IT-Code-News: IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 7/22/2013

Sunday, July 21, 2013

IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 7/22/2013

TweakTown

RumorTT: Sony said to be working on high-end camera attachment for smartphones
According to a report by Sony Alpha Rumors, Sony is getting close to releasing a smartphone accessory that would mount directly onto the device. The accessory in question is a camera attachment that would make use of a large sensor and Carl Zeiss lens. The attachment is quite small and would stuff the sensor, a battery, and storage directly into the lens.

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The attachment will make use of NFC or Wi-Fi to transfer the images to the smartphone, allowing users to get super high quality images directly on their smartphone. If Sony manages to cram a great sensor behind a Carl Zeiss lens, budding photographers around the world will likely pick it up in droves to take better Instagram pictures of their food. Or, you know, better pictures of awesome things.

Moto X will officially be unveiled on August 1 in NYC by Motorola
After a week full of rumors and much championing by Google executives during earnings calls, we will finally get to see the long-awaited Moto X Phone revealed. The unveiling will take place during an event scheduled for August 1 in New York City. This is no rumor, tip, or speculation. Today, Motorola began sending out invitations for the event to tech journalists all over the country.

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This unveiling will come after months and months of rumors, speculation, and leaks which all came to a head last week when the chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt, was spotted using the device at a CEO get together at the Allen & Co Business Summit in Sun Valley. We knew a launch was imminent when multiple executives from Google made mention of the phone during their earnings calls this week.
As always, we will be offering full coverage via a live blog that will take place during the event. Stay tuned to TweakTown and keep an eye out for our news post announcing the live blog.

Piriform issues an update to its popular defragmentation program Defraggler
Today, Piriform released an update to its popular defragmentation software Defraggler. The company says that this release optimizes the Analyze and the Defrag functions across all operating systems and it contains an improved context menu to better aid in serving up defrag options.

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Additionally, the company has added file type and last modified date columns to the file list as well as added progress information to boot time defrag processes. Furthermore, they have improved handling of locked and read-only drives as well as improved the management of unmounted drives. Finally, additional improvements have been made to the GUI and several bugs have been fixed.

Swiftech pulls H220 CPU cooler from shelves after patent issues
This morning, PC liquid cooling giant Swiftech announced that it will be withdrawing the H220 CPU Cooling Kit from US sales due to a conflict with a patent held by AseTek. Back on June 7, 2013, Swiftech's parent company, Rouchon Industries, received a letter from AseTek claiming that the H220 CPU Cooler infringed on US patents 8,240,362, and 8,245,764.

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The letter demanded that Swiftech cease and desist all manufacturing, sales, and importation of the H220 CPU Cooler into the United States. The company says that on June 27, 2013 their counsel responded to AseTek stating that SwiftTech does not believe the H220 infringed on any patents held by AseTek. Swiftech says that they then asked AseTek if AseTek would be willing to offer a nonexclusive license for the asserted patents in an effort to avoid any unnecessary litigation.
On July 12, 2013, AseTek responded and stated that the company does not offer licenses on its patents. Swiftech says that it continues to firmly assert its position that it is not infringing on any patents but in an effort to avoid costly litigation, they have decided to pull the H220 CPU Cooling Kit from the US market. In a statement, the company had the following to say:

Given these circumstances, Swiftech wants to hereby reassure its US customers that: 1/ it will continue to provide full technical and warranty support for the H220 CPU cooling kits that have been sold in the US, and 2/ the product will continue to be sold in other countries.
Swiftech sincerely apologizes to its US customers for this extraordinary situation, the very first in its long history. For the past 15 years, Swiftech has been at the forefront of technological innovation in this industry, and it will continue to do so. In the words of Gabriel Rouchon, the company's Chairman and CTA: "I want our customers to know and expect with absolute confidence that Swiftech's resourcefulness will once again be brilliantly demonstrated in the immediate future".

GitHub suffers massive DDoS attack, says it is recovering quickly
Today, the popular version control code repository GitHub issued a statement to the media announcing that it has been fending off a massive attack on its system which managed to knock it servers off-line early Friday morning. The company said that around 10:40 UTC the site was struck with a massive DDoS attack from unknown sources.

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Roughly an hour and a half later, the company had implemented processes that began to alleviate the load on their servers but things were not yet back to full functionality. "We've put mitigation in place that should deflect the attack, and services are recovering. We're continuing to monitor closely," GitHub said in a statement.
This is the second large DDoS attack against GitHub this year with the first happening back in March. Before that, the site experienced another massive attack in September 2012 and one before that during February 2012 that lasted for a whole week. It is unclear who keeps attacking the site or what motivates them to try and bring down the service.
At the moment, my GitHub repository appears to be accessible from the website, my desktop client, and through the command line. I suspect this means that GitHub may have things under control and service could be back to full functionality.

Display shipments from LG point to an October launch of the new iPad Mini
In what could be a debunking of multiple rumors that state that Apple's iPad Mini is facing delays due to display shortages, DigiTimes is reporting today that LG has made significant progress with its production of the iPad Mini Retina panels and will begin shipping them later this year. This leads to several analysts speculating that we could see Apple launch the device as early as October.

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The sources also added that LG is reportedly making new headway in producing Retina panel technology for use in the next-generation iPad mini, and expects to ship about 2-3 million units a month in preparation for Apple's expected October release date

This report is 180 degree turnaround from an article by DigiTimes earlier in the week that suggested the refreshed iPad Mini would not ship until November or December. One thing's for certain though, a Retina display iPad Mini is on the way and it will feature an LCD built by LG. When it will arrive is honestly anyone's guess at this point and I am sure we will hear several more dates tossed out before it is officially announced.

Micron inadvertently reveals new Micron SSD controller and 520 NVMe SSD
In an expansive investor call yesterday Micron inadvertently revealed a new SSD and controller combo that will sport the NVMe interface during the question and answer session. This is important news, as Micron has previously relied upon third party controllers and a jointly-developed controller with IDT for the P320h. When asked about the possibility of utilizing NVMe in future products, Edward Donner replied:

Absolutely, so NVMe is an interface that we absolutely plan on supporting, in fact that 520 drive that I probably pre announced and I'm sure I'm going to get some interesting e-mail on that, is an NVMe drive; it's a controller like the controller on the P320 the P420 that we've internally developed at Micron. It's a heavy hardware based controller and once again we'll be able to saturate the PCIe 3 interface and differentiate with again a internally developed controller but yes NVMe is critical to us and you'll see product level details in the near future.

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The 520 will be able to saturate the PCIe 3.0 interface, and might come in the traditional PCIe SSD HHHL form factor and possibly even a 2.5" drive as we have seen with the P320h. The importance of the development of a Micron controller is significant. The SSD market is beginning to consolidate, and those who own a fab or controller IP enjoy a significant advantage. Having both the NAND and controller will provide Micron with even more of an advantage against their competitors. Naturally, our next question would be whether this new controller will migrate to other products, such as the wildly popular consumer offerings from Crucial (the consumer arm of Micron). Luckily, this question was answered in a roundabout fashion during the Q&A session (emphasis added):

I can tell you that on the enterprise high performance market is that utilizes PCIe from the get go we made the decision to use an internal controller and so we've been happy with that and the progress that we've made with that controller and the solution. [B]I can tell you going forward on our fast drive we will be using our own internal controller for those products[B]. And so as we roll out the next version of our fast drive it will have an internally developed Micron controller which will - is more than a single instance of a controller, [B]it's a platform that allows us to have a common firmware base that will allow us to have different transport layers that will give us the ability to move rapidly in terms of building on an investment and a foundation of a platform.[/B]

Micron's new internally developed controller is being developed as a platform for rapid expansion into other areas. This type of modular controller structure is important to create a flexible base for multiple product stacks. Intel and others employ this type of structure to allow multiple products to utilize the same controller. While some manufacturers stick entirely with their own proprietary solutions, others will utilize multiple vendors if the need arises. Micron answers this question handily:

...but I would say our strategy going forward certainly on the bottom tier or two is to have a dual pronged approach where we use internal controllers where it makes sense and we use external controllers where it makes sense.

Micron also touts the advantages of vertical integration when developing their own controller technology:

...and by the way you got to remember that when you're designing a controller for the enterprise, the cycle time to design that controller is such that not only do you need to have the knowledge of the NAND technology that you're shipping today you better know what that NAND technology is going to look like three years from now because that's about the cycle time of a good enterprise controller you better know what that is otherwise you're going design a controller that's not going to be in line with where the technology is going, and so that concept of vertical integration where you understand, you understand the fundamental technology the timeline of where the technology is heading coupling that with your own internal controllers it almost guarantees if you do it right that you're going to do a better job than anybody that doesn't have that knowledge.

Micron's significant advantage of owning their own Fab pays off in multiple aspects, from the firmware interaction with the NAND to the design and engineering of new controllers. The quest for their own controller technology is a big step for Micron, and one that will be sure to provide a long-term benefit to the company.
Micron is bucking the trend by developing their own controller in-house. Many of Micron's competitors have invested heavily in controller technology by purchasing other companies, building the controller from the ground up has its own advantages, particularly in time to market and cohesion with existing products. In many cases, acquisitions can take a significant period to bear fruit for the purchasing company.
The news of Microns new controller technology is also very welcome considering that they collaborated with IDT for the controller utilized on the current P320h product. This controller provides Micron with the fastest PCIe SSD on the planet, but with IDT's recent acquisition by PMC Sierra we wouldn't be surprised to see PMC Sierra take future IDT controllers off the market to focus on proprietary controllers.
Overall, the forecast for the NAND and SSD market for Micron is exceedingly bright.
Transcript from Seeking Alpha, and the full call is available on Microns website at Micron.com

After 23 years in the gaming industry, THQ receives approval for liquidation
After a long 23 years in the industry, THQ is finally no more. Today, Judge Mart F Walrath approved the request for liquidation by once gaming industry powerhouse THQ. The liquidation will serve to pay off creditors as much as possible with whatever money is made from the sale of THQ's remaining assets.

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THQ originally filed for bankruptcy in December 2012 in hopes that some major company, investor, or individual would swoop in and save the day. Unfortunately, this was one sinking ship that was deemed unrepairable. It is expected that the sale of the company's assets could recoup anywhere between 20 and 52 percent of what US-based creditors are owed. Unfortunately, it is unclear whether or not foreign investors are entitled to recovery as well, and this could leave US investors receiving much less compensation than they had originally expected.
All of THQ's studios and intellectual property has been sold off which includes heavy hitter Relic Games who brought us titles such as the Homeworld series, the absurdly popular Saints Row, Company of Heroes, and Warhammer 40,000. As a longtime fan of THQ, I think I speak for everyone at TweakTown when I say goodbye old friend and we will miss you.

Google officially launches Chrome App Launcher for Windows users
Previously only released as a developer preview, Google's Chrome App Launcher for Windows has today been released to the public. The app launcher allows users to directly launch Google services and install Chrome apps from the Windows 7 and Windows 8 menu bar. Additionally, Windows 8 users are also able to launch these apps through the start page on Windows 8.

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Users of Chrome OS have had this functionality for quite some time now as well as versions of Chromium for Windows, Mac and Linux. Unfortunately for OS X users, a fully functional version has not yet been released for public download. The same story applies for those who love Linux and wish to run Chrome instead of Chromium.

Angry Birds fans can now sync their gameplay across multiple devices
How many times have you wished you could save your progress while playing Angry Birds on your phone and switch to your tablet or PC to continue playing? What about when upgrading your device and losing all of your gameplay info? Apparently, Rovio has heard your frustration and has released a new service called Rovio Account sync.

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This service allows you to save your progress in Rovio's cloud and lets you continue where you left off playing on any device that supports their Angry Birds franchise. Picking up where you left off is as simple as logging into your Rovio account and then the game will automatically detect all of your settings, saves, and records. The company says that at the moment it is limited to the original Angry Birds as well as The Croods, but it will be added to all of the companies games over the next few months.

Yahoo back-peddles on vow to keep adult content on Tumblr
When the announcement was first made that Yahoo had purchased Tumblr, thousands of users began posting their concerns that the service would remove its erotica category which made up roughly 10 percent of the social blogging service's user base. Yahoo shortly thereafter released a statement that said they had no intentions to remove any of the adult material, pages, or blogs from Tumblr.

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Yesterday, Yahoo completely backtracked on the promises and removed more than 12 million blogs from the service that were marked as featuring adult content on both Tumbler's internal search results and the indexing of all of the major search engines such as Google and Bing. Additionally, the "Erotica" category has been removed alongside other adult themed content.
While the blogs are still hosted on the site, removing them from any and all search results as well as any internal linking that would help users find their way to such blogs renders them virtually invisible and only findable through direct links. Additionally, a recent update to Tumbler's iOS app removed search results for the hashtags #Gay, #Lesbian, and #Bisexual.

BlackBerry Messenger will arrive on Android in September
BlackBerry has not made any attempt to hide the fact that its mobile messaging service, BlackBerry Messenger, will be coming to Android and iOS this summer. The company has, however, been quite tight lipped on when exactly BBM will launch on both platforms. In a recent interview, India's managing director for BlackBerry accidentally let a hint slip that September could be the official launch month for BBM on Android.

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"The service is coming to Android this summer. But summer as per North America, where it remains till September," said Sunil Lalvani. He did not elaborate whether or not his claim actually meant it would arrive at the end of September nor did he make any mention of a release date for iOS.
Previously we were led to believe that BBM would make its Android and iOS debut sometime on or around June 27 but that date has obviously come and gone. BBM on iOS and Android could play a major role in companies who have multiple smartphones all running different operating systems but need a central form of mobile messaging. Some analysts say that it could once again become the de facto messaging service for professionals on the go.

Apple releases software update for Macbook Air to fix issues with Wi-Fi
This morning, Apple has laid to rest the number of issues that have been plaguing the new MacBook Air since release. A new software update has just been released that is said to fix certain Wi-Fi issues that were causing network connections to be dropped. This issue arose shortly after launch and caused a small uproar on the Internet when users were unable to connect to their networks after spending a small fortune on the next-gen device.

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At the same time, other MacBook Air owners said they were experiencing a severe flickering of the screen when using Photoshop. Going into detail, they said that the issue seem to be more prevalent when using large brush tools or other high resolution add-ons for the popular image editing program. Additionally, a fluctuating volume issue arose early last week which affected video playback on some of the new machines.
Even though the Cupertino-based company never officially acknowledged any of these issues, this morning Apple released an update that is said to repair all of these problems. After scanning a few forums and doing a couple searches, it appears that this new update has indeed washed these bugs away forever. If you have a new MacBook Air and have not downloaded this update yet, head over to Source #2 below for the full download.

Halo: Spartan Assault lands on Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, available now
During the E3 Expo, Microsoft announced a new Halo game that would be released on Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 devices. Dubbed Halo: Spartan Assault, the game is set sometime in between the Halo 3 and Halo 4 timelines and features playable characters Sarah Palmer or Spartan Davis. The game is a top-down shooter that has been exclusively designed for touch-enabled devices, and Microsoft says it will appeal to hard-core gamers as well as Halo noobs.

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From the Halo: Spartan Assault Website:

This new chapter lets you experience the first missions of the Spartan Ops program and dives deeper into the backstory of Human-Covenant wars. Play through the eyes of Commander Sarah Palmer and Spartan Davis stationed aboard the UNSC Infinity as they fight never-before-seen battles against Covenant forces.

Evernote rolls out update to iOS app, now includes shortcuts, related notes, and Skitch
Today, Evernote updated its app for iOS and added some new features that are sure to make its users happy. The update mostly includes features that make organization much easier including things like Shortcuts, Related Notes, and Skitch integration. This new support for Skitch allows users to have the app annotate their images and notes with Skitch and they will show up at Evernote.

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As you would expect, the newly integrated Shortcuts feature allows users to "shortcut" important notes, notebooks, and even tags so they are easily accessed for quick use. Additionally, your shortcuts will sync across all devices and versions of Evernote which makes cross-platform organization much easier. The new shortcuts feature is similar to the old "Favorites" section which only allowed the pinning of notes.
Don't worry premium users of Evernote, you are not left out in this update as you now have the ability to annotate PDF documents using Skitch. Another new feature called Related Notes will search when a new note is started and recommend additional posts that may be helpful or related. Evernote for iOS is available for free in the App Store with a premium version costing users $4.99 a month or $44.99 per year.

Energizer check out gamers' reaction times at PAX Australia 2013
PAX Australia 2013 - Something that caught our eye at PAX AU 2013 was Energizer's booth, where they were testing gamers' reaction times on a workout-like machine.

The machine had a bunch of lights on it, which were punchable. When the lights flashed on, gamers had to mash that button, but get ready for the next button to flash on. There was a leaderboard where gamers could compete against each other, but I didn't try it out, the only thing I'm good at mashing is my keyboard.

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Virtual Reality Insanity are going to blow gamers' minds away by opening up a VR gaming bar in Melbourne, Australia
PAX Australia 2013 - When I go out to a bar, I generally drink, like most people do - but would you want to go to a bar and enjoy some virtual reality gaming? Well, Virtual Reality Insanity are hoping you do, as they are opening up a new VR gaming bar in Melbourne, Australia.

We're currently in Melbourne, Australia for PAX AU 2013, and our first meeting was with VR Insanity, where we got to use Oculus Rift in Team Fortress 2. It was my first test with Oculus Rift, and I was blown away. Later in the day we had a meeting with Oculus VR themselves, but this was our first toe in VR water. Team Fortress 2 was phenomenal on Oculus Rift, something that I soon hope to play much more when Oculus release Rift to the public.

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As for the VR gaming bar, VR Insanity are going to open up a 6v6 VR gaming bar, which will include Oculus Rift, Onmi, Razer Hydra controllers and more. It's going to be quite kick ass, as there'll be tournaments and matches versus your friends, all in virtual reality. We hope to attend the opening night of this, and should have some content if we get to that point.

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2013 Samsung SSD Global Summit - 840 SSD dissected on video, all parts shown
2013 Samsung SSD Global Summit - Samsung always likes to talk about the large amount of Samsung components in their SSD products. Off to the side at the show we found a dissected 840. Surprisingly, there aren't too many components needed to build an 840, but I wouldn't want to solder everything together by hand!

Samsung manufactures all of the core components, PCB, DRAM, NAND and more than likely several of the small surface mount components as well.

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This is the first time we've seen a SSD apart out in this manner. While not exactly news worthy, it is interesting to see for the first time.

Life-sized version of Connect Four gets played at PAX Australia 2013
PAX Australia 2013 - So, uh, if you've ever wanted to play a life-sized version of Connect Four, PAX Australia 2013 is the event for you. I nearly walked past this, but two guys were having at it, Connect Four style.

The game was quite big, and this was in the game center, where you could play board games, Nintendo DS games, and much more. Bean bags were everywhere, gamers were everywhere, and the vibe was absolutely incredible. Even something as simple as Connect Four is a great experience for gamers, or just friends, or strangers even, at PAX Australia 2013.

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2013 Samsung SSD Global Summit - PCIe based m.2 SSDs are close, benchmarks inside
TweakTown has lead the coverage of NGFF (m.2) products with a preview from Computex using ADATA products, finding retail products currently shipping with m.2 SSDs and now a quick look at performance from a Samsung m.2 drive in a retail ultrabook.

Although still rare in the channel, m.2 form factor SSDs are set to take off like a rocket later in this year. The form factor comes in two flavors, SATA based and PCIe based, the second being the quite exciting since it breaks through some of the SATA III performance limitations. In the video above, we see a CDM performance run with a Samsung based SATA III SSD and a new PCIe based m.2 drive.
Looking closely at the performance on screen we were surprised to see the SATA III drive score higher performance in the 4K read and write test. This tells us Samsung still have some optimization work left to do.

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PCIe based m.2 drives should have lower latency when we see the final products since the data doesn't have to pass through the PCH chipset. We're keeping a close eye on this new technology that promises to increase storage performance from a single device by up to 4x over the next year.

2013 Samsung SSD Global Summit - The Wall (video)
2013 Samsung SSD Global Summit - We're a day behind due to the time it takes to upload video from the hotel, but things are sorted now. Samsung put on a great show yesterday for the roughly 100 or so journalists that attended.

The big news for those making the trek to Seoul was the new 840 EVO, the replacement to the baseline 840. Samsung also announced a handful of enterprise products as well later in the day.

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In the video we have a quick walk though of the Samsung SSD wall. Several products appear, some old, some new, but all are very exciting.
Throughout the day we'll post more videos from the event and in a few days break down the new Samsung 840 EVO and in a separate article discussing the new Magician 4.1 update that offers owners of existing 840 products a significant performance boost thanks to Samsung's purchase of NVELO.

2013 Samsung SSD Global Summit - AES 256-bit Hardware Encryption coming to 840 Series
A firmware update coming around the September timeframe adds true AES 256-bit hardware encryption to Samsung's 840, 840 EVO and 840 PRO SSD products.

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Two flavors of encryption are covered, Trusted Computing Group (TCG) Opal and Microsoft's eDRIVE, part of Windows 8 BitLocker.
Class 0 SED is an important feature for businesses and end users who would prefer to only have the NSA steal their data. While we've had access to encryption for several years, hardware based encryption lessens the overhead and reduces the amount of resources needed from surrounding components.
A notebook is lost or stolen every few seconds in the world and the cost goes far beyond the price of the components physically lost. I would go as far as to say it should be mandatory for all businesses to use some form of encryption for all of their employee's notebooks.

2013 Samsung SSD Global Summit - 840 EVO Prices Announced
We haven't told you all of the reasons yet to be excited about the new Samsung 840 EVO, that'll come in a few days when the embargo for performance lifts. We do have a few tidbits to share with you today though from the SSD Global Summit.

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This image shows pricing and the capacity sizes for the new 840 EVO product family. There are three kit options, Basic (bare drive), Laptop Kit and finally a Desktop Kit. There are five capacity sizes, 120GB to 1TB, all of the standard sizes plus a 750GB model tossed in for good measure. The MSRPs are for the US market.
The model everyone wants to talk about is the big 1TB model, costing just under $650. The model most of us will buy though is the 250GB or 500GB at $189.99 and $369.99, respectively. The prices range between the different kit options and not all capacity sizes ship in a kit. We're not sure how Samsung came up with the kit sizes, but for most of us, a bare drive will do just fine.

Microsoft show off the Xbox One for the first time Down Under at PAX Australia
PAX Australia 2013 - Something else I've been quite excited to see is the Xbox One in person, which is something I got to finally do at PAX AU today. This is the first time that Microsoft have shown the next-gen console to the public down under.

There's not much to talk about other than what we've already reported, but we took a nice long look around the console itself, checking out the ports, etc that it has on offer. We also took a look at the Kinect sensor, which is huge in person, as is the cord and plug it uses to hook up to the Xbox One console. The controller isn't much special, but we still take a look at it all in the video above.

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We go hands-on with Oculus VR HD, where we can barely contain our excitement
PAX Australia 2013 - I have been waiting since Oculus first reached Kickstarter to try out their Rift VR headset, and today my day came. We first went to another booth and tried out the 720p Developer Kit version, which we'll have a video uploaded shortly on.

The first story I wanted to write from PAX AU was about Oculus. We had a 2:30PM meeting but turned up 30 minutes early by mistake, but the Oculus guys were happy to accommodate us. We were sitting there, in one of the smallest booths at PAX AU and while it's small, it had heart and soul, and most of all: passion. We were introduced to Joseph Chen, who is head of Product at Oculus, who mentioned that Nate (the Vice President of Product at Oculus VR) would be on-hand soon.
We were been greeted with the Full HD 1920x1080 version of the Oculus Rift, which is different to the HD 1280x720 version of Rift which is found in the form of the Kickstarter backed Developer Kits. These devices are much higher resolution, but as we were told, are more like 'alpha' units.

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Now, this is where the teenager, Twilight fanboy-like person comes out in me - because when I heard this news I was very excited. Nate walks in and we find out we're going to be using Oculus Rift twice, once with a cinema trailer (Man of Steel) and the second, Unreal Engine 4. So first, I get strapped in with the Man of Steel trailer (above) and it is unbelievable. One person from South Korea created it using the Oculus SDK, which sees you sitting in a virtual theater, watching the Man of Steel trailer.
As the light is beaming off the screen in front of you, it is reflected off of the chairs at your feet. The light reflects off of the emergency exit door, which you can see in the bottom right corner when Oculus Rift is on your head. If you turn around, you'll see the projector light beaming the image onto the screen. It was a truly life-changing experience for me, as it is the one technology that I have taken off and just sat there in wonder thinking 'wow'. You can read as much as you want about it - like I have - but nothing, absolutely nothing prepares you when it is put on your head.
Next, we're shifted to another Rift HD headset where Unreal Engine 4 is being used. This demo was simply unbelievable. The lava flowing past you, the mountain, the snowflakes falling all felt real. It felt like I could put my hand out and catch the falling snowflakes - truly unbelievable. This is all from something that is months away from being a consumer unit.
One of the things I walked away from Oculus' booth at PAX AU thinking was that these guys are just like you and me - passionate. They aren't this huge company that have super amounts of power and unlimited money and are just doing it to make more money - they're doing it because they're all passionate. The amount of passion Joseph had blew me away, and it was great to have an in-depth discussion (as much as I could in a 30-minute time slot) with someone as passionate about tech as me.
I did ask one thing - about Oculus and Valve. I asked if we could see Rift on the Steam Box, with Half-Life 3... Joseph said he couldn't say anything about that, but said he had a big smile on his face about it and we laughed. Could I be right? I've talked about Oculus and the future of gaming... maybe that's where we're headed. You heard it here first, folks!

The Lone Ranger (2013) Cinema Review

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I can't quite accurately define when it happened - maybe it was the point when the Pirates of the Caribbean sequel Dead Man's Chest was released, or when he voiced the titular lizard in Rango, or perhaps even earlier, but somewhere along the line Johnny Depp ceased being a serious actor who imbued each and every role with a chameleon-like portrayal and instead became a caricature of himself, with a "property of Disney" logo stamped on his ass.
I guess that's what happens when the company hauls a dump truck of $50m on the door step to reprise the role of staggering pirate Jack Sparrow. You see, Johnny Depp is an immensely talented actor; he's done some amazing work in his career, but by constantly returning to his Jack Sparrow shtick, he's runs the danger of losing audience interest. With the box office figures pointing to disaster for The Lone Ranger, perhaps that time has now come.

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As the Transcontinental Railroad is being progressively constructed throughout the West, outlaw Butch Cavendish is being transported to face justice for his various crimes by order of Texas Ranger Dan Reid (James Badge Dale), whilst Tonto (Johnny Depp), a renegade Comanche, joins along for the journey. Dan's lawyer brother John (Armie Hammer) a fellow passenger is also returning to Texas after time abroad, but the train is soon hijacked by members of Canvendish's gang and derailed in spectacular fashion. Whilst Cavendish is recaptured and John is deputised for his heroism, the hunt for the Cavendish gang is complicated when the rangers are massacred and Tonto reveals that a powerful mole is operating the upper echelons of power in Texas.

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First making an appearance in a 1933 radio show, the Lone Ranger has gone on to become something of an America tradition, spawning comic books, TV shows and films. After laying dormant for some time, Disney obviously thought it was high time that the character be rejuvenated, but in many ways Disney have struck the same problems that struck their 2012 box office bomb John Carter; that is a complete disconnect between the target audience and the awareness of the intended demographic.
Of course, a great film could have been achieved despite that handicap, but whilst frequently entertaining, The Lone Ranger is far from a great film. For one, the script is painfully boring - there are literally no surprises throughout the films 150 lumbering minutes. And there is so much padding - whole subplots and characters, including the extended cameo of Helena Bonham Carter as a Wild West hooker are utterly redundant to the core narrative and superfluous.

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I'm also surprised by the somewhat awkward narrative structure which alternates between past and present (well both are in the past to be exact) and found the interruptions really affected the flow of the film, not least were also irrelevant.
Still, I don't want to give the impression that The Lone Ranger is a total train wreck - there is a lot of fun to be had and it thankfully doesn't take itself too seriously, but some more judicious editing process might reveal a better film hiding inside, even if it's a structure is built on an admittedly rocky platform.

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Monsters University (2013) Cinema Review

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Call me cynical, but the Pixar of old prided itself on its breadth of original franchises, churning out hit after hit of refreshingly original adventures, titles such as A Bugs Life, Ratatouille and Wall-E which zeroed in to audiences with stunning accuracy, and suddenly made traditional animation seem very old and stuffy indeed. Unfortunately, something has changed within the company because over the last few years they've gravitated towards rehashing old ground by returning to the well and thrashing out sequels to established films. Of course, there's nothing inherently wrong with that and hey it makes good business sense, but most critics would agree that Pixar performs best when it's striking new ground.

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When the pre-pubescent green monster Mike (Billy Crystal) meets the lumbering blue tuft of Sully (John Goodman) as dorm-room co-habitants on the Monsters University campus, a friendly relationship turns ultra-competitive following their selection to rival frat houses. But when Mike struggles to satisfy the demands of Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren), a deal is brokered that may find him permanently evicted from the university unless his house can bag the top honors at the annual Scare Games, a task ill assisted by the houses ragtag assortment of losers.

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Of the entire stable of Pixar films, Monsters Inc demanded a sequel the least, with its predecessor existing as a perfect formed entity unto itself featuring a wholly emotionally satisfying and touching finale. As such, I've no doubt that Pixar stepped carefully whilst developing this film, jettisoning any attempt to bolt on another story following the conclusion of its predecessor.
In many ways, Monsters University mirrors my thoughts on Pixar's Cars sequel from 2011. Sure, it furthers the wholly original world and it's admittedly fun to return to it, but as many sequels go, its attempt to justify its own existence fails. For Pixar, whose films are somewhat revered by the worlds critics, going back to the well runs the risk of cheapening the experience of the first - and that's the battle that Pixar fights by pumping out sequel after sequel.

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I'm not trying to portray that Monsters University doesn't have anything valid to say, because it's definitely entertaining and moreover, a whole heap of fun. But I'd also like to see a bit more originality return to Pixar, and with their recently announced sequel to 2003's Finding Nemo - the imaginatively titled Finding Dory, it seems that the message is getting lost.

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MSI GeForce GTX 770 Lightning 2GB Overclocked Video Card Review

Introduction

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MSI's Lightning series is simply put one of my most favorite series when it comes to the video card market. MSI have always done a fantastic job with it and I always remember testing cards based under the Lightning series. Of course one of the best things about the Lightning series is that they're based on the highest end GPU options available.
Today the GTX 700 series which has been graced with the new Twin Frozr Gaming Series name finally sees its first Lightning based model. While we'd normally expect it to be the GTX 780, it's the model just below that, the GTX 770. The good news is, though, just the other day, we got a teaser video for a Lightning based GTX 780, which will hit us towards the end of this month or early next.
Let's get into the new MSI GTX 770 Lightning 2GB to see just what MSI are offering with the latest model we're testing. So, let's buckle down and start with the package before moving on from there.

Package

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Being a Lightning based card, we're dealing with quite a large box. As usual, though, the front of the box doesn't give us a ton of information. You can see the model and some of the main specifications in regards to the GTX 770. Once we open up the box, though, we are greeted with a ton of information covering some of the core features.
On the right hand side you can see the main Military Class III features are outlined including Copper MOSFETs, Highly Conductive Capacitors, Golden Solid State Choke and Dark Solid Capacitors, which all help make for a higher quality card that should overclock stronger than others.
Other features include the Unlocked Digital Power, which give us the ability to over volt the Core, Aux and Memory. We've also got the GPU Reactor which is designed to provide a higher current of capacity, hence offering better power support and overclocking stability. The other big feature is the 3x3 OC Kit which is the V-Check Points, Triple Overvoltage we just spoke about and Triple Temp Monitor.

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Looking across the bottom we get our first look at the card. We also have some of the major features that cover the Twin Frozr IV cooler including Dual 10cm Fans, High Density Fins, Nickel-Plated Copper base, Propeller Blade Technology and Super-Pipe Technology. All which make up the Twin Frozr IV, a cooler that has impressed us many times already with this generation. Turning over the box, you can see we get some of the main features in regards to the actual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770.

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Being a Lightning card, the bundle is larger than other video cards. You can see the Military Class III certificate, manual and driver CD. You can see we've also got a DVI to VGA connector, two 6-pin to 8-pin PCIe power connectors, an extra-long SLI cable, which is handy for these large coolers and finally three V-Check cables.
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Crucial M500 480GB SSD Review

Introduction

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Just days ago we published reviews for the Crucial M500 120GB and 240GB. Prior to that, we published the M500 960GB, Crucial's flagship offering. So far it's been a Dr. Jackal and Mr. Hide situation. The 960GB M500 is really good no matter what angle you look at it from.
On the other side of the capacity range, the 120GB and to a lesser extent, the 240GB have issues with sustained write speed and write latency. Both the 120GB and the 240GB use one die per package NAND - 8 packages for the 120GB and 16 packages for the 240GB. Both of the smaller capacity sizes also share the same 128MB DRAM buffer as well.
Crucial claims the M500 480GB shares the same 500MB/s sequential read and 400MB/s sequential write performance with the 960GB. The claimed IOPS performance is the same as well - 80,000 4K IOPS for both read and write. The 480GB model uses three-die per package and increases the DRAM buffer size to 512MB. This isn't the 1GB buffer found on the 960GB model or the 4-dies per package, but it could be good enough to get to competitive performance in the 512GB class category.
Today we're going to finish our coverage of the Crucial M500, at least until Crucial releases new firmware. We have a number of high capacity SSDs to compare the 480GB to and a number of benchmarks see where everything lands.
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