IT-Code-News: IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 9/20/2013

Thursday, September 19, 2013

IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 9/20/2013

TweakTown

Motorola release Moto X Developer Edition for $649
We've been waiting, but the day has finally arrived: Motorola has unleashed its Moto X Developer Edition smartphone. The Moto X Developer Edition has been unveiled by US telco Verizon, and arrives in a special black and woven white Developer Edition design.

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So when you flip the Moto X Developer Edition onto its back, right at the bottom you'll notice a 'Verizon' logo and beneath that the glorious 'Developer Edition' words. You can nab the Moto X Developer Edition 32GB model for $649 unlocked, which isn't too bad at all. Considering the Nexus 4 was just $199 before it disappeared from the Google Play Store to never return again, the Moto X Developer Edition might not be too popular at $649.

Refreshed Nexus 7 sees OTA update, no details apart from build number
The refreshed 2013 Nexus 7 model has just received an over-the-air (OTA) update that weighs in at just 8MB. It seems like there's no changelog, but the build number changes from JSS15Q to JSS15R.

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My Nexus 7 hasn't received the update just yet, but if you have received the update on your Nexus 7 slate and notice any differences, do let us know in the comments below!

PS4 to launch in surrounding Asian countries before Japan
Sony will be launching its PlayStation 4 console in South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan in December. Why is this news? Because Sony is a Japanese company and won't be launching its latest and greatest product in its home country until February 22, 2014.

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The news comes from Tokyo Game Show which is happening right now. There are no specific prices or launch dates for the launches in the Asian countries, but the PS4 reaches the United States on November 15, and drops in Europe two weeks later on November 29.

Star Citizen continues to pull in millions, new stretch goal revealed
Star Citizen feels like that 'little game that could' continuing to rake in more and more money as time goes on. Roberts Space Industries' space title has added a new stretch goal if it reaches $21 million.

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If Star Citizen reaches $21 million, something I think it will easily do, the developer will add a new mechanic, a salvage mechanic. Roberts Space Industries says that this new mechanic is pretty much a career for a gamer to take on. A salvage career will feature its own story elements and "universe-shaping endgames."
Salvage mechanics will float through the galaxy using the flight and first-person shooter features in search of the darkest and most valuable secrets in the great, dark beyond.

Offline video playback coming soon to YouTube's mobile app
Earlier this week, YouTube announced that it plans to introduce a new feature in November that will add offline viewing to any videos that users add to their watch later list on their mobile device. Once downloaded to your device, the videos will be viewable for 48 hours, after which they will have to be re-downloaded.

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YouTube did not specifically state how the service will work or if the feature would be exclusive to Android, or if it will be featured on the iOS version of the app as well. Either way, I feel that this is an excellent idea and I cannot wait to start downloading movies to watch while on long trips with spotty Internet service.

GIGABYTE unveils the lightest gaming laptop in the world
Today, GIGABYTE launched what it is calling the lightest gaming laptop in the world. The new 14-inch P34G Ultrablade is extremely thin at just 21mm thick and weighs an unbelievably light 1.6kg. GIGABYTE has designed the new notebook around an ultra-smooth sandblasted aluminum matte finish that lends an air of elegance and sophistication.

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The new P34G Ultrablade features a quad-core Intel Core i7 processor and a powerful NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760M graphics card. Everything is remarkably cool and stable thanks to GIGABYTE's unique Supra-Cool cooling system that is comprised of a combination of dual heat pipes and dual fans that are efficient at removing heat from both the CPU and GPU.
GIGABYTE says that the P34G supports up to a 256GB mSATA SSD in addition to a large 1TB HDD for unprecedented fast storage without sacrificing capacity. A full 1080p display panel is featured, which provides excellent viewing even at angles of 170 degrees. Finally, the P34G Ultrablade features an automatic light sensing backlit keyboard that illuminates the keys when powered on in a dimly lit room.

Microsoft is focused on adding original video content to Xbox One
In a recent interview, Microsoft vice president Phil Spencer revealed that the company is incubating "literally hundreds of ideas" for original content shows that would be featured on the Xbox One. This builds on an announcement from the company earlier this year in which they said they would be offering interactive video content for the upcoming console.

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Of course, the live-action Halo television series will be the first of these original content TV shows brought to the Xbox One. During the interview, Spencer said that we can expect a new announcement regarding the original TV shows sometime in the near future. Microsoft hired former CBS executive Nancy Tellem to head up the new TV shows, so at least Microsoft is trying to do things the right way.

HTC One MAX gets compared to Galaxy Note II & III in leaked photo
HTC's upcoming phablet, the One Max, has leaked yet again in a new photo first spotted on Chinese social networking site Weibo. The photo shows the One Max sitting beside Samsung's Galaxy Note II and Galaxy Note III smartphones.

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The photo is interesting as it shows the HTC One Max actually being slightly larger than both devices as well as a little thicker. Unsurprisingly, the HTC One Max beats the competition by having the sleekest and most elegant looking case of the three devices. Measuring in with a screen size of 5.9 inches, the HTC One Max is a beast of a smartphone and actually justifies the "phablet" moniker it has received.

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The HTC One Max features a quad-core processor clocked in at 1.7GHz and its graphics are powered by an Adreno 320 GPU. 2GB of RAM is present and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean will be the OS of choice. Not much else is known about the device, but we are hearing rumors that it will ship with its own "S-pen" style stylus.

Innodisk launches Power Secure, a new power failure protection system
Earlier today, Innodisk announced a new patented technology that is aimed at protecting SSD data integrity in the event of sudden power outages. Dubbed Power Secure, the new technology is hardware and firmware-based and uses a low-power detector on the SSD to trigger a safe power-down recovery algorithm to help prevent data loss and ensure data integrity.

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The new controller will complete the current operation by using residual power that is stored in capacitors on the SSD. The power monitor will continue monitoring external power conditions and will prevent further access to flash memory while the voltage levels are abnormally. When power is restored, the firmware will scan the SSD for errors and restore the drive to a readable state. Data that otherwise would of been lost in an SSD not equipped with Innodisk's Power Secure technology is then recovered.

GTA V cashes in on $800 million in 24 hours, breaks world record
Just 24 hours after its launch, Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V has officially became the fastest selling game in history. Today, Take-Two Interactive, the owners of Rockstar Games, announced that the game had earned more than $800 million in its first day of sales, making it the fastest selling game in the franchise's history, not to mention the world.

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GTA V is set to break the $1 billion mark within the first 48 hours if sales continue at current levels. Reaching $1 billion is something that took 15 days for the previous record holder, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, which only managed $500 million in its first 24 hours of sale. To put this accomplishment into perspective, the most expensive movie ever made, James Cameron's Avatar, took 16 days to earn $1 billion. Considering that GTA V is the most expensive game ever made, it's only right that it also becomes the fastest selling game of all time.

RumorTT: BlackBerry messenger for Android could arrive Friday
We have been hearing reports for months now that BlackBerry Messenger will be arriving on Android and iOS before the end of the summer, and we're not far away from those reports coming true. Today, a new report from the blog TeknoUp claims that BlackBerry will release BlackBerry Messenger on Android this coming Friday, September 20.

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The leak appears to be credible as the blog has posted an entire schedule for the BBM rollout to both Android and iOS. BBM for Android is set to launch this Friday at 7 AM EST, the same time that the accompanying website, BBM.com, goes live. Then on the following Saturday, September 21, BBM for iOS 6 and iOS 7 will roll out again at 7AM EST. The leak also says that the app will be free and feature most of BBM's features we saw showcased earlier this year during the BlackBerry 10 launch event.

The end is near as BlackBerry prepares to lay off 40% of workforce
A new report out today from the Wall Street Journal suggests that BlackBerry is in the midst of planning a massive layoff that could see up to 40 percent of its workforce lose their jobs. This new report comes just hours after the company launched its new five-inch smartphone, the Z30.

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The layoffs would reportedly come before the year's end and would most likely be finalized during the middle of the holiday season. The Wall Street Journal says that thousands of employees will likely lose their jobs in the cut, and that the layoffs will span across the entire company. BlackBerry seemingly confirmed the rumor when it told the Wall Street Journal, "Organizational moves will continue to occur to ensure we have the right people in the right roles to drive new opportunities in mobile computing."

Brainwavz unveils HM9, a new pair of headphones
Brainwavz announced the launch of the latest edition to its headphones lineup. The HM9 marks the third installment to the company's HM series of headphones and has been designed to reproduce high fidelity audio with a sound signature sure to gain the approval of any audiophile. The new HM9 headphones feature large 40mm drivers that have been tuned to provide crisp, clean mids while still providing a powerful bass.

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Brainwavz says that the HM9 features large ear pads that have been constructed with sweat-resistant memory foam, while a large metal frame and dual hinges allow the headphones to be easily folded into compact form for transport. The HM9 comes with a set of three cables, one of which features an in-line microphone on a 1.3-meter cable that is compatible with Apple iPhones and some Android smartphones.
1.3-meter and 3-meter standard cables are also included for easy compatibility with Windows PCs, Macs, and any other device that features a 3.5mm audio jack. The Brainwavz HM9 is available for purchase now at Amazon and retails for $149.50.

G.Skill breaks world record for fastest quad channel DDR3: 4072MHz
G.Skill has broken yet another world record in the world of high-performance memory. In just a week after the official release of Intel's Ivy Bridge-E processors, G.Skill has managed to push the limits of its quad-channel DDR3 memory to extreme limits never before seen.

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G.Skill has managed to overclock a 16GB kit (4x4GB) of its TridentX line of DDR3 to an astronomical clock speed of 4072MHz. The company says this is the first instance of a quad-channel DDR3 memory kit breaking the 4GHz barrier. The amazing feat was accomplished with the aid of an Intel Core i7-4960 CPU and an ASUS Rampage IV Black Edition motherboard. The overclock was achieved with a healthy dose of extreme cooling provided by liquid nitrogen.

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Say hello to NVIDIA's long anticipated 7" Tegra Note Android tablet
Today, NVIDIA released its highly anticipated Tegra Note, a seven-inch tablet that was built from the ground up by the graphics chip giant. Priced at $199 and running Android, the Tegra Note will unfortunately not be sold by NVIDIA but will rather serve as a reference design for the company's partners to produce their own.

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The new Tegra Note features NVIDIA's Tegra 4 SoC alongside a seven-inch 1280x800 display and 16GB of onboard storage. A 5-megapixel rear camera handles imaging duties while a front facing VGA camera helps out with videoconferencing and self portraits. The tablet also features front-facing stereo speakers, which look quite similar to the design used on HTC's One smartphone. USB, micro HDMI, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi handle the connectivity duties while a high mAh battery provides up to 10 hours of HD video playback. NVIDIA says the tablet will run the "latest version of Android" and it will push out updates over the air.
NVIDIA says that there will be several accessories for the Tegra Note, including a magnetized "intelligent slide cover," as well as a stylus with interchangeable tips such as "chisel" and "brush." With a price tag of $199, the new Tegra Note is a direct competitor to Google's 2014 Nexus 7, which many consider to be the best small tablet ever made. I can not wait to see what companies like EVGA, Zotac, and PNY do with this reference design!

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To whet your appetite, here's a rundown on some of the Tegra Note's unique features:

Ultra-fast performance - Powered by Tegra 4 with a 72-core GeForce GPU and quad-core Cortex-A15 CPU with a fifth battery-saver core, making Tegra Note the world's fastest 7-inch tablet.
Superb stylus - NVIDIA DirectStylus technology transforms a normal stylus into an incredibly responsive experience with finer point and broader stroke control. It also comes bundled with apps for convenient, stroke-based note taking.
Exceptional sound - NVIDIA PureAudio technology offers rich, deep audio - including the widest frequency range in a tablet - through front-facing stereo speakers with a bass-reflex port.
Groundbreaking camera - The camera uses Tegra 4's processing power and Chimera computational photography architecture to deliver stunning new features. Tegra Note also brings SmugMug's Camera Awesome app - one of the top camera apps on iOS - to Android. Camera Awesome delivers exclusive Tegra 4 features like tap-to-track and 100 fps video with slow-motion playback.
TegraZone gaming - Delivering unmatched gaming, NVIDIA TegraZone provides easy access to Tegra-optimized games with visual effects that aren't available on other tablets. Tegra Note also supports a variety of game controllers for console-class gaming.
Great battery life - 10-plus hours of HD video playback.
Accessories galore - An intelligent slide cover flips and bends to support and cover the tablet. It also lets the tablet be set up in three distinct positions using built-in magnets for added flexibility. The DirectStylus Pro Pack enables a variety of writing styles with interchangeable tips. And Bluetooth capabilities turn the tablet into a game controller.

AMD sends out official invitations for Hawaii launch event in Hawaii
It's no secret that AMD will launch its new 28nm Hawaii architecture based GPUs next week on the 25. The event will be held in Hawaii with AMD flying out tech media partners from all over the globe. Today, the company began sending out its official press invitations, which you can see below.

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Not much else is known about the event other than AMD is expected to push Battlefield 4 pretty heavily as it is expected to be the bundled game with the company's flagship Hawaii based GPU. We have heard rumors that an actual Aircraft carrier will be part of the event and that there could be another big announcement as well.
Our own Shawn Baker will be on hand for the event and will be feeding us tons of content, photos, and videos from AMD's Hawaii launch event, so tune in to TweakTown for the most comprehensive coverage of the event on the net. I want to know what you think about the rumored upcoming GPUs? Can AMD release a single card solution that can compete with NVIDIA's Titan? Let me know in the comments.

4G-capable Nexus 7 is now available in more countries as of today
If you were waiting for the LTE-enabled Nexus 7 tablet from Google, now might be your time depending on where you live. The Nexus 7 LTE is now available in more countries as of today.

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Those of you in Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain, France, UK, Japan, Italy and Korea can now get your hands on the 4G-capable Nexus 7 slate. Pricing obviously varies from country to country, but the 32GB one is going for 299 pounds in the UK, with a 1-2 day shipping time stamped on it.

AMD: PC gaming will benefit from next-gen consoles
AMD is the company that has hardware in both next-gen consoles, with x86-based APUs in the Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One. We know to expect benefits as PC gamers from next-gen consoles thanks to the x86 architecture, which means better, and much more polished 'ports', if you can even call them that with this generation of consoles.

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AMD's Matt Skynner has had some interesting things to say during an interview with Forbes, where he said that not only is PC gaming alive and well, but that it's actually growing. Skynner said that the architectures in the next-gen consoles are similar to that of the PC, which makes it much cheaper and most of all, easier for developers to create games for both the consoles, and PC.
Skynner actually said that next-gen games will actually run better on AMD hardware because the games have been built from the ground up on AMD-powered consoles. This is going to be quite interesting considering NVIDIA is still by far in the game, so it'll be interesting to see what kind of benefit AMD will have with these next-gen titles. You can be sure we'll be covering this when the next-gen consoles, and games launch in November.

BlackBerry's Z30 is the company's biggest smartphone yet at 5 inches
Some would call it weird timing, others would ask "when is a good time for BlackBerry these days?" but the Canadian phone maker has just unleashed its latest smartphone into the wild, the BlackBerry Z30.

The BlackBerry Z30 is a 5-inch smartphone featuring a Super AMOLED display and a new 1.7GHz processor with 'quad-core' graphics. BlackBerry has crammed the biggest battery ever found in a BlackBerry device into the Z30, with a 2,880mAh unit that should be good for around 25 hours of use. The phone maker is also launching the Z30 with BlackBerry 10.2, its latest version of its mobile OS.

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BlackBerry 10.1 includes a bunch of enhancements, with a complete reworking of the BlackBerry Hub. Continuing on with the hardware itself, we have stereo speakers on the Z30, and something that it calls BlackBerry Natural Sound. This technology is meant to improve voice and video calls made over BBM. Inside the Z30 is a new antenna that should hopefully guarantee better signal strength and less dropped calls.
We should expect the Z30 to reach the UK and Middle East next week, with other regions receiving it before the holidays.

DICE playing with Kinect-based head tracking in Battlefield 4
If Battlefield 4 wasn't already looking exciting enough, then the ever-so-slight promise of head tracking being worked on by DICE should make you quiver with excitement.

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The news is coming from an interview with Xbox Wire and Battlefield 4's executive producer Patrick Bach, who said that there are multiple applications for Kinect on the Xbox One being worked on. He said: "With Kinect, we're looking into features that enhance the controls including peeking and leaning and tracking head movement, as well as incorporating voice commands."
DICE has already said that we should expect some form of Kinect use in Battlefield 4, but it wasn't to be motion controls. It will most likely arrive as voice commands, or something to that effect. This news is some what of a tease for Oculus Rift, with DICE working on head tracking, should we expect virtual reality support? DICE would see mountains of happy fans if they were to do that, it would also sell Rift headsets like hotcakes.

ASRock unveils its Fatal1ty Z87 Killer motherboard
ASRock make some truly killer motherboards, so it's about time that they used the word 'killer' in one of its motherboards. Introducing the new ASRock Fatal1ty Z87 Killer motherboard, the company's newest motherboard in its Z87 range of motherboards.

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The new Fatal1ty Z87 Killer motherboard features a Killer E2200 Intelligent Networking Platform, which should be something online gamers will be interested in, as it reduces the latency in online gaming. ASRock ran some in-house testing, where it saw a reduction in latency in League of Legends, Diablo 3 and DoTA2 by 136%, 60% and 47%, respectively.

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ASRock's Fatal1ty Z87 Killer motherboard also features some of the usual high-end features we have come to expect from the motherboard maker, which come in the form of Hi-Density Power Connectors that "reduces 23% power loss and decreases the power connector's temperature." ASRock has also baked in Purity Sound, which is an on-board audio solution and HDMI-in for those who want to use their PC as a video-in device, plugging in their console for example.

Uncharted voice actor has nothing but great things to say about PS4
The man responsible for giving us the voice behind Uncharted's Nathan Drake, Nolan North, spoke with Gamerhub at the GameStop Expo in LA about the upcoming PlayStation 4 from Sony.He seemed to be in love with the tech inside of the next-gen console, stating that he has seem some work and just couldn't believe it was real. He said:

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I've seen of the prototypes of the PS4 and I know that a lot of the developers I'm working with that use the PS4... it's an amazing machine. I think it's going to step up the game for any game. Whether it's Uncharted, God of War, Call of Duty, all these games are going to benefit from just the technology that they're putting out.
When we think we've reached the pinnacle of what a game can look like, some genius somewhere makes it a little bit better and opens up the avenue for an opportunity to make the game more cinematic, more of an experience. I think the PS4 is going to be pretty amazing - it's going to push those boundaries even further.

North then teased gamers by saying: "I've seen some stuff... gameplay... that they're testing for... I don't remember what game it was but they were doing some testing on the PS4 and I couldn't believe it was gameplay. I mean, it's extraordinary technology."

Vision Sensor gives the Oculus Rift new eyes to see with
I think that 2014 is going to be the breakout year for virtual reality, with kick-ass products like the Oculus Rift which isn't even close to a consumer launch yet. But, now we have Vision Sensor hitting IndieGogo, which the team give a description of "creates new seeing capabilities for the Oculus Rift."

Vision Sensor is basically augmented reality for the Oculus Rift, which sees two sensors and a sensor attachment cover strapped to the front of an Oculus Rift Developer Kit. It features a resolution of 1280x480 at 60FPS, and weighs just 75g so that it doesn't feel too heavy with the Rift, and Vision Sensor on your head.

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The team at Vision Sensor say that there are 3 new possibilities to add to the user experience, with the first being an Immersive AR Experience. The second is Intuitive Operation (Mixed Reality) and the final possibility is Regaining Lost Vision. The first, lets you be in the world of Oculus Rift, but still stay in the real-world through augmented reality.
Intuitive Operation allows your fingers and hands to become an interface, replacing the traditional mouse and keyboard (or controller/Razer Hydra). The final part is regaining your loss of vision when the Rift is on your head and in front of your eyes.

You can now remotely change your Google password on an Android device
Google has finally provided the ability for Android users to remotely change their passwords on any Android device. The Android Device Manager is what you'll require, which allows you to track and locate any Android device associated with your Google account.

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This is all done without the need of a third-party application, which is nice, but until now Google has held back the ability to remotely lock or change your password. The Mountain View-based giant is slowly rolling this new feature through its Google Play Services, but if you'd like to check now, you just have to go into the Device Administrators panel under the Security section in your settings.

Ryse, an Xbox One exclusive, will only run at 900p, not 1080p
This is something I expected, but Microsoft has announced that it's Xbox One exclusive title Ryse, will not be running at the native 1920x1080 resolution on the Xbox One, but 900p instead.

Crytek is the developer behind the Xbox One exclusive, with Aaron Greenberg, who is the chief of staff for the Devices and Studios group, confirming that Ryse will run at just 900p. Greenberg did post an update to Twitter, saying "Forza 5 is native @1080p, Ryse is native @900p, but Xbox One upscales all titles to 1080p & they look amazing."

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Is this more damage control? I think so. Resolution definitely isn't everything, but after 8 years on the market, you would think that the 'next-gen' consoles would be able to handle a resolution of 1080p. Especially so, when PCs have been doing it without a problem for a decade or more now. Even with the beefed-up GPU and CPU specs in the weeks leading up to the Xbox One's mass production.

Thecus N2560 2-bay Consumer NAS Appliance Review

Introduction

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Over the past few months or even year, most NAS reviews you have read have some sort of reference to the boom in the NAS market. While this is true, one of the largest contributors to the NAS "boom" is the NAS companies themselves. Shifting away from the overly complicated NAS firmware of old days, opting for a more consumer-friendly interface, NAS manufacturers opened up another market for themselves.
Furthering this aggressive move, Thecus has now designed an entire line-up of NAS appliances specifically for the average consumer. The N2560 is an upgrade of the previously launched N2520. Featuring the latest Intel Atom CE5335 SoC and 2GB of DRAM, these appliances are targeted at modest home users that want to have their storage and media experience within one device.
Within this review, we will also detail our first experience with Thecus OS 6, the new NAS OS that enables a desktop feel similar to other NAS manufacturers.

Hardware Specifications and Pricing

Modern NAS servers have moved beyond data storage through a wire network. In order to get the most out of a NAS, you need to look at the extra I/O hardware and the mountain of potential software features.

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The foundation of which the N2560 is built upon lies in the Intel Atom CE5335 1.6GHz dual-core SoC. Paired next to this you will find 2GB of DDR3 DRAM. The back of the unit houses a single Gbit LAN connection with Wake-On LAN support. Additionally, you will find dual USB 2.0 ports, SPDIF and a single HDMI port for media functionality.
Pricing of the 2-bay Thecus N2560 at this time is set at $339.99 with a larger 4-bay (N4560) available for $519.99. Retail availability of these units is expected sometime in October 2013.
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LUXA2 Groovy Wireless Stereo Speaker Review

Most of you probably haven't heard of the brand or company LUXA2, but you would've heard about its parent company: Thermaltake. LUXA2 describes itself as a 'premier designer and manufacturer of unique and functional mobile accessories', and that is what it's trying to deliver with the Groovy Wireless Stereo Speaker that we're looking here.

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LUXA2 makes countless mobile accessories, ranging from smartphone cases to portable batteries, to this portable, Bluetooth wireless speaker sets. LUXA2 probably isn't the first company you'd think of when looking at the portable speaker market, but if the Groovy Wireless Stereo Speaker is anything to go by, you might want to start paying attention. LUXA2 has a stylish, light, 'groovy' and very capable wireless stereo speaker on its hands, so let's jump right into the review.
LUXA2 has provided its Groovy Wireless Stereo Speaker with some decent specifications, where we have Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity and an 1800mAh rechargeable lithium polymer battery. The Groovy Wireless Stereo Speaker features a beautiful brushed aluminum body, and includes a leather carry handle, which is interchangeable with a spare handle that comes in the package.

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Connectivity is extended from Bluetooth to include wired connectivity in case your device doesn't feature Bluetooth, so LUXA2 has provided an auxiliary input. LUXA2 has made the midrange and woofer from polyethylene fiber glass, which gives it some punch in the audio department, considering it's both portable and light.
One of the extra features that LUXA2 has given the Groovy speaker is the ability for it to act as a speakerphone. This just involves your smartphone being connected to the Groovy speaker through Bluetooth, and then once you're in a call, the audio will blast out of the Groovy speakers, and pick up your voice through its built-in microphone.
LUXA2 has slapped an MSRP of $89 on the Groovy Wireless Stereo Speaker, which is not too bad at all in my opinion. It's the perfect accessory for when you're on the road, or going to a friend's house and don't want to blast a proper stereo and just want to fill the room with audio. As for availability, we got a very early sample, so you should find this hitting retailers in the coming weeks across the world.

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Taking the LUXA2 Groovy speaker out of the box, I don't know why, but I expected a power cord. I knew it was a portable speaker, but that habit of expecting an audio device to have a power cable was still itching inside of me.

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Once it's out of the box, you realize that all that's included is the Groovy Wireless Stereo Speaker itself, and a leather pouch to keep it safe. My sample arrived the day I was leaving for a weekend away with my family, so it was the perfect time to test it out.

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Going around the Groovy Wireless Stereo Speaker, we have the front of the device with a beautiful mesh front and LUXA2 branding. Up the top we have that unmistakable replaceable leather handle, as well as a bunch of buttons. From left to right we have the auxiliary port, power button, volume down button, call pause/start button, volume up, the microUSB port for charging, and lastly, the microphone.

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The leather handle doesn't look like much, but I found it quite comfortable and useful to carry around while I used it. I'm a big listener of movie soundtracks, as it's calming to listen to while I'm writing away at news, reviews and articles. I listened to quite a few of my favourite albums on the Groovy speaker, loving the quality. Shifting gears into bass heavy music, the LUXA2 Groovy speaker still impressed.

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It's really simple to setup, and I really enjoyed the audio quality being blasted from the LUXA2 Groovy Wireless Stereo Speaker. I didn't think it would pack that much of a punch, but it really did. Everything from trance, to orchestral sound tracks down to by Kanye West, the Groovy speaker handled it all brilliantly.

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The look - I loved the physical look and styling that LUXA2 has donned over the Groovy Wireless Stereo Speaker. It looks great, and that is something that LUXA2 strive for - they have it here in spades.
Audio performance - for something that is battery-powered, the Groovy speaker is quite impressive. We have around four hours of playback at nearly full volume, with another 30-45 minutes of play time if you're not blasting it so loud that your house is filled with music.
Ease of use - The Groovy speaker is just simple to use, really. This is a big selling point, as virtually anyone who can use a smartphone can setup the LUXA2 Groovy speaker. A few buttons to be pressed, enable Bluetooth, play your music and voila - you're done.
Slight audio issues - The LUXA2 Groovy would sometimes 'crackle' when playing music, even if it's playing at around 30% volume. I found this strange, and couldn't find myself repeating the issue, it was completely at random.
I have thoroughly loved LUXA2's Groovy Wireless Stereo Speaker, when from the beginning I didn't think I would. I think this comes from the preconceived thought that this would be a 'cheaper' product, or couldn't blast so much great-sounding, er, sound from a battery-powered device, but boy was I wrong.
I'm glad I was wrong, because I was so pleasantly surprised by what LUXA2 has done with the Groovy speaker. It's both gratifying and amazing that I can have yet another device that I thought I wouldn't use become part of my weekly kit.
The LUXA2 is a great device that you can take along with you to a small party, or on a trip away. Having around 3.5 hours (average) use, it can become a great device as 3.5 hours of constant music blasting away can get quite tiring.
LUXA2 did a great job on the styling of the device, and the amount of power it packs in the sound department. I absolutely loved the premium look and feel, and think that LUXA2 hit a homerun in that department, too. If you're after a portable speaker and don't want to spend more than $90, LUXA2 has what you're looking for with the Groovy Wireless Stereo Speaker.

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Mugen Power 4500mAh Battery Case for LG Nexus 4 Review

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A few weeks ago my inbox exploded with companies offering me samples on products after they saw a couple of reviews of mine hit TweakTown. One of these e-mails was from Mugen Power, who wanted me to take a look at its Mugen Power 4500mAh Battery Case for the LG Nexus 4.

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I'd heard about Mugen Power before, so I took a detailed look at the product while I waited by my letterbox for the postman. We'll take a look at the specs of the device before we get into the review itself. Mugen Power has given it the SKU of CC-E960, in case you did a Google search and wondered what that was.
You can buy the Mugen Power 4500mAh Battery Case for the LG Nexus 4 directly from their website for $89.50 with free worldwide shipping - which is a great extra that Mugen Power has on offer.

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The original battery in the Nexus 4, which isn't replaceable by the way, is 2100mAh. The capacity inside of the Mugen Power Battery Case is of course 4500mAh, which triples the battery life of your Nexus 4. Considering I get nearly a full day of use out of my Nexus 4, I'm looking forward to testing this further.
The way I write my reviews is a little different to most, I write my introductions like the above few paragraphs, then I'll leave and use the device while this review sits in my Dropbox folder. I then go off and use the device for a couple of weeks to give it some real-world usage. Sure, I could use it in my lab, and just drain it constantly, but that's not how you would use it in the real-world now, is it? I'm going to use my Nexus 4 like normal, and see how it goes. Normally I'm awake at somewhere between 6-8am depending on when my daughter wakes me up, and then my phone is off charge and with me for the day.
Normally, I would make it through till around 8-9pm before I get to 10-15% and require charge. So, we're going to use that as a benchmark. If I can get to the next day at the same 8-9pm timeframe with 10-15% charge, I'll be impressed. But with an additional 4500mAh charge, I should be able to get two more entire days out of the device.

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Man, is this thing huge. It really adds some weight to the Nexus 4, and makes it close to three times as thick as the Nexus 4 without a case.

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It is made of some good materials, and doesn't look cheap - something I expected. Even just holding it for a couple of minutes, I don't think I could use this in the long-term. It's far too heavy for regular use, but we'll take another look at below.
I plugged it into the daisy chain of Patriot FUEL+ Portable Battery chargers that I have and let it charge until it was full. Once it was full, I took it off charge and began my daily routine with it. Since it's going to last me around three days, I'm going to use it for two weeks to get a real feel for it. After a two-week real-world take on the Mugen Power 4500mAh Battery Case for the Nexus 4, the first thing I have to say: it is heavy. Really heavy. Compared to the lightness of the Nexus 4 when it's naked, strapping on a huge case with a 4500mAh battery was never going to be an easy task.

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The device strapped to my N4 sat in my pocket alright, but when using it for extended periods of time (say, typing up an e-mail or using Facebook), it became really tiresome. It's not like it's a deal breaker, but it's definitely something you should consider when making a purchase.
I liked the idea of maybe keeping this in a bag with you, and then when your Nexus 4 is running low, you could plug it in and let it charge while you use it. This type of use would work quite well for students or travelers. The charge process was painless, just plug the cable in and go - that's it. Nice and simple, which is exactly how I like it.
I did get two full charges out of the Mugen Power battery, where I took my Nexus 4 off of the wall charger at 9am on a Monday morning, ran it down to 15% that night, connected the Mugen Power battery and charged it back up to 100% by the following morning.

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I then disconnected it, went on a full day of use, ran it down to 10% that night and repeated the charging process. I charged it back up to 100% and got through the entire of Wednesday till around 10:30pm with a mix of casual and strong use (videos, music) until it reached 5%. This is some great work from Mugen Power, as it provides your Nexus 4 with a three-day lifespan, which is just great. But, it does come at the cost of weight, unfortunately.
The weight of the Mugen Power 4500mAh Battery Case for the LG Nexus 4 is the worst thing about it, but other than that it was smooth sailing. The heaviness of the case was daunting at first, but you do get used to it. Extended periods of time with the case on would just annoy me, but everyone is different.

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For $89 with free international shipping, you truly can't go wrong with Mugen Power's device. It extends the battery life of your Nexus 4 by days on end, which is something you can't complain about. It's great for those who forgot to charge their Nexus 4 the night before, or had unexpected plans after work and couldn't charge their phone - never fear, you have another two-plus days of charge ready to go.

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Three days of charge from a single device is great these days, even with the higher-end $800+ phones not providing a full day of charge. Mugen Power providing free international shipping, and a decent $89 price will go a long way. Most of the reviews on its website are overwhelmingly positive, and rightly so - Mugen Power has a great device in its, well, your hands.
I wasn't going to give the Mugen Power 4500mAh Battery Case for the LG Nexus 4 an Editor's Choice Award, but when filling it out - I began entering in high scores for the Performance, Quality, General Features, and so on, coming to the conclusion that this really does deserve a high award. Mugen Power, you've won me over.

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Microsoft Announces Quarterly Dividend Increase, Share Repurchase Program
Microsoft Corp. announced on Tuesday that its board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, reflecting a 5 cent or 22 percent increase over the previous quarter's dividend. The dividend is payable Dec. 12, 2013, to shareholders of record on Nov. 21, 2013. The ex-dividend date will be Nov. 19, 2013.

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The board of directors also approved a new share repurchase program authorizing up to $40 billion in share repurchases. The new share repurchase program, which has no expiration date, replaces the previous $40 billion share repurchase program that was set to expire Sept. 30, 2013.
"These actions reflect a continued commitment to returning cash to our shareholders," said Amy Hood, chief financial officer of Microsoft.

CYBERPOWERPC Unveils the FANGbook Evo HX6 Series Gaming Laptops
CyberPowerPC Inc. http://www.cyberpowerpc.com, a global manufacturer of custom gaming PCs, gaming laptops, and performance workstations, today unleashed the ultimate fighting machines - a series stylish gaming laptops packed with a lethal dose of CPU and graphics power including 4th Generation Intel Core i7 Haswell mobile processors and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M graphics.

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The new FANGbook Evo HX6 series, which will be offered in three models, delivers power, performance and comfort in a form factor that gamers crave.
The FANGbook EVO HX6's smaller footprint (15.09 x 9.83 x 1.46 inches) does not compromise performance. The sleek 15.6-inch full HD (1920 x 1080) anti-glare screen is perfect for the mobile gamer and the custom crafted design is sure to turn heads. The EVO HX6 delivers the same amazing performance gamers expect from a FANGbook powered by Intel Core i7 mobile processors.
The sleek and stylish FANGbook Evo HX6 series is capable of handling any task it is given with the GeForce GTX 765M graphics, which features NVIDIA PhysX technology and NVIDIA CUDA. Users will enjoy fluid and immersive game play with stunning graphics and visuals whether you're role playing in a MMORPG gaming environment; lighting up enemies in first person shooters; or commanding your army with precise micro management in real time strategies.
GeForce GTX 765M graphics double your gaming performance and provides extra long battery life with NVIDIA Optimus technology. With the FANGbook Evo HX6 on your side you'll never play to role of a victim.
Other standard gaming features include HD Surround Sound for crystal clear audio fidelity. The anti-ghosting gaming keyboard captures simultaneous keystrokes and allows you to tear it up in a game from day to night with a fully backlit keyboard with red LEDs so you never miss a key. If you're looking for a full-sized QWERTY keyboard and large screen, the FANGbook EVO HX6 is for you.
CYBERPOWERPC FANGbook HX6-100:

Intel Core i7-4700MQ 2.40 (3.40 w/ Turbo Boost)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M 2 GB GDDR5
8 GB DDR3L 1600 MHz System Memory
15.6" LED-backlit LCD, Full HD (1920 x 1080), 16:9, anti-glare display
1 TB 7200 RPM HDD
Killer E2200 Networking
Realtek 802.11 b/g/n + Bluetooth 4.0 wireless LAN
HDMI 1.4, 2 USB 3.0 ports, 2 USB 2.0 ports

The system is pre-loaded with Microsoft Windows 8 Pro (64 Bit Edition). The FANGbook HX6 series can be customized with additional performance gaming memory (expandable up to 16 GB), mSATA and higher capacity SSD options, as well as dual-band Wireless AC Wi-Fi cards.
Base price for the FANGbook Evo HX6 is $1069. All CYBERPOWERPC gaming notebook systems include a 1-year limited warranty. For more information see: http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/LandingPages/FangbookEVO/.

SteelSeries Siberia Elite Headset Now Available For Pre-Order
Available for $199.99, the headset delivers the newest generation and highest-quality SteelSeries audio drivers, the Siberia Elite headset is equipped with Dolby technology for realistic 7.1 virtual surround sound. Siberia Elite's amplified design includes extra-large memory foam ear cushions, SteelSeries' signature Siberia self-adjusting suspension system connected to a steel arc, and illumination with a choice of 16.8 million color options that radiate from each earcup.

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Dials on the earcups power the Siberia Elite's audio and microphone-mute controls, while new levels of customization are supported by the newest version of peripheral configuration software, SteelSeries Engine 3. The new software will enable users to select illumination and equalizer settings, activate microphone features and more all through an intuitive and easy-to-navigate layout. Built for gaming and entertainment across multiple devices, the Siberia Elite offers limitless connectivity through its swappable cable system making it instantly compatible for PC, Mac, tablets and phones.
For more information about the Siberia Elite Headset please visit, http://steelseries.com/siberiaelite. The Siberia Elite white edition will be available first, while the black edition will come later this season.

Available Tags:Motorola , PS4 , GIGABYTE , gaming , Microsoft , Xbox , HTC , Galaxy , BlackBerry , Android , tablet , AMD , smartphone , ASRock , Google , Wireless , LG ,

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