Thermaltake MEKA G-Unit Mechanical Keyboard Review
Thermaltake MEKA G-Unit Mechanical Keyboard Review
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In-game Giveaway Coming to Borderlands 2
A massive giveaway is coming to Borderlands 2 a week from today, just days after the Game of the Year Edition is released. The Borderlands 2 $100,000 Loot Hunt will run from October 11 to November 7 and will have several prizes available. Entries can be obtained each day by killing a specific target in game, and in-game items will be awarded if enough people complete the challenge each day. Cash prizes start at $5,000 for the first week and go up to $50,000 for the grand prize. Additional prizes include PlayStation Vitas, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti GPUs, and a lifetime supply of all past, present, and future 2K games.
Source: IGN
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ECS Partners with Complexity Gaming for Giveaway
ECS is teaming up with professional gaming team Complexity Gaming for the L337 Top Ganks Competition. Three lucky winners will receive the newest motherboard in the ECS L337 series, the L337 GANK Drone Z87H3-A3X. The new board uses the Intel Z87 Express chipset and supports fourth generation Intel Core processors. Two entries can be obtained by sharing the contest page on Facebook or re-tweeting the contest link on Twitter. Entries will be accepted until October 15.
Source: ECS Press Release
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Valve Reveals the Specifications for its Steam Machine Prototype
It's been just over a week since Valve unveiled its Steam Machines, its reimagining of the Steam Box, and today we have a little more information on what to expect in the beta hardware. The initial 300 Steam Machines for the beta test are being built with top of the line hardware and contained inside a custom enclosure. Valve will allow anyone to upgrade any part of the hardware themselves, and since all the hardware used is off-the-shelf parts, anyone can build their own Steam Machine. It just won't have the custom enclosure, however Valve is including the source CAD files for that for the more mechanically inclined gamers to even build one of those. This top of the line model is what Valve thinks many gamers want in the living room, however there'll be plenty of others who want something not as powerful or quieter or even smaller. Luckily there are going to be a wide range of Steam Machines to fit whatever idea people want.
So, just what does each Steam Machine have inside for the lucky 300 beta testers? Well, it'll be one of a selection of NVIDIA GPUs, with the Titan, GTX 780, GTX 760, and GTX 660s being selected. The CPUs are all Intel-based, with some machines running the Core i7 4770, others the i5 4570, and some with Core i3s. Memory totals will be 16GB of DDR3-1600 for the CPU and 3GB GDDR5 for the GPU for all systems, with a 1TB/8GB Hybrid SSHD providing storage. A 450W 80 PLUS Gold power supply will run the show. Each Steam Machine measures 12 x 12.4 x 2.9 inches, so it won't be taking up very much space in the living room at all.
Valve still isn't ready to reveal what the beta hardware looks like for the Steam Machines, but it'll do that before they ship. Steam Machines also aren't meant to replace your current PC, but rather provide a new means for PC gaming in the living room without having to spend a ton of money.
Source: Valve
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First Cloud Map of Exoplanet Made
Clouds are not only something to watch, but actually impact the weather a great deal. This is true here on Earth and on Kepler 7b, a planet roughly a thousand light years away. Using NASA's Kepler and Spitzer Space Telescopes, researchers at MIT have successfully observed the cloud patterns of an exoplanet for the first time.
A couple years ago, researchers were analyzing the reflectivity of Kepler 7b and noticed that it is very bright for an exoplanet. The exact cause of this was a mystery at the time, but by combining the data from the two telescopes, the researchers are confident much of the reflectivity is caused by the clouds. The planet is considered a hot Jupiter, which means it is a gas giant, like Jupiter, though 1.5 times larger, but orbits its host star very closely. It is actually close enough that the planet is tidally locked to the star, which means only one side ever faces it. By measuring the reflected light during each orbital phase, the researchers were able to determine that the explanation for the high reflectivity is clouds.
Interestingly, while one side of the planet is completely overcast, the researchers have noted that the distribution of clouds leaves the other hemisphere completely clear. The exact mechanism that forms the clouds is not known.
Source: MIT
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Nearly Three Million Adobe Customer Accounts Hacked; Source Code for Certain Apps Also Taken
If you've recently bought something with your Adobe account, then I have some bad news for you. A grand total of 2.9 million Adobe customer accounts have been compromised, with information like names, expiration dates, and credit/debit card numbers taken. Thankfully the credit/debit card numbers are all encrypted and Adobe doesn't think any decrypted ones were taken, but even so just keep an eye on your bank account. The company has reset all account passwords, so if yours was involved in the attack then you'll be receiving an email. Likewise, if your credit/debit card information was taken, you'll receive an email containing the steps to take in order to protect yourself. Customers whose credit/debit card numbers were taken will also have an option to enroll in a one-year credit monitoring membership free of charge. Banks have also been notified of the attack.
Some source code for select apps, like Acrobat and ColdFusion, was also taken, and Adobe believes the two attacks are related. If you use any of those programs, the company recommends using only the supported versions and applying all available security updates. You can also follow the advice in the Acrobat Enterprise Toolkit and ColdFusion Lockdown Guide to find out how to keep those programs secure. Fortunately Adobe doesn't believe there's any "increased risk" to customers of the selected apps.
When more information is available about these hacks, you can be sure to find out here. In the meantime, Adobe is working with federal investigators to find out who did this and punish them accordingly.
Source: Adobe Featured Blogs and ASSET Blog
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Verifying Quantum Computers
For the most part, we all trust that when we ask our computers a question, the answer it gives us will be correct, so two plus two is always four. For quantum computers though, which are still in development, the answers they give us may not be correct, so a verification method is needed. One way to check results would be to use more quantum computer resources, but researchers at the University of Vienna have a more elegant solution.
The researchers added error-traps, if you will, into the tasks for a quantum computer to run. These traps are calculations we already know the answer to, so if the computer misbehaves and provides an incorrect answer, we know there is a problem. By building more traps into the task, the more certain a user can be that the computer is operating correctly.
The researchers have already tested it in an optical quantum computer, which uses photons as qubits, but the technique can be applied to any quantum computer design.
Source: University of Vienna
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Terraria 2 is in Development
The creator of Terraria, Andrew "Redigit" Spinks, has revealed to Rock, Paper, Shotgun that the mystery project he quit Terraria to work on is in fact Terraria 2. Spinks stepped away to work on this mystery project but eventually released a substantial update to the first game before returning to work on the sequel. He has his sights set high for his next game, hoping to expand on the gameplay and offer gamers even more customization options. "In Terraria 2, I really want to have infinite worlds so you’re not just stuck to one world. You can travel anywhere. I want more biome diversity in that, too. There’s a lot of stuff [I want to add and change]." He also added that another update may come to Terraria, perhaps Halloween themed, and pointed out that nothing is set in stone for now.
Source: Rock, Paper, Shotgun
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Amazon Looking to Load up an Upcoming Set-top Box
Amazon is rumored to be working on a set-top entertainment box with plans for release in time for the holiday season. The news of a device resembling the popular Roku box was released months ago, but new developments include Amazon soliciting other companies for software apps to run on the box. Amazon has reached out to a "variety of media app developers, as well as cable television providers, seeking partnerships for the rollout of the set-top box." A mid-October deadline for app submittals was reported. A set-top box from Amazon is seen as a potential sales booster for its Prime service, which offers a large selection of television and movie for streaming, and as a Prime subscriber I will be following this news closely.
Source: Wall Street Journal
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Funding for 4D Printing Granted
A future is quickly approaching where the average citizen will be able to purchase a 3D printer with the capability to print out a variety of objects. For some though, that future is just not enough, so they are looking to what could lie beyond it. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the University of Illinois have received a grant from the United States Army Research Office to develop printable 4D materials.
While most people would associate a fourth dimension with time, in this case the additional dimension could be for a number of metrics, including light exposure, temperature, and physical force. The idea behind these materials is that they will react to external stimuli, such as changing color in bright light, or stiffening when struck. Achieving this will require the ability to manipulate materials at the micro and nano levels, so that properties can be controlled on the macro level.
As this news is just about a grant to fund the work, there is nothing to show for it yet. Eventually though we could see Army uniforms that adapt their camouflage, alter their permeability at different temperatures, and even harden to catch incoming shrapnel.
Source: University of Pittsburgh
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