Dropbox Continues to Suffer Issues
On January 10, 2014, Dropbox reported to users of the service that internal maintenance caused the website to shut down temporarily. The file sharing website was able to come back online shortly after, though users have been experiencing issues ever since. Dropbox has now revealed that photo sharing is disabled at this time, after users reported issues with accessing not only their photographs, but also the various aspects of the Dropbox website. The Dropbox technology blog continues to show that the service is still undergoing availability issues, even though the company is reportedly reducing the number of affected users. No estimated timeframe has been given concerning the final resolution of the issues.
Although rumors have been circulating about leaked customer information following the temporary shut down, Dropbox has officially denied the claims.
Source: Dropbox Tech Blog
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Windows XP Users to Lose Microsoft Security Essentials
As announced previously, support for the Microsoft Windows XP Operating System will end on April 8, 2014. After this date, users whom request support from Microsoft will have to pay an out-of-pocket expense in order to receive assistance. Additionally, Microsoft has now revealed that support for their popular Microsoft Security Essential software will be unavailable for Windows XP once support for the Operating System ends. Not only will support for the security software end, Microsoft noted that it will be unavailable to download for Windows XP users. While the free antivirus and antimalware software will be unavailable, other security software will be available to download for the aging Operating System in order to provide proper security.
Source: PC Magazine
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Beats Electronics to Launch Beats Music
Partnering with AT&T, Beats Electronics will launch its Beats Music service on January 21, 2014. The new service will take aim at AT&T customers, implementing seamless billing along the way. Beats Music will be available to customers of AT&T with a $10 a month package that provides unlimited streaming and downloads of music, as well as a $15 a month package that allows families to do the same. The former plan provides music for individuals across three devices, while the latter plan allows access for five family members across 10 devices. While Beats Music faces plenty of competition across the subscription music streaming sector, it does have an advantage with being partnered with the second largest wireless carrier in the United States.
Beats Music, while focused on AT&T subscribers, will be available for all potential customers to try for free. The service will be compatible with the PC platform as well as Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone devices.
Source: CNET
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Cyber Attacks Temporarily Affect Microsoft Twitter Accounts
Microsoft confirmed today that there was a temporary breach in two Twitter accounts that the company frequently uses. The Microsoft News and Xbox Support Twitter accounts were targeted by a group known as the SEA, or Syrian Electronic Army. The SEA posted on both of Microsoft’s Twitter accounts, warning on the Microsoft News page that users should stay away from Microsoft emails due to supposed monitoring of accounts and the selling of information. This entity is a well-known hacking group that shows sympathy towards President Bashar Assad, and has targeted Microsoft previously.
A spokesperson for Microsoft notified the public that while the cyber-attacks did occur, both accounts are now functioning properly and no customer information was compromised.
Source: CNET
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Gaming Monitor From ASUS' ROG Division Announced
ASUS' Republic of Gamers Division has provided us with a plethora of great products over the past couple of years, and now it seems to be expanding into a new category to once again prove its worth. With the new monitor, named the ROG Swift PG278Q Premium Gaming Monitor, ASUS has made what could be one of this year's best gaming monitors. At least according to the specifications. The new monitor will be 27 inches diagonally and have a resolution of 2560x1440. Since it is a gaming monitor from the ROG division, it has a 120+ Hz refresh rate, a 1 ms response time, and of course NVIDIA's new G-Sync technology to ensure that you will never be a frame behind the competition and it will provide much smoother gameplay.
Furthermore, the monitor will come with ASUS' exclusive feature, GamePlus, which is an OSD overlay that enables crosshair and timer functions to be displayed on the monitor. These funcitons will, according to ASUS, "allow gamers to practice and improve their gaming skills."
As for connectivity, the monitor will have "an array of options" including DisplayPort 1.2 and two USB 3.0 ports. It is possible to mount the monitor on a wall with a VESA wall mount, and the stand allows for full tilt, swivel, pivot, and height adjustment. And ROG did not forget about multi-monitor gamers, so it reduced the bezel to 6 mm.
Source: ASUS
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State of Decay Studio Undead Labs Signs Multi-Year Agreement with Microsoft Studios
Undead Labs, the Seatlle-based indie studio behind the PC and XBLA hit State of Decay, has announced that it just signed a multi-year, multi-title agreement with Microsoft Studios. Details are sparse right now, with the dev team instead focusing on building some prototypes before spilling the beans. The announcement did state that "there are big things going on with State of Decay" so that could mean work on DLC has begun or maybe even a full-blown sequel in the works.
Source: Undead Labs
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Using Gene Therapy to Make Old Cells Look Young
If asked, I suspect many people will tell you they are not looking forward to growing old, or wish they were younger if they are already old. In part this is because of the many health issues associated with old age, so it is not surprising that researchers are looking for ways to counter advancing years. Those at Tel Aviv University have recently identified some genes that can be targeted to extend the lifespan of yeast using advanced algorithms.
To perform the study the researchers used genome-scale metabolic modeling, which allow the processes within a cell to be experimented with at-will on a computer. By developing what they call a metabolic transformation algorithm (MTA) the researchers were able to predict what factors can change one metabolic state to another, just by feeding it information on the two states. The results indicated that by switching off two genes, it should be possible to keep yeast cells behaving as though they are young. When tested in real yeast, it was found that the cells did have a significantly longer lifespan, similar to that of calorie reduction, which is known to extend lifespan in some organisms.
Of course the question is if this work could impact human lives and the answer is maybe, but only some time into the future. Next the researchers are going to work with mice, but the MTA could also be used to find drug targets for disorders that metabolism affects, such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, and neurodegenerative disorders.
Source: American Friends of Tel Aviv University
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PC Shipments Decline in Q4 2013
Information provided by two different technology research firms indicate that the PC market, on a global scale, declined greatly in the fourth quarter of 2013. Gartner indicated from its research that PC shipments globally fell 6.9 percent. This decrease in computer shipments marks the worst ever decline in the history of the PC market, though analysts believe that the market has reached its bottom. Predictions are being made by analysts that sales will stay around the same level as they are now, or rise slightly in future quarters. IDC is the other research firm that indicated that globally the PC market fell as well, noting a smaller decrease of 5.6 percent instead of Gartner’s 6.9 percent. On a global scale, both research firms found that Lenovo held the majority of the PC market while HP followed closely behind.
Source: DailyTech
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Reducing Instabilities in Nuclear Fusion Machine
In the core of every star burns a nuclear furnace, fusing small atoms into larger ones and releasing energy in the process. For decades researchers have been trying to initiate nuclear fusion on Earth to harness that energy for our use, but it is not easy and often takes more energy to start the fusion than it produces. Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories though have recently discovered a phenomenon that could make one method of achieving fusion significantly more efficient.
Among the experiments at Sandia is the Z machine, which is meant to collapse small cylinders of deuterium with magnetic fields so rapidly, that the atoms fuse. One issue with this technique has been magnetic instabilities forming within the cylinders, causing them to not collapse uniformly. This causes energy to be lost as not all of the deuterium will be fused. The researchers discovered that by adding a pair of Helmholtz coils to the Z machine, they could alter the geometries of instabilities and minimize their affects. Without the magnetic fields from the Helmholtz coils, the instabilities pass horizontally through the cylinder, crumpling its sides, but with the fields the instabilities take on a helical shape. That insulates the cylinder from crumpling before the deuterium fuses, and thus reduces the amount of energy lost.
As significant the reduction in energy loss is, there is still a long way to go before fusion could be used as a power source.
Source: Sandia National Laboratories
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Alien: Isolation Has No Multiplayer
For those worried that the upcoming Alien: Isolation will feature co-op – or worse, have a multiplayer mode slapped on – fret not! Speaking to RPS, Al Hope (Creative Lead) and Jon McKellan (Lead UI Art & Design) confirmed that Isolation will be a single-player-only experience.
Hope mentioned that the team did consider including multiplayer, but ultimately decided to focus on single player. McKellan added that upping the amount of humans would make it feel as if players were no longer outnumbered. If you've been following the game, you know that it features just a single alien, so, as McKellan says, "if you had two or three humans facing up against one alien it's a completely different experience where you're working together to overcome it rather than just trying to survive." Because of the "dynamic alien", Hope feels there will be reason to replay the game and do things differently.
Alien: Isolation will be arriving on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 in late 2014. You can see the first trailers and screenshots here.
Source: Rock Paper Shotgun
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Changes Coming to ZOWIE FK Gaming Mouse
Starting this year, ZOWIE GEAR will be making improvements on its popular ZOWIE FK gaming mouse. Taking positive feedback that the company received from customers regarding its EC eVo CL series, ZOWIE will improving the ZOWIE FK gaming mouse by adding a 24-step scroll wheel, a black base, an a built-in IR LED. These revisions to the mouse not only make it more appealing in terms of styling but also add crucial functionality. Customers that prefer the 16-step wheel that is featured on the current version of the ZOWIE FK gaming mouse are being advised to purchase the product now before it goes out of stock.
Source: Press Release
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Target Increases Data Breach Numbers
Originally, Target estimated that 40 million credit and debit card accounts were affected in a data breach that occurred from November 27 through December 15. Those estimates are now being regarded as an understatement, as Target has today released information from the hacking investigation stating that 70 million customers were affected. Target has also informed the public that not only was information from credit and debit card accounts taken, customer information such as email addresses, names, mailing addresses, and phone numbers were compromised as well. Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Target, Gregg Steinhafel, released a statement where he provided an apology for having customers endure the data breach situation.
Although Target has not released information concerning the cost to the company due to the data breach, it has lowered its 2013 fourth quarter earning guidance. Target will also be providing all guests who shopped at United States stores one year of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection.
Source: Forbes
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R2Games Launches League of Angels
League of Angels, a new free-to-play hybrid turn-based fantasy MMORPG, has been released today by R2Games. Many of the same features found in traditional MMORPG style titles are present, including the ability to explore new areas, embark on quests and missions, and battle other players in a PvP format. League of Angels adds a flare of new content however, providing players the ability to find and train various angels, as well as participate in minigame challenges that earn rewards by doing so. The new free-to-play MMORPG title by R2Games features two classes that allow players to explore the in-game world and bring harmony back to the chaotic environment by finding and re-awakening angels.
The release of League of Angels contains numerous launch opportunity events for players, including winning merchandise for the game as well as free in-game items.
Source: Press Release
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Three Million People Backed Kickstarter Projects in 2013
Now that 2014 is upon us, Kickstarter has released its stats for 2013 and they're certainly impressive. 2013 was unsurprisingly the best year yet for Kickstarter, with ~3 million people pledging ~$480 million to Kickstarter projects compared to just ~2.2 million pledging ~$320 million in 2012. In fact, 2013 accounted for more than half of the total dollars pledged to Kickstarter projects for the life of Kickstarter ($940 million as of this writing). That comes out to $1,315,520 pledged a day or $913 a minute in 2013. Equally impressive is that the three million backers came from a whopping 214 countries and territories with all seven continents represented – yes, even Antarctica!
You can view these stats and more in the special "The Year in Kickstarter 2013" section. In addition, Kickstarter goes through several major projects that were backed and/or launched during the year, including Oculus Rift, Ouya, and the resurrection of Veronica Mars.
Source: Kickstarter
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