godlike" races), and even some that are "truly odd." The different regions and cultures in Project Eternity produce distinctive appearances in the races, like in the dwarf ranger concept seen below. She is from a "southern boreal region that is quite different from the temperate homes of her distant kin to the north." There will be some friction and confusion between the races as well, be it from psychological factors or a mixing of different races.
Sawyer discusses plenty of other details that are too numerous to list here, so be sure to head over to the source and check them all out. The Kickstarter has 28 days remaining, so feel free to donate and help Obsidian reach more stretch goals.
Read More ...
Available Tags:Sapphire , Radeon , Sony , Motorola , Intel , CPU , Server , Hardware ,
No comments:
Post a Comment