IT-Code-News: IT News Head Lines (TechSpot) 08/03/2013

Department of Justice approves T-Mobile, MetroPCS merger

Deutsche Telekom reached an agreement last October to purchase regional carrier MetroPCS and combine it with T-Mobile. The deal was expected to cost the parent company $1.5 billion in cash and a 26 percent stake in the combined company pending regulatory approval.

Samsung to buy 3% stake in Sharp for $112 million

Sharp has confirmed it will be receiving a 10.4 billion yen (around $112 million) investment from Samsung for a 3% stake in the company. The two have done business in the past but this deal will further strengthen that relationship, with the struggling Japanese electronics maker committing to provide LCD...

Latest Humble Bundle supports Android, offers Super Hexagon, more

The Humble Bundle has launched its fifth Android-friendly event offering six popular indie games for a fraction of their individual retail price. In addition to working across Windows, OS X and Linux, the games will run on Google's mobile operating system, with three requiring Android 2.2 or higher and at...

Apple met with Beats regarding streaming music service partnership

Apple recently met with Beats Electronics, the audio firm founded by hip-pop producer Dr Dre and music mogul Jimmy Iovine, to discuss a potential partnership involving the company’s planned music streaming service. CEO Tim Cook and Internet products chief Eddy Cue reportedly met with Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine during a...

eBay closes Instant Sale service following site redesign

Ebay has decided to close Instant Sale, a service on the site used to quickly sell used electronics for cash that had generated nearly 4 million offers since rolling out in 2011. The move comes just weeks after the online auction site revealed a new layout reminiscent of pinboard-style website Pinterest.

Valve's Steam Box game system to begin testing in 3-4 months

Valve CEO Gabe Newell told the BBC its upcoming Steam Box gaming system will be ready for testing within "three to four months". The Steam Box is Valve's answer to game consoles, with which it hopes to offer a "dumbed down" living room PC gaming experience before efforts by companies...

Microsoft fined Â€561m for not showing browser ballot on Win7 SP1

The European Commission has fined Microsoft €561 ($730 million) for not complying with a three-year old agreement to give Windows users a selection of alternative browsers. In 2009, Microsoft faced an antitrust case with the EU that suggested the company abused its position by forcing Internet Explorer on Windows customers,...

Galaxy Note III: The next, next big thing from Samsung in 2013

The Galaxy S4 hasn’t even seen the light of day yet we are already hearing rumblings about the next, next big thing from Samsung. That device is said to be the successor to the Galaxy Note II which is tipped to carry a massive 5.9-inch OLED screen, according to a...

Windows 8 / Office bundle costs OEMs $30 after Microsoft slashes prices

Deep price cuts for Windows 8 are being given to Microsoft's OEM partners who manufacturer touchscreen-enabled computers and devices, or at least that is according to anonymous sources trusted by the Wall Street Journal. The report indicates that a $120 copy of Windows 8 may cost OEMs as little as...

Microsoft reverses one-PC Office 2013 licensing restriction

Following a wave of criticism over the licensing terms for the retail version of Office 2013, which essentially tied your version of the software to a single computer for ever, Microsoft has amended the agreement with a transferability provision to allow users to move the productivity suite to another computer...

Google+ profiles updated with Local reviews tab, larger cover photos

Google+ users have spoken and the search giant is taking action. Starting today, Google is launching some profile and page updates that members of the social network have been asking for according to a post from Google’s Sara McKinley which was later shared by Vic Gundotra, the company’s VP of...

Google Play celebrates first birthday with special offers

It’s already been a full year since Google announced they would be replacing the Android Market with a new service called Google Play. The new store not only replaced the old but expanded it by including eBooks, music, video content and more. To celebrate the service’s one year anniversary, Google...

Roku 3 arrives with faster CPU, new UI and private listening mode

Roku officially announced a brand new version of its popular set-top box last night. Simply dubbed Roku 3, the tiny media streamer received a faster processor and dual-band Wi-Fi support, as well as a revamped user interface that should make discovering content from its 750 partner channels a lot easier.

Samsung's Galaxy S4 will continue to use a plastic body

Details about Samsung’s next generation Galaxy smartphone continue to trickle in as we’re just over a week away from the big reveal. The latest news on the Galaxy S4 comes courtesy of Samsung executive vice president of mobile Y.H. Lee and has to do with the materials used to build...

Opera releases first beta of new WebKit-powered Android browser

Moving ahead with its plan to drop its own Presto rendering engine in favor of WebKit -- the same used by Apple's Safari and Google's Chrome -- Opera Software has released the first public version of its revamped mobile browser on Google Play. Besides packing a new rendering engine, the...

The Pirate Bay says move to North Korea was a hoax

Apparently April Fools’ Day comes a month early if you run the world’s largest torrent website. Earlier this week a number of media outlets (TechSpot included) reported that The Pirate Bay had left their Swedish homeland and had been granted virtual asylum in North Korea, of all places. The file-sharing...

The business of gaming: nickels, dimes, and quarters

Editor’s Note:

EA's DICE to explore Oculus Rift support for future games

Oculus Rift developer kits are already making their way into the wild as some 40 kits are expected to ship by the end of this month but it’s what one big publisher may be planning that’s capturing headlines today. According to Frank Vitz, head of the Frostbite creative team at...

White House: It's time to legalize cell phone unlocking

In February, a petition calling for an end to the ban on unlocking cell phones was introduced. In a short amount of time, the petition received the requisite 100,000 signatures needed to elicit a possible White House responsible. Today, the administration did indeed respond to the petition and it appears...

EA notes overwhelming demand for SimCity, Origin servers falter

SimCity, one of the most anticipated releases of the year, launched in the US early this morning but that doesn’t mean everyone that purchased the game got to play it right away. The title, which requires EA’s Origin PC download client to operate even in single player mode, was seemingly...

Microsoft's plans for Kinect include future laptop, tablet integration

Microsoft’s chief research and strategy officer Craig Mundie recently spoke at the company’s TechForum in Seattle, revealing where Redmond hopes to take Kinect in the coming months and years. The long-term goal is to make the device as cheap and as small as possible so it can fit into a...

Latest Steam numbers show Linux, Mac gamers almost equal

The numbers from Steam's February hardware and software survey have been published and the results show an interesting development -- Linux platforms now accounts for about 2.8 percent of Steam's users. That may not sound like much, but to put some perspective on that figure, Mac OS users total about...

New iPads rumored for next month, iPhone 5S to debut in August

Apple is planning to release next generation iPads, probably the iPad 5 and the iPad mini 2, as early as next month. Furthermore, Cupertino could release the iPhone 5S in August according to sources familiar with Apple’s plans as reported by iMore.

Tuesday tech deals: Used PS Vita $115, HDMI Android TV stick $36

Used Sony PS Vita Wi-Fi System for $115 + free shipping for new customers

Green Throttle launches Android-based gaming system with local multiplayer support

Between crowd-funded consoles, gamepads and handhelds it would appear that Android has a bright future in gaming. Today, yet another company is throwing its hat in the ring. Led by Guitar Hero co-creator Charles Huang, Green Throttle aims to turn any Android device into a gaming platform by pairing it...

Crysis 3 Performance Test: Graphics & CPU

Crytek has given us another opportunity to hammer some hardware with the arrival of Crysis 3. Though this time PC gamers won't have to wait for graphical extras. Crysis 3 boasts of high-resolution textures, DX11 support and plenty of customization options that set it apart from the diluted consoles builds. The result looks incredible.

Crysis 3 Review

I've always had a soft spot for the Crysis series. Crysis 3, unfortunately, spends most of its time lost in the weeds. There's plenty of hunting, but it's sporadic, and changes made to the formula combine with dodgy AI and odd level-design to make the whole thing feel uncomfortable and ungainly.

Pebble Smartwatch Review

Pebble, a humble Kickstarter project embraced by nearly 70,000 backers, is the most buzzed-about smartwatch yet. Have those early believers been vindicated by the release of a phenomenal product or are they just another cautionary tale of what happens when reality doesn't meet the hype?

Triple Monitor Gaming on a Budget

Instead of using AMD or Nvidia's ultra-pricey dual-GPU card (or the new $999 Titan), we're going to see how more affordable Crossfire and SLI setups handle triple-monitor gaming compared to today's single-GPU flagships.

Dead Space 3 PC Graphics Test

Dead Space 3 might be a direct console port but it's done right, at least as far as I can tell after a few hours of gameplay. The game might not have DirectX 11 features or a high resolution texture pack, but I personally found it to be quite enjoyable.

BlackBerry Z10 Review

The BlackBerry Z10 debuts at a time when smartphones are as much about play as they are productivity, and this phone can thrive in this era only if it can strike a balance between entertainment and enterprise. Is this the savior that BlackBerry - the company and operating system - so desperately needs?

Cooler Master HAF XB Review

Mixing things up, Cooler Master's latest mid-size enclosure breaks the conventional mold with boxier dimensions -- in fact, the company describes it as a LAN box. Given the HAF XB's cube-like figure, it's no surprise that Cooler Master is pushing the LAN-friendly angle as well as pitching the HAF XB as the ideal test bed.

The Best PC Game Mods You Can Play Today

Thanks to mods, your entire PC gaming experience can be improved by the work of dedicated fans. Because some mods are so extensive, transforming almost everything about the source title, we felt it was only fair to list 12 of the best of them here, since they may as well count as their own new games.

Most Anticipated PC Games of 2013

It's an exciting year for gamers as we approach the next console generation and new software projects inevitably hit the PC as well. We've assembled a list of the hottest PC games expected to hit shelves over the next 12 months. Our selection includes 35 games and 10 bonus mentions we're lukewarm about.

MSI GX60 Gaming Notebook Review

The MSI GX60 aims to deliver a solid gaming experience on the go without breaking the bank. The GX60 packs a quad-core AMD A10-4600M CPU alongside the very speedy Radeon HD 7970M discrete graphics, 15.6-inch Full HD display and SSD/HDD storage options for a very attractive price.

Culture Smash: The State of PC Gaming in Japan

What Western gamers think of PC games - the games from developers like Valve and Blizzard - aren't. When many Japanese gamers think of the country's PC gaming industry, the kneejerk reaction is to think of either dating or first person shooters.

Windows 8 Boot Issues? Try Fixing the Master Boot Record (MBR) or Boot Configuration Data (BCD)

Once you settle on the idea that you are not having a hardware problem and you are unable to boot up, your best bet is to try to fix the MBR (Master Boot Record). With a long history of dual booting different versions of Windows over the years, finding a corrupt MBR, boot sector, or Boot Configuration Data (BCD) is nothing new.

Do Video Games Make You Violent? An In-Depth Look At Everything We Know Today

In the wake of last month's tragic shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school, and the revelation that killer Adam Lanza had enjoyed shooter games like Call of Duty, violent video games have again become a significant topic in national conversation. But have researchers found any links between video games and violence?

Apple's Near-Impeccable 10-Year Run: Where They Succeeded and Others Were Too Lazy to Innovate

During the past 10 years Apple has systematically attacked and conquered from several fronts. Here's a brief recount of those winning products, and where it applies, the industry incumbents that for one reason or another failed to innovate or at least failed to beat Apple at breaking products to the masses first.

TechSpot PC Buying Guide

The TechSpot PC Buying Guide provides you with an in-depth list of today's best hardware, spanning four unique and yet typical budgets. Whether you are a first time builder seeking guidance or a seasoned enthusiast, we've got you covered.

Acer Aspire S7 Review

The touchable, classy Acer Aspire S7 is targeted right at the road-warrior, power-hungry, super-user. Two years after the introduction of Ultrabooks, we have yet to see a model that executes on all counts, but despite a couple of disappointing flaws this is one of the closest to the perfect mark.

Cooler Master Storm Scout 2 Case Review

Cooler Master recently launched the updated Scout 2 chasis priced at just $90 -- slightly less than the venerable HAF 922. Despite its relatively low price, the Scout 2 has plenty to offer, including ergonomic steel-reinforced carrying handles and room for up to two SSDs, nine fans and any graphics card.

The Year in Tech: 2012 Top Tech Stories

This year we have divided stories in 12 heavily packed categories, with nearly 500 hand-picked headlines total. Feel free to jump around between your favored topics, but try not to miss the tech culture section where we revisit some of the most entertaining stories we covered this year. HereÂ’s our take on 2012Â…

Nokia Lumia 920 Review

In the Nokia Lumia 920, Windows Phone 8 has a worthy competitor to iOS and Android. It also features brand new software that is faster and more robust than its predecessor. Will a winning hardware foundation and vastly improved software secure the Lumia 920 a place among the elite?

The Best Gaming GIFs of 2012

Video games and gaming in general had its highs and lows during 2012, but more importantly, we've all turned those highs and lows into animated GIFs for the rest of the internet to behold.

Best Gadgets and Tech Products of 2012

Before we move on to the latest and greatest devices of 2013, we figure it's worth revisiting some of 2012's most popular devices as suggested by our Product Finder, which includes reviews by hundreds of seasoned specialists across the Web. We've included 59 products across 14 categories along with their aggregate review score and a brief commentary that explains why they're special.

Lenovo Yoga 13 Review

Lenovo is looking to capitalize early and often with the do-it-all Yoga 13. Priced from $999, this system was one of the first portable systems to launch alongside Windows 8. Without jumping right to the conclusion from the get-go, I will let you know that it's a very capable all-around system that doesn't compromise on that it is first and foremost: a notebook. Lenovo Yoga 13 Review.

The Fear is Gone: My PC is my Next-Gen Console

In September, I got myself a gaming laptop (yes, yes, I know, but it's a powerful one). I installed Steam and started downloading games. These games started updating themselves, snatching whatever files they needed, installing DirectX and god knows what else. I was trusting Steam and it was making my return to PC gaming a cinch.

Western Digital Black 4TB Hard Drive Review

The Black 4TB has a 7200RPM spindle speed with an average access time of 4.2ms. WD says it has a drive to drive throughput of 154MB/s, making it the fastest Black hard drive yet. This in addition to dual-actuator technology, 64MB of cache, 6Gb/s SATA support and a Marvell dual-core controller.

VideoMach 5.9.9
VideoMach is a powerful multimedia converter useful for many everyday tasks.

Nitro PDF Reader 3.5.1.8
Make it. Mark it. Sign it. Share it.

Blender 2.66a
3D Modeling, Animation, Rendering, and Realtime 3D/game creation.

Blender 2.66a for Mac OS X
Open source 3D modeling software.

RetroUI - Windows 8 Start Menu 3.1
RetroUI allows you to see the Taskbar and Start button while the Windows 8 Start screen and when Apps are running.

Thinix WiFi Hotspot 1.0
Thinix WiFi Hotspot makes it possible to share your computer's Internet connection with other devices.

Torch Browser 23.0.0.2585
Light up the web with Torch Browser. With Torch you can save media files, manage torrent files and share links. All with a click.

FotoMorph 13.8
An easy way to create professional morphing animations and Flash Rotation Banners. Using FotoMorph you can do everything a professional animator does to create photo animations.

DiskDigger 1.5.5.1489
DiskDigger can recover deleted files from most types of media that your computer can read: hard disks, USB flash drives, memory cards, CDs, DVDs, and floppy disks.

SPAMfighter 7.6.30
Spam and phishing filter for Outlook/Express.

Ashampoo WinOptimizer 10.01
Keep your Windows installations clean and running smoothly and efficiently.

Spybot Search and Destroy Detection Update March 6, 2013
This updates the detection rules for Spybot Search and Destroy.

AnyDVD & AnyDVD HD 7.1.6.0
AnyDVD HD comes with same functionality as AnyDVD, but with additional features for full Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD support.

Opera for Android
Try one of the world's fastest Android browser.

LibreOffice Productivity Suite 4.0.1 for Mac OS X
LibreOffice was developed to be a productivity suite that is compatible with other major office suites, and available on a variety of platforms.

WinPatrol 27.0.2013
Detects attacks and violations of your computer environment.

LibreOffice Productivity Suite 4.0.1
LibreOffice was developed to be a productivity suite that is compatible with other major office suites, and available on a variety of platforms.

SRWare Iron 25.0.1400
Iron is designed to be an alternative to Chrome and other Chromium based browsers with emphasis on privacy and security.

LibreOffice Productivity Suite 4.0.1 for Linux
LibreOffice was developed to be a productivity suite that is compatible with other major office suites, and available on a variety of platforms.

HWiNFO64 4.13-1870 Beta
Professional hardware information and diagnostic tools supporting latest components, industry technologies and standards.

Adobe Muse 4.0
Create unique websites without writing code.

HWiNFO32 4.13-1870 Beta
A powerful system information tool for Windows.

Mozilla Thunderbird 20.0 Beta 1 for Mac OS X
Now with tabs, better search, and email archiving.

ID3 renamer 5.3.0
Rename a large number of files in a directory accordingly to their ID3 description and a given "formula".

Chocolat 1.6 for Mac OS X
Chocolat is a new text editor for Mac OS X, that combines native Cocoa with powerful text editing tools.

AMD Mobility Catalyst Display Driver 12.4 for Windows Vista/7 64-bit
Driver Date: 4/25/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista / 7 64-bit

AMD Mobility Catalyst Display Driver 12.4 for Windows Vista/7 32-bit
Driver Date: 4/25/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista / 7

AMD Catalyst Display Driver 12.4 for Windows Vista/7 64-bit
Driver Date: 4/25/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista / 7 64-bit

AMD Catalyst Display Driver 12.4 for Windows Vista/7 32-bit
Driver Date: 4/25/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista / 7

AMD Catalyst Display Driver 12.4 for Windows XP 64-bit
Driver Date: 4/25/2012 OS Support: Windows XP 64-bit

AMD Catalyst Display Driver 12.4 for Windows XP
Driver Date: 4/25/2012 OS Support: Windows XP

Realtek 10/100M Fast Ethernet PCI Express Driver 7.053 for Windows 7
Driver Date: 3/22/2012 OS Support: Windows 7

Realtek 10/100/100M Gigabit Ethernet PCI Driver 5.719 for Windows XP
Driver Date: 3/22/2012 OS Support: Windows 2000/XP

Realtek Wireless LAN ICs IEEE 802.11b/g/n RTL8188SU Driver 1086.48
Driver Date: 4/19/2012 OS Support: Windows XP/Vista/7

Realtek Wireless LAN ICs IEEE 802.11b/g/n RTL8192SU Driver 1086.48
Driver Date: 4/19/2012 OS Support: Windows XP/Vista/7

Realtek Wireless LAN ICs IEEE 802.11b/g/n RTL8191SU Driver 1086.48
Driver Date: 4/19/2012 OS Support: Windows XP/Vista/7

Cisco Linksys E1500 Firmware 1.0.04
Driver Date: 3/28/2012 OS Support: Windows XP/Vista/7

Nvidia GeForce Graphics Driver 301.24 Beta for Windows 7 32-bit
Driver Date: 4/10/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista / 7

Nvidia GeForce Graphics Driver 301.24 Beta for Windows XP 64-bit
Driver Date: 4/10/2012 OS Support: Windows XP 64-bit

Nvidia GeForce Notebook Graphics Driver 301.24 Beta for Windows Vista/7 32-bit
Driver Date: 4/10/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista / 7

Nvidia GeForce Graphics Driver 301.24 Beta for Windows 7 64-bit
Driver Date: 4/10/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista / 7 64-bit

Nvidia GeForce Graphics Driver 301.24 Beta for Windows XP 32-bit
Driver Date: 4/10/2012 OS Support: Windows XP

Nvidia GeForce Notebook Graphics Driver 301.24 Beta for Windows Vista/7 64-bit
Driver Date: 4/10/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista / 7 64-bit

Cisco Linksys E2500 Firmware 1.0.04
Driver Date: 4/9/2012 OS Support: Windows (all)

Realtek PCIe FE GBE Family Controller Series Driver 6.250 for Windows Vista
Driver Date: 4/3/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista

Realtek PCIe FE GBE Family Controller Series Driver 7.053 for Windows 7
Driver Date: 4/3/2012 OS Support: Windows 7

Realtek PCIe FE GBE Family Controller Series Driver 5.794 for Windows 2000/XP
Driver Date: 4/3/2012 OS Support: Windows 2000/XP

Realtek HD ALC 880 Audio CODECs R2.68 for Windows Vista/7 64-bit
Driver Date: 4/2/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista / 7 64-bit

Realtek HD ALC 880 Audio CODECs R2.68 for Windows Vista/7 32-bit
Driver Date: 4/2/2012 OS Support: Windows Vista / 7

Realtek HD ALC 880 Audio CODECs R2.68 for Windows 2000/XP (32/64 bits)
Driver Date: 4/2/2012 OS Support: Windows 2000/XP

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Thursday, March 7, 2013

IT News Head Lines (TechSpot) 08/03/2013

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