IT-Code-News: IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 6/25/2013

Monday, June 24, 2013

IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 6/25/2013

TweakTown

Apple co-founder likes Edward Snowden, feels 'a little guilty' about the NSA surveillance
The past two weeks have seen the Internet filled with Edward Snowden, the NSA, Prism, GCHQ and much more - but what does the co-founder of Apple, Steve Wozniak, think about it all? Well, he feels "a little guilty."

Wozniak was a guest on the Piers Morgan show, where he was asked if he feels any responsibility for the technologies he and others in the industry have created, that have given government entities like the NSA the power to snoop on, well, everyone - his answer was:

I actually feel a little guilty about that -- but not totally. We created the computers to free the people up, give them instant communication anywhere in the world. Any thought you had, you could share freely. That ... was going to overcome a lot of the government restrictions.

Wozniak believes we no longer have privacy, where he states: "We didn't realize that in the digital world there were a lot of ways to use the digital technology to control us, to snoop on us, to make things possible that weren't." What I find hard to believe, is that if Wozniak and everyone else creating this technology all those years ago, could imagine a world where we have instant digital communications (and the other billion things we have thanks to technology) but couldn't envision a world where there would be a control over it.

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I'm really against the entire NSA Prism (and any other digital snooping technology) but I don't think we can stop it short of a revolution in the western world - which could happen sooner, rather than later the way things are going.

Ellen Page isn't happy with Naughty Dog using her likeness in The Last Of Us
This is something that has been discussed for quite sometime, that The Last Of Us' character 'Ellie' looks scarily like the real-life actress Ellen Page. She even sounded like her, shared mannerisms, and delivered dialogue in a scary mimic of the actress in the game's first trailer.

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Naughty Dog made some changes to Ellie's facial features, making her look a little less like Page. But now Ellen Page has taken to Reddit for an Ask Me Anything (AMA), where someone asked what she thought of the character Ellie in The Last Of Us:

This has almost certainly been made clear to you several times, but are you aware how much you look like Ellie from "The Last of Us," a video game which came out about a week ago. She even sounds like you. So much so that almost everyone assumed it was you playing the role.
Which leads me to my questions:
How did you like playing the role of a video game character when doing "Beyond: Two Souls?" Do you prefer live action?
Have you seen any footage of "The Last of Us" and would you have taken the role as Ellie if approached?

Ellen Page answered:

I guess I should be flattered that they ripped off my likeness, but I am actually acting in a video game called Beyond Two Souls, so it was not appreciated.

Sony to use Gamescom 2013 to unveil more PS4 games
Gamescom 2013 is just two months away, and it looks like Sony will be unveiling more games for their next-generation PlayStation 4 console at the gaming event being held in Cologne, Germany.

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SCEE's Jim Ryan revealed the information during an interview, stating that Sony will be unveiling more PS4 games at Gamescom, as well as confirming that the PS4 will launch in Europe before Christmas 2013. He said:

There's a lot coming. I'm sure you heard from Shu [Yoshida] that he has 30 games in development. 20 of them are going to ship within the first year of the console's life, and of those 12 are new IP. There's a lot going on, we need to keep stuff back. We've got Gamescom for us Europeans-we need to have something to show at Gamescom, don't we?

Will Smith is 'too expensive' to come back for Independence Day 2
Last week Fox confirmed that Independence Day 2 was coming out in 2015, but neglected to reveal if the main draw card actor - Will Smith - would be returning for the alien invasion sequel.

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Roland Emmerich, director of Independence Day and the upcoming Independence Day 2, has confirmed that Will Smith will not be returning, where he told NY Daily News: "Will Smith can not come back because he's too expensive, but he'd also be too much of a marquee name, It would be too much." The director did hint at who would return, where it will be a mix of old and new: "We have like maybe half of the people that you know would know from the first film (in the script) and the other half people who are new."
Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldbum will be returning, most likely because they have nothing else better to do. Emmerich confirmed that the movie will be a direct sequel, but has fans (like myself) excited with the following quote: "We're not doing a total reboot, we're doing something that's totally unusual."

Hey Ouya, where's my console? Retail launch is upon us and I'm still without my Ouya!
I remember last year when Ouya first reached Kickstarer, it was all the rage and I backed it to buy a Limited Edition console to have my username etched into the controllers - and because it looked like a neat little Android-based gaming console.

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But, it's June 24 here in Australia and my Ouya console is stuck in Hong Kong. I've recently moved house (again, second time in 5 months) and I e-mailed them to change my address, which hasn't been acknowledged or replied to. If my unit is still in HK, then I won't be getting it for at least a few more days at the minimum.
The units are being shipped through DHL, and the last update for my Ouya console is 6/15 where it was "received & dispatched". There are still four more steps on DHL's website until it gets to me, unfortunately.
I'm not the only one that seems to be waiting, from what I've read there are plenty of other early backers who are still waiting for their Ouya console. So, I ask you Ouya - where is my console? I'm ready to play it, review it for TweakTown and invite some friends over to have some fun!

Giada launches the D2308, a Haswell and GTX 650 high-end mini PC
First shown at Computex 2013 at the beginning of the month, Giada has reportedly launched the D2308, a new mini PC that crams Intel Haswell processors and NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 650 GPU into a small form factor. This is ideal for consumers and businesses who want a lot of power, but can't afford the desktop or counter space.

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The D2308 currently isn't listed on the company's website, but the previous model, the D2305, has a slot-in type Blu-Ray or DVD optical drive, depending on your budget. This newest model seems to offer the same, along with support for Ultra HD content and two HDMI outputs. Also provided for video signal output is DVI, support for HDCP and an optional analog VGA interface.
The company has said:

Using the latest 4th generation Intel (Haswell) Core i5/i7 CPU, with the powerful NVIDIA GTX650 enthusiast GPU, Giada has created a high-end mini computing platform that is targeted at living room computer needs and CEO-level business environments. The D2308 also features 3 antennas for maximum signal reception and wireless throughput with a maximum speed of 450 Mbps.
The Giada D2308 offers unprecedented performance in its size group thanks to the modern single-chip system logic, the new Haswell architecture, giving a performance increase of approximately 15 percent over the earlier generation, with a TDP reaching only 70W. The unit also has RST- Intel Rapid Storage Technology allowing enterprise solutions to integrate SBA onto the chipset for reliable, cost-efficient storage.

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The D2308 comes equipped with two SO-DIMM slots supporting up to 16 GB of DDR3-1333/1600 RAM (1 GB of VRAM already onboard), two mini-PCIe slots, a slot for a 2.5 inch SATA drive, Gigabit Ethernet, and a 5.1 channel audio codec. Connectivity includes dual-band Wireless N and Bluetooth. The back I/O panel of the D2308 includes jacks for headphones and a microphone, two USB 2.0 ports, three USB 3.0 ports, and a 4-in-1 card reader. The system is also equipped with a Phoenix EFI BIOS with support for an ACPI interface, and is fully compatible with Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows XP and many other popular operating systems. Actual availability and pricing is unknown at this point.

Microsoft may add 'Click to Call' feature in IE11
Alongside the release of the public preview of Windows 8.1 on Wednesday, June 26th, Microsoft will also release the first public version of Internet Explorer 11 for people who download the OS. Now there's word that IE11 will have a new feature that could make it easier to make phone calls via apps such as Skype. In a message on the MyDigitalLife forums, Neowin forum member FaiKee posted what he claims are parts of a Windows 8.1 Preview Q&A, with the final and full version to go live on Microsoft's website on Wednesday. One clip from the alleged Q&A says that IE11 will have what Microsoft says is a "Click to Call" feature.

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The extract says that when phone numbers are displayed on websites inside IE11, they will have links that, when clicked on, will bring up a dialling app. Microsoft says that people can set up the feature to bring up a specific dialling app in Default Programs. Although we are sure Microsoft would prefer you use their own Skype program for the "Click to Call" feature, the extract does not specifically name Skype as one of the choices. Microsoft adds that whatever program is set up for the new feature will only apply to that user's account, and won't affect any other user account set up on the same PC.

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Worrying times for top Microsoft execs as company restructuring draws near
According to sources close to the situation, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is likely to unveil his plans to restructure the tech giant to a larger group of senior execs by July 1. That prospect has many top managers at the company worried, since Ballmer has been making these significant plans with limited consultation with the wider leadership group at the software giant. Instead, he has been working with only a small group of his direct reports and also some Microsoft board members, numerous sources said. That has meant that most senior execs have largely been left out of the decision-making process related to Ballmer's goal of solidifying Microsoft into the "devices and services company" that he wrote about in his annual shareholder letter last October.

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The impending changes--and the lack of information about them--has made for some level of discomfort inside Microsoft, where many high-ranking managers have been at the company for a very long time. "It feels like it is going to be titanic--that Steve is doing this change for his legacy," said one person close to the situation. "And it's the first time in a long time that it feels like that there will be some major shifts, including some departures."
That has certainly happened under Ballmer, such as when Windows chief Steven Sinofsky left the company late last year. There was also a major reshuffle in 2008. Other top execs who have departed over the last several years include: Kevin Johnson, who became CEO of Juniper Networks, after 16 years at Microsoft; Jeff Raikes, who arrived at Microsoft in 1981 and is now CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and the twin departures of Robbie Bach--who was at the company for 22 years, until his retirement in 2010--and 15-year veteran J Allard, although he remains an advisor to Ballmer. But those were largely one-offs, and Microsoft has not seen a change like what is expected to come since some similarly dramatic rearranging was done by former CEO and co-founder Bill Gates during his tenure. That's why another source said that the level of worry has grown, since there have been rampant internal rumours about what will happen, but no real change as yet. "It would be funny if Ballmer did nothing in the end," said the source. "But no one thinks that's possible now."

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A Microsoft spokesman has declined to comment. As I had previously reported, according to several people close to the situation, the new configuration could include larger roles for several execs, with business units being moved around into new divisions. But, sources noted, there could also be some significant departures. Focus internally is especially strong on Satya Nadella, president of Microsoft's Servers and Tools division; Tony Bates, president of its Skype communications unit; and Don Mattrick, president of its Interactive Entertainment division. In addition, many are wondering how the job of Qi Lu, president of Microsoft's Online Services unit, will shift, as well as that of Terry Myerson, who runs the company's Windows Phone division. But it's unclear how their new and perhaps expanded roles, and those of others in top management, will shake out. That is, until Ballmer weighs in. Many expect him to soon begin unveiling his plans internally, just ahead of the end of Microsoft's fiscal year. It's not clear when a public announcement will be made.
One thing seems certain--a simplification of the structure is imminent and should clarify the firm's current and decidedly more convoluted set-up. How Microsoft's flagship software product, Windows, fits into the new organization, will be the most interesting part of the puzzle. The possible restructuring comes amid increasing investor pressure on Microsoft, including a recent run-up in its stock and a renewed effort by activist shareholders urging that some level of change take place at Microsoft. The company will be on display to developers this coming week at Microsoft's Build conference in San Francisco, where it will show off a series of initiatives for Windows, Bing, and its server products, among other things.

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US revokes Snowden's passport as he waits in Moscow terminal for possible asylum destination
The United States has revoked the passport of former national security contractor Edward Snowden, an official source familiar with the decision said on Sunday. It was not immediately clear how Snowden was able to travel, and the official offered no details. An aircraft thought to be carrying him landed in Moscow on Sunday after Hong Kong let the former U.S. National Security Agency contractor leave the territory, despite Washington's efforts to extradite him to face espionage charges.

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Snowden abandoned his high-paying job in Hawaii and went to Hong Kong on May 20 to begin issuing a series of leaks on NSA eavesdropping of phones and computer systems, triggering concern from governments around the world. On the run from US authorities, the charges against him include theft of government property, unauthorised communication of national defence information, and wilful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorised person. He has now landed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on a scheduled Aeroflot flight at 5:05 pm (1305 GMT), an AFP correspondent at the airport said. He did not emerge into the main terminal area where crowds of journalists quizzed his jet-lagged and bewildered fellow passengers if they had seen the fugitive ex-agent on the flight. Airport officials said Snowden in fact never crossed the border and would spend the night in the Vozdushny Express "capsule hotel" inside the departures area ahead of his next flight.
Russian media reports cited sources within Aeroflot as saying he would fly onwards to Cuba on Monday. The SU 150 flight to Havana leaves at 1005 GMT. Reports initially said he would then fly to the Venezuelan capital Caracas but Ecuador Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said he had requested Quito for asylum, indicating he would head there. Ecuador has been sheltering WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is wanted by Sweden, at its London embassy for the past year. The website said it had help organise Snowden's safe exit.

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A source at Sheremetyevo told Interfax that "transit passenger" Snowden was still at the airport. "His next flight is to Cuba, he is on the territory of the airport complex where he has to be. He would not be able to leave the airport even in a diplomatic car -- he has neither a standard nor a diplomatic visa," the official added. AFP correspondents also said they saw a diplomatic car at VIP arrivals with the flag of Ecuador. The Ecuadorean ambassador to Moscow was reportedly at the airport to meet Snowden. WikiLeaks claimed credit for helping to arrange asylum for the man behind one of the most significant security breaches in US history. "Mr Edward Snowden, the American whistleblower who exposed evidence of a global surveillance regime conducted by US and UK intelligence agencies, has left Hong Kong legally," WikiLeaks said in a statement.
On its Twitter feed WikiLeaks said Snowden "is bound for the Republic of Ecuador via a safe route for the purposes of asylum, and is being escorted by diplomats and legal advisors from WikiLeaks. Mr Snowden requested that WikiLeaks use its legal expertise and experience to secure his safety. Once Mr Snowden arrives in Ecuador his request will be formally processed," it added. Former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon, legal director of Wikileaks, condemned the pursuit of Assange and Snowden was an "assault against the people". Wikileaks confirmed that Snowden was accompanied by a British citizen named Sarah Harrison, whom it described as a "journalist, and legal researcher" working with the WikiLeaks legal team.

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Snowden's latest interview on Sunday contained new revelations about US cyber-espionage against Chinese targets, drawing a stinging response from China's official news agency Xinhua which branded Washington an espionage "villain". In the latest revelations in the South China Morning Post, Snowden said the NSA was hacking Chinese mobile phone companies to gather data from millions of text messages. He said US spies have also hacked the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing -- home to one of six "network backbones" that route all of mainland China's Internet traffic -- and the Hong Kong headquarters of Pacnet, which operates one of the Asia-Pacific region's largest fibre-optic networks.
US President Barack Obama's administration, which on Friday unveiled charges including theft and espionage against Snowden, has insisted on the legality of the vast surveillance programme and said it has foiled a number of extremist plots. White House National Security Advisor Tom Donilon had said on Saturday that the charges presented a "good case" for Hong Kong to extradite him and that "we expect them to comply with the treaty in this case".

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But the government of Hong Kong, a special administrative region (SAR) under Chinese rule that has maintained its own British-derived legal system, said it had informed Washington of Snowden's exit after determining that the documents provided by the US government did not fully comply with Hong Kong legal requirements. "As the HKSAR government has yet to have sufficient information to process the request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to restrict Mr Snowden from leaving Hong Kong," it said in a statement.

NSA whistleblower Snowden lands in Moscow, with Ecuador now being a probable sanctuary
The Guardian has revealed today that Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower, has arrived in Moscow after Hong Kong authorities allowed him to leave despite a US request for his arrest. In a statement, WikiLeaks said the 30-year-old was heading to a democratic country "via a safe route" for asylum purposes, and that the organisation was assisting at his request. Snowden had been in hiding in Hong Kong since identifying himself as the source of revelations on US surveillance programmes.
His flight from US authorities, which want to charge him with espionage, appeared set to continue with an onward flight west from Moscow to Havana on Monday. From there, various reports indicated that he would try to get to either Caracas or Quito. The Hong Kong government said on Sunday he had left of his own accord "through a lawful and normal channel" and said the request filed by the US did not fully comply with legal requirements. Pointedly, it also said it wanted Washington to clarify Snowden's claims that the US had hacked targets in the territory. The move came two days after the US announced it had charged him with espionage and hours after the US stepped up pressure on Hong Kong to issue a provisional warrant for Snowden's arrest with a view to his surrender.

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Snowden had previously said he would stay in Hong Kong and fight for his freedom through the courts. He had been at a safe house since 10 June, when he checked out of his hotel after giving an interview to the Guardian revealing himself as the source who leaked top secret US documents. His unexpected departure comes a day after the US sought to turn up pressure on the territory, with a senior administration official telling the Washington Post: "If Hong Kong doesn't act soon, it will complicate our bilateral relations and raise questions about Hong Kong's commitment to the rule of law."
Sunday's statement from the Hong Kong authorities said: "Since the documents provided by the US government did not fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law, the HKSAR government has requested the US government to provide additional information so that the department of justice could consider whether the US government's request can meet the relevant legal conditions. As the HKSAR government has yet to have sufficient information to process the request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to restrict Mr Snowden from leaving Hong Kong. The HKSAR government has already informed the US government of Mr Snowden's departure. Meanwhile, the HKSAR government has formally written to the US government requesting clarification on earlier reports about the hacking of computer systems in Hong Kong by US government agencies." A spokesperson declined to reply to further queries.

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Snowden is believed to have boarded Aeroflot SU213 on Sunday morning, bound for Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport. Reuters cited an airline source who said the whistleblower would fly on to Cuba on Monday, before travelling on to Venezuela. He had earlier cited Iceland as a possible refuge in an interview with the Guardian. In a statement, WikiLeaks said: "He is bound for a democratic nation via a safe route for the purposes of asylum, and is being escorted by diplomats and legal advisers from WikiLeaks. Mr Snowden requested that WikiLeaks use its legal expertise and experience to secure his safety. Once Mr Snowden arrives at his final destination his request will be formally processed."

Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said: "I don't [know if he's planning to stay in Moscow]. I heard about the potential [arrival] from the press. I know nothing." On whether Moscow would still consider a request for asylum from Snowden, Peskov added: "Every application is considered so it's standard procedure ... We are not tracing his movements and I know nothing." Simon Young, director of the Centre for Comparative and Public Law at the University of Hong Kong, described the news of Snowden's departure as "a shocker". He said: "The US government will be irate with their Hong Kong counterparts [and] may even question whether the Hong Kong government was acting in good faith pursuant to their treaty obligations. I have no doubt that they were, and it is quite common for government lawyers to seek more information on surrender or mutual legal assistance requests before local process can begin." But Young noted that given the very low threshold for a provisional warrant - simply providing evidence that the person was in Hong Kong and that he or she was wanted for prosecution in the US - Washington "will wonder why the Hong Kong government feels the surrender paperwork needs to be fully in place before the provisional warrant can be obtained".

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The US department of justice was not immediately available for comment and the ministry of foreign affairs in Beijing has yet to comment. Lawyers had said a legal battle over Snowden's surrender from Hong Kong could have lasted years, but had also warned that in the long run he was unlikely to prove successful.
Latest Twitter feeds from Ecuador's foreign minister now reveal that Snowden has requested asylum from Ecuador. Ecuador's ambassador in Russia is currently in talks with Snowden, with a WikiLeaks representative present. WikiLeaks has very recently confirmed that Snowden may be Ecuador-bound after all. The rumour mill had so far Snowden aiming for Iceland but of course a situation like this is very fluid; so it remains to be seen if Snowden ends up in Ecuador after all. Personally I think that his fate rests on the hands of the people, as our Mobile Devices Editor and News Reporter Anthony Garreffa reported here. If enough signatures are collected then the US government may be forced to yield under the substantial weight of public opinion, and drop (or lessen) its prosecution against Snowden. In a truly democratic society, it's freely-expressed public opinion that should define governmental policies after all.

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A petition demanding the US government to pardon Edward Snowden passes 100,000 signatures, forces the White House to respond
There has been a petition demanding that the US government pardon NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, which saw over 100,000 digital 'signatures', forcing the White House to make a formal response. Considering the US government are attempting to charge Snowden with two counts of espionage, it'll be interesting to see what the White House has to say about this.

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Snowden is currently in Hong Kong, although there are rumors of him heading to Russia, where he has been accused of "unauthorized communication of national defense information" and "willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person". The petition to pardon the NSA whistleblower was filed under the We Are The People initiative, which lets US citizens start petitions in the nation's interest.
Obviously, the US citizens' privacy is right at the top of the nation's interests - and if a petition passes 100,000 signatures, then it forces the White House to assign a staff member to respond to the matter. The petition was filed on June 9, and is asking for a pardon, which will most likely not happen.
We will be covering all Snowden content, in case you were wondering, as it is set to become a pillar of the future of the world's privacy. This isn't just affecting the United States, but pretty much every single human being on Earth, even the ones in countries without Internet access or electronics.

TechPowerUp GPU-Z 0.7.2 released, includes support for new GPU's and more
TechPowerUp's GPU-Z is something every enthusiast and power user should have installed, and if you don't - it's about time you get it. The graphics hardware information, diagnostic and monitoring utility has been updated to version 0.7.2.

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The new version includes support for new GPU's, such as the upcoming GeForce GTX 760, as well as the new mobile GPU solution, the Radeon HD 8970M. There's also improved support for Intel's HD 4xxx series of embedded graphics found in the Haswell processors, and more user interface feature additions. A full change-log is below:

Added support for NVIDIA GTX 760, Tesla K10, GT740M (GK208)
Added support for AMD HD 8490, HD 8970M, HD 7400D
Improved support for Intel Haswell graphics
Added die size, transistors, release date for Haswell
Added AMD graphics card logo
Added translations: Greek, Portuguese (Brazil)
Updated translation: French
Fixed rare crash during DirectCompute detection

Walmart drops the price of the iPhone 4S to just $39, iPhone 5 gets dropped to $129
If you wanted to pick up an iPhone 4S or iPhone 5, you might want to check out Walmart's latest deals. They've permanently dropped the price of the iPhone 4S to $39, and the iPhone 5 has been slashed to $129.

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The iPhone 4S is available with AT&T, Sprint and Verizon at $39 on-contract compared to its previous price of $90. The iPhone 5 on the other hand, has dropped from its normal price of $190 to $129, and is available on AT&T and Verizon. Walmart should see iPhone's flying out of the door at these reduced prices.

Intel joins the Alliance for Wireless Power
Intel have just become the latest member to join the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP). A4WP has more than 40 other companies in its embrace, including Samsung, Qualcomm and Broadcom - just to name a few.

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Intel's Navin Shenoy has faith in the future of A4WP's standard, where he says: "Intel believes the A4WP specification, particularly the use of near-field magnetic resonance technology, can provide a compelling consumer experience and enable new usage models that make device charging almost automatic. In joining A4WP, we look forward to working alongside other member companies and contributing to standards that help fuel an ecosystem of innovative solutions capable of simultaneously charging a range of devices, from low-power accessories to smartphones, tablets and Ultrabooks."
Intel is looking into the future with this partnership, hoping that Ultrabook owners will use the batteries in their Ultrabook to power other devices like smartphones, tablets and more. Wireless charging could be the future of technology, but right now we require the entire industry to settle on a standard, and Intel stepping into the ranks of the A4WP is one of those big steps.

Sony to release firmware update to fix bricked PS3's from last week's firmware debacle
Sony tripped over last week, releasing a firmware for their PlayStation 3 console which led to a number of them being bricked (inoperable). But, never fear, there will be a new update to arrive shortly, that will fix the issues that update 4.45 caused.

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People updating their PS3's to update 4.45 caused some problems with being able to access their cross-media bars, with those who tried to fix the issue formatting their consoles, but this just bricked their console. Sony ripped the update from the Internet, and launched an investigation to find out what exactly caused the issue. PlayStation Plus users that have the auto-update feature enabled may have inadvertently downloaded it automatically. If this is what you've done - you might want to disable automatic updates until Sony fixes the issue.
Morgan Haro, Sony's community manager, pinned a post on the PlayStation forum stating that they've found the issue. There's a new PS3 software update arriving on June 27 which will hopefully solve the issue from version 4.45.

Ask the Experts: Should I go for GeForce GTX 660's in SLI or a single Radeon HD 7950?
Our Ask the Experts section has a new question, where Peter from Germany wants to know whether he should go for a mid-range SLI setup or jump into a single Radeon HD 7950.

TweakTown's Ask the Experts

Q: I want to get a new PC with a Core i5-3570K - now i need a GPU. I was thinking about the 2 GB GeForce GTX 660 Ti, the 2GB Radeon HD7870 or the 3GB HD7950 Boost.
Which card would you suggest? I plan to keep it for the next 3-4 years. And i was asking myself if the RAM latency problem of the HD 7xxx generation is very dominant or if it is a minor problem.
A: You can view the answer to Peter's question right here.

Google Glass to be worn by pro tennis player at Wimbledon this week
Google Glass is slowly making its way into the mainstream, but this week during Wimbledon, pro tennis player Bethanie Mattek-Sands will don the wearable computing from Google. Mattek-Sands ranks as position 58 in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA).

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She will be wearing Google Glass at Wimbledon this week in London, something Google announced a few days ago now. Mattek-Sands is in the Glass Explorer program, which saw a handful of people around the world receiving the wearable product. Google have said that Glass is both comfortable and unobtrusive, weighing no more than a pair of standard sunglasses. Considering pro tennis players are moving from left to right so fast, even a couple of hundred grams would make a big difference - even more so with the money at stake here - so this is a big, and most of all, positive move for Glass.
Google has said that Mattek-Sands is already benefitting from Glass, elaborating:

Glass's potential in the sports realm is huge, and it can connect athletes, coaches, and fans in new ways. For Bethanie, it's allowed her to capture her strokes from her point of view during practice and share those with her coaches. It also helps her search recipes and perfect her cooking, something that's important to a professional athlete with dietary allergies and restrictions. Bethanie's fans can also see the world through her eyes as she embarks upon the road to Wimbledon, where she'll play her first match next week.

Fractal Design Newton R3 800-Watt 80 PLUS Platinum Power Supply Review

Introduction

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If there is one company that you want to keep your eyes on right now, it is most certainly Fractal Design. They have come out of the corner swinging and over the last few years have been delivering quality products left, right and center. Their cases have been a perfect mix of both form and function and none have skimped on quality at all.
Earlier in the year, we took a look at the Integra R2 750W from them and were rather happy with what we saw. As en entry-level power supply, it delivered almost perfectly.
This time around we looking at something on the opposite side of the spectrum. The Newton R3 series is Fractal Design's flagship line of power supplies and offers quite a bit more than the no-frills Integra R2 series. The 800W model on the bench today is modular and nearly silent, along with 80 PLUS Platinum efficiency.
The Newton R3 800W represents what most want out of a quality 700W-900W unit, so you'll definitely want to keep reading if you're in the market for new power supply.

Specifications, Availability and Pricing

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Fractal Design uses a single 12V rail for the Newton R3 800W power supply. It is rated for 66A or 792W. Both the 3.3V and 5V rails are rated for 20A each with a combined maximum output of 100W. While this isn't the best output we've seen for the minor rails, it should be plenty providing there isn't some heavy overclocking going on. The 5VSB rail is also rated a tad low for an 800W unit and is capable of 2.5A or 12.5W total. Maximum combined output for the unit is 800W.

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The Fractal Design Newton R3 800W almost scores green checks across the board, but misses it by one. The Newton R3 doesn't feature Over Temperature Protection, but does have SCP, OVP, OCP and OPP. The power supply features both native and modular cabling. All cables are either fully sleeved or of the flat ribbon variety. The Newton R3 800W is rated for 100% continuous output at 50C and is certified for 80 PLUS Platinum efficiency.
Fractal Design's Newton R3 has an MSRP of $189. Looking around the web, you won't find it any cheaper than that. Even so, it is still one of the cheapest Platinum rated units on the market near that wattage. Fractal Design backs the Newton R3 800W with a five year warranty.
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Jurassic Park 3D (2013) Blu-ray Review

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I remember fondly attending an invitation only premiere of Jurassic Park in September of 1993, my first screening junket. I was seven years old, but my mum was edgily apprehensive about my attendance, no doubt fearing I would end up a serial killer, or otherwise mentally affected. I was never really a dinosaur kid, but my developing brain told me it was a great film and everyone around me seemed to agree; soon taking out the number one spot on Hollywood's highest grossing motion pictures. 20 years later, Jurassic Park returned to its rightful domain - the big screen, in a remastered 3D conversion by the talented folks at StereoD, the same studio that painstakingly converted James Cameron's Titanic to great effect in 2012.
Eccentric Billionaire John Hammond (David Attenborough) has devised a way to genetically clone dinosaurs, bankrolling a prehistoric preserve on a remote Costa Rican island. Hammond invites a select group consisting of paleontologists Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sadler (Laura Dern), mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), lawyer Donald Genarro (Martin Ferrero) and his young niece and nephew to preview the unfinished park for their seal of approval. But the resurrection of creatures 65 million years past turns to terror when the parks security system is sabotaged, leaving the visitors to fend for their lives against the inhabitants savagely uprooted from their own timeline.

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With Jurassic Park, Spielberg successfully brought photo-realistic digital characters to the screen for the first time and it's ironic that in a time where audiences have become jaded by the endless possibilities that digital filmmaking allows, Jurassic Park returns as a breath of fresh air, a return to a less complex time.
Despite the huge leaps and bounds in digital technology over the intervening two decades, Jurassic Park still has it. One can see the seams if studied carefully, but for a film of such vintage that was on the bleeding edge of technology, that it holds up so well, is testament to the impressive work of Industrial Light and Magic working in tandem with Stan Winston studios, trail blazers who changed the face of the industry forever.
Video
Jurassic Park 3D is presented in the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MVC MPEG-4 compression.
Fans with rightfully high expectations were left a little disappointed by the transfer for the previous Blu-ray release in 2011, what was essentially an off-the-shelf 2K scan created for HDTV broadcasts. For the 3D version, Universal have gone back to the 35mm negative and generated a new 4K scan. What could possibly go wrong? Well, a little bit.
Spielberg personally supervised the new transfer, which includes new color timing that accentuates a golden hue where the film has traditionally had a blue cast. The new transfer is also much smoother, with video noise and grain a thing of the past. Sadly, Universal have gone a step too far with the noise reduction, making the film look a little too waxy and dissolving some finer details.
Sadly, there is no option to view the new transfer in 2D at all. You can opt to watch the film in 2D with the previous Blu-ray included in the pack, but it's still a stale mate. View the film with with improved color timing and a more pleasant, updated visual palate in 3D, or with less noise reduction, but more artificial sharpening from outdated elements in 2D. In a frustrating and unexpected chain of events, an ideal version of Jurassic Park on home video is still conspicuous by its absence.
In regards to the 3D experience, the conversion loses some of its effect on the small screen, but it's still a fun alternate way to view the classic. Sequences such as the Raptors in the kitchen, along with other climactic beats like the T-Rex Jeep attack and vent shaft escape take on an even more thrilling element. The artisans at StereoD have made 3D a cohesive and natural progression of the adventure at the heart of Jurassic Park.

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Audio
Jurassic Park 3D is presented in DTS HD Master Audio 7.1 at 24 bits.
Jurassic Park has long been a darling of home theatre aficionadas, the poster child that introduced the DTS system to theatres and single handedly moved millions in hi-fi equipment with the laserdisc and DVD iterations.
In modern terms however, the film was sounding a little long in the tooth (pun intended), which encouraged sound designer Gary Rydstrom to prepare a new and updated 7.1 audio mix to nip and tuck a few issues and create an even more impressive surround experience. This is not to be confused with the 7.1 mix created for the initial Blu-ray release, which was not without its critics and assembled without the input of Rydstrom.
In short, this is simply the best that the film has ever sounded. Dialogue is clear and audible. The front sound stage supports its fair share of the effects, be it the subtleties of the Costa Rica jungle or the ferocious snare of the T-Rex. Low frequency effects have been slightly boosted, providing more nuanced feedback and tighter performance to the numerous sequences that call for it.
John William's classic score fares well, a great presentation for one of the most memorable fanfares in cinema history.

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Extras
For the 3D release, Universal have rustled up one new additional feature, which accounts for very little in the scheme of things, however they have also included the previously released 2D Blu-ray release, which houses the rest of the additional features.
The World Of Jurassic Park 3D is a nine minute featurette which features new interviews with Steven Spielberg who attempt (rather unnecessarily) to justify the 3D conversion, including some brief tech talk from the whiz kids at StereoD.
Then we have the three part Return to Jurassic Park documentary, which accounts for an hour of footage. Principal actors Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum contribute newly recorded (circa 2011) interviews, along with Steven Spielberg. With the retrospectively of two decades, the legacy of the film can truly be appreciated and much of the documentary deals with the films once pioneering CG effects.
Under the heading of Archival Featurettes can be found The Making of Jurassic Park which originally featured on the laserdisc release in 1994 and still has a lot of intrinsic worth as a nice vintage look at the film. Hosted by James Earl Jones - although having no other relationship with the film, this runs at nearly 50 minutes. The Original Feature on the Making of the film is a fluffy EPK short and somewhat pointless at just 5 minutes. Steven Spielberg Directs Jurassic Park is another short piece featuring numerous shots of Spielberg gesticulating furiously on set with some commentary on his no-nonsense shooting methods.
Early Pre-Production Meetings consists of rough camcorder footage of Spielberg chairing a conference discussing the possible creation of the films effects with key personnel. The video quality is basic and the sound worse, but it's a fascinating fly on the wall reveal. Location Scouting at under two minutes doesn't reveal much, but looks at the filming locations, in particular the Kauai set. The next two featurettes give a hint at the abandoned efforts to animate the dinosaurs with go-motion animation - Raptors in the Kitchen and T-Rex Attacks. Despite ultimately utilizing CG, Spielberg turned to Phil Tippet to create video animatics of key sequences. Watch out for the wisely excised Velociraptor tongue flicks. The aptly named ILM and Jurassic Park: Before and After Visual Effects looks at the original background plates before the CG dinosaurs were dropped in. Foley Artists takes a look at the oft ignored but critical production unit that makes all the cool sounds we take for granted.
Finally, we have two promotional pieces; the original Theatrical Trailer and Telltale's Jurassic Park: Making the Game.

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