IT-Code-News: IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 16/03/2014

Saturday, March 15, 2014

IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 16/03/2014

TweakTown

Russian Kremlin gets slammed by 'powerful' cyber attack
The cyberwar between Russia and Ukraine is accelerating, and hackers recently brought down the Russian Kremlin and Central Back websites. Russian news sites also are being targeted, with RT saying the Anonymous Caucasus has taken credit for downing Russian Channel One.

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"A powerful cyberattack is underway on the (Kremlin) site," a Russian government spokesperson said. "A serious DDoS attack is currently underway, not only on the Kremlin site, but also a number of other Web portals."
According to a Tweet from Anonymous Russia:

TANGO DOWN http://t.co/iRXqJcvr7B | http://t.co/RPPjs4dj4o #Anonymous Сайт Кремля взъ'бан
- Anonymous Russia (@Russian_Revolt) March 14, 2014

Previously, Russia was accused of using cyberattacks against Ukraine, with government networks and mobile phone networks targeted. The Russian government - or paid hacker groups - are targeting critical infrastructure, while hacker groups not influenced by the Ukrainian government are proving to be an excellent thorn in the side to the Russian government and financial institutions.

Russian government blocks four opposition sites criticizing Putin
President Vladimir Putin's government has reportedly banned four websites operated by Kremlin opponents and critics. Opponent Alexei Navalny had his website blocked for Russian Internet users, along with online newspaper Grani, an opposition information website, and a radio station website (despite it being state-operated).

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The Russian government defended its actions by saying the websites helped organize "illegal" protests, according to reports in the region. Navalny is serving a two-month house arrest punishment because he violated five-year probation for an embezzlement-related charge.
Over the past two years, Putin has continually put the squeeze on media outlets located in his country - most recently, the editor of Lenta.ru, a major Russian independent news site, resigned due to increased pressure from Moscow.
Both the Russian and Ukrainian governments are finding the Internet to be a powerful tool for both propaganda and cyberattacks against one another.

EU pushes in a law for a common smartphone charging standard
The European Union is pushing for a new voluntary adoption of a smartphone charging standard years ago, but is now much closer to that goal. The European Parliament has voted in favor of a draft law requiring that smartphones work with a common charger.

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Now the EU needs the Council of Ministers approval, where European Union countries will have until 2016 to get it into their local laws, and smartphone makers have a year more to change their hardware. Most phone makers already support the concept, but there will be some companies who don't want to change, or need a little push to fall into line.

Samsung's Galaxy S5 Zoom will feature 19-megapixel camera
The Galaxy S5 isn't even here yet, and we're already hearing about different variants of Samsung's upcoming flagship smartphone. SamMobile is behind the latest scoop, where they've seen the specifications for the Galaxy S5 Zoom.

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The new Galaxy S5 Zoom will reportedly feature a 19-megapixel rear-facing camera, upping the picture taking goodness from the 16-megapixel rear-facing snapper on the Galaxy S4 Zoom. Inside of the S5 Zoom we'll find a 4.8-inch 1280x720-pixel screen, hexa-core Exynos processor clocking in at 1.3GHz, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of flash storage and Android 4.4.2 KitKat.
We don't know when to expect the S5 Zoom, but it should be somewhere around May hopefully.

Alien: Isolation detailed in a new behind-the-scenes video
If you haven't seen Alien: Isolation yet, you need to keep reading. The team behind the game, Creative Assembly, has just shown off a new behind-the-scenes look at the game.

Within Alien: Isolation, there is a single alien - not masses of the unkillable, scary monsters. A single Xenomorph roams around, with the developer spending considerable resources on the artificial intelligence (AI) of the Xenomorph, as it reacts much more realistically to in-game behaviors. The alien uses a unique set of "senses" to actively hunt players down, which will result in an encounter with the single Xenomorph that might last up to half an hour or more. It's all dependent on the player, and how cautious they are approaching the situation itself.
Creative Assembly has said that this level of intelligence simply isn't possible with scripted cutscenes and traditional enemy behavior patterns. This approach by the developer will allow for some very unique experiences between the player, and the enemy. Alien: Isolation will reach the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and PC toward the end of the year.

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The #UnitedStates has been labeled 'an enemy of the Internet'
Reporters Without Borders has released its latest list of "Enemies of the Internet," a list that it designed to bring attention to countries that are not disrupt the freedom of information with propaganda, surveillance, and censorship. A list that the United States of America is now on.

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Over the past twelve months, we've seen Edward Snowden reveal the NSA's secrets, and much more. United States is now on the same list as Cuba, Iran, North Korea and China. Reporters Without Borders notes that entire governments aren't doing the spying themselves, but rather government agencies, like the NSA.
Reporters Without Borders says that this is a big problem, as those governments are setting a bad example by allowing the spying, where they said: "The mass surveillance methods employed in these three countries, many of them exposed by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, are all the more intolerable because they will be used and indeed are already being used by authoritarians countries such as Iran, China, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to justify their own violations of freedom of information."

Valve's latest Steam Controller now looks more like a controller
Days before the Game Developers Conference kicks off in San Francisco, Valve sent its latest Steam Controller prototype to WIRED. The new controller was meant to feature a touchscreen in the center, with four buttons around it, but the new one still doesn't feature a touchscreen.

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Instead, it has morphed into more of a traditional console controller, with two diamond-shaped arrays of buttons. It looks (at least in the picture) a little more comfortable than the first Steam Controller, but I would've liked to have seen a touchscreen on the controller. The circular touchpads are still in play, which match both the precision and resolution of a mouse, giving gamers more precision than traditional controllers.

McAfee makes Antivirus & Security free for Android and iOS
Intel-owned McAfee wants to keep mobile users more secure by offering its Antivirus & Security suite available to Apple iOS and Google Android users.

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There are plenty of free software products available designed for smartphones and tablets, but paid versions provide a more complete suite. The McAfee Labs collected 2.47 million Android malware samples in 2013, with 744,000 in Q4 alone.
"With India placed on the tip of mobile device explosion, there is an overwhelming need of adoption of security and privacy protection in our digital lives," said Jagdish Mahapatra, McAfee Managing Director in India, in a statement. "With free access to our award-winning mobile security product, Indian consumers will be empowered to access all the benefits of this connected world and enjoy a safe mobile life."
India is adopting smartphones faster than any other nation, with an estimated 185 million mobile Web browsers within the next three months.

LG's G3 flagship smartphone to ship with QHD 2560x1440 display
@evleaks is at it again, teasing what LG's upcoming flagship will give the world. LG's G3 smartphone should feature a QHD panel, with a resolution of 2560x1440.

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Samsung was expected to release the first smartphone with a QHD panel, but it looks like LG could beat its South Korean rival to the high-res race. The model number attached to the G3 seems to be D850. I think we will see LG release its G3 smartphone with a QHD panel, and I think we'll see this panel baked into the upcoming Nexus 6, and Nexus 8 tablet.

Tax season leads to easy pickings for cybercriminals, scammers
Tax season 2014 is well underway, and while some of you likely have filed your taxes, most Americans are still digging through receipts, plugging away on spreadsheets, and hoping they file accurately to get some cash. Cybercrime levels spike during this period, as hackers and scammers prey on taxpayers frantic to try and file their taxes in peace.

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Identity theft and phishing are the top threats facing people this tax season, according to the Protect Yourself from Tax Season Identity Theft Scams document from the Center for Internet Security (CIS). Taxpayers need to be especially aware of e-mails and phone calls from people claiming to be from the IRS - and security experts need to be careful when opening e-mails, receiving phone calls, or receiving unsolicited correspondence.
If paper documents are no longer needed, they should be disposed of properly:
"One of the easiest ways to prevent the crime is by immediately shredding no-longer needed confidential documents," said Nancy Heaton, Fellowes Director of Global Marketing. "Fellowes offers a variety of shredders to suit every home office need that are perfect for tax season."

Stronger effort to try and keep your mobile device secure from attack
Businesses and users are increasingly relying on mobile technologies for a wide variety of tasks, and that has created a market with untapped potential for cybercriminals.

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As mobile banking, e-commerce, and similar sensitive activities rise further, it's important to adopt next-generation securities and understand the changing threat landscape, according to a recent study released by ThreatMetrix.
"Mobile device usage for e-commerce and banking will continue to rise and in order to prevent the associated risks, businesses must have the capabilities to effectively analyze mobile activity to detect returning authentic customers and device anomalies that indicate malicious behavior," said Mustafa Rassiwala, ThreatMetrix Director of Product Management, in a statement. "This includes differentiating between normal and jailbroken devices, as users with jailbroken devices are more likely to engage in criminal activity."
Smartphones and tablets will continue to shuttle users away from traditional PCs and laptops - and with cybercriminals developing mobile-based malware - implementing proper security is critical. End users should run some type of anti-malware software on each mobile device, while companies need to ensure customer data is properly secure.

SolidFire announces enterprise enhancements in upcoming OS release
SolidFire, the Boulder, Colorado based manufacturer of all-flash storage systems has announced Q2 2014 availability of Carbon, Version 6 of its Element OS. Included in this upcoming release is a whole new set of enterprise class features such as real-time replication and integrated backup & restore.

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SolidFire is providing this upgrade for free to existing customers including all the new enhancements. The new features included are:

Native 16Gb Fibre Channel connectivity in an active/active scale-out configuration, which can be used simultaneously with existing 10Gbit iSCSI support
Real-time remote replication for long distance data protection and disaster recovery, with integrated compression and deduplication
Mixed-node cluster support, allowing customers to mix any current-generation SolidFire nodes in a single cluster, along with future systems, giving customers immediate access to the latest flash technologies and completely eliminating the forklift storage system upgrade
Integrated backup and restore to secondary storage, including any object storage that supports the S3 or Swift APIs

These enhancements appear to be providing real value to their existing customer base. According to Matt Loschert, CTO of managed hosting provider ServInt,

"With mixed node support, SolidFire has eradicated the concept of 'generational' or 'forklift upgrades' common with traditional disk and other all-flash storage systems. As we scale our storage infrastructure we simply add the most current SolidFire platform without downtime or impact to our hosted customers - resources are instantly available."

Aside from ServInt, SolidFire products can be found in several other cloud data centers such as CloudSigma, Internap and SunGard. Most cloud data centers are built on 10GbE infrastructure which makes the addition of 16Gb FC connectivity of particular interest. Since fibre channel is predominantly found in large enterprises it appears that SolidFire is moving beyond just large cloud data centers and is now targeting the traditional enterprise market as well. Furthermore, by adding in the replication and backup services, SolidFire is positioning themselves to be much more than just a point solution.

Target missed multiple warnings of major data breach underway
Popular retailer Target had multiple warnings that a credit and debit card breach was underway, but still didn't do enough to try and stop the problem.

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A recent series of interviews with more than 10 former Target employees, and a handful of people familiar with the attack indicate the company was aware of a data breach underway - and the alert system worked - signaling malware was installed before being publicly disclosed.
"I don't think it is about not paying attention to the technologies as much as fine tuning for actionable, relevant information from the technology," said Joe Schumacher, Neohapsis security consultant, in a statement to SCMagazine. "Many security systems (e.g. Web application firewall, log monitoring, intrusion Detection/Prevention Systems, etc.) correlate large amounts of data into a single repository. Unfortunately, a lot of companies and professional services stop here."
Six months before the successful data breach, Target installed a $1.7 million security platform, the report indicates.
Former Target CIO Beth Jacob quit as the company continues to try and rebound from the major data theft which affected more than 70 million customers. The store now faces more than 90 lawsuits following the data breach, which is the largest and most successful retail hack - and an indication that malware is a successful tool to steal customer information.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls Pres. Obama to complain about NSA
To show his displeasure over continued revelations of organized spying from the National Security Agency (NSA), Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently called President Obama to discuss the matter.

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This was the first time that Zuckerberg expressed his concerns directly with Obama, while Facebook, Google and other companies improve encryption and security efforts.
"The US government should be the champion for the Internet, not a threat," Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook blog post. "They need to be much more transparent about what they're doing, or otherwise people will believe the worst. I've called President Obama to express my frustration over the damage the government is creating for all of our future. Unfortunately, it seems like it will take a very long time for true full reform."
To end his blog post, Zuckerberg said it's up to everyone to help mold the Internet into what we want it to be.
Zuckerberg's call to Obama shows strengthening resolve from Silicon Valley leaders receiving criticism from users - while also being disgusted by the NSA's spying efforts.

This plasma arc speaker is way cooler than your expensive Hi-Fi setup
At some point, I am sure that most of us have fantasized about being the stereotypical mad scientist who spends his days in a lab filled with chemical experiments and electricity arcing from one source to the other. While most of us will never make it to this point in our scientific endeavors, we can have a cool device that sends arcs of electricity shooting from one electrode to another, and have it play music at the same time.

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A new Kickstarter campaign from ExcelPhysics is offering kits that let backers build their own speakers that emanate sound by using nothing but the plasma generated when electricity arcs from one electrode to another. "A plasma speaker plays music just like your normal speaker but it uses an arc of electrical plasma running at 30,000 volts," the company said on its Kickstarter page. "Most people aren't aware that plasma arcs can be modulated to generate sounds so your friends will be in for a surprise when you explain to them that the plasma arc IS the speaker! Your typical speaker uses an electromagnet to vibrate small drums, but a plasma speaker uses an electrical arc to ionize and compress the air around it to play music, all with no moving parts!"

The Plasma Speaker works by plugging in an audio source such as your smartphone, laptop, or radio. The audio input is converted into a pulse that causes an arc of high-votage electricity to jump from one electrode to another, and the audio is reproduced as sound waves emanating from the plasma. This is definitely one Kickstarter I am backing, and you should too. Head over to the source link below for more information.

Plex for Chromecast now open to everyone, adds auto camera uploads
Today Plex made good on its promise to open up its Plex for Chromecast app to everyone, including those who are not PlexPass subscribers. Plex has been available for the Chromecast since the end of 2013, but has been limited to those who subscribe to the companies premium subscription called PlexPass. Today's announcement means that anyone can cast media straight from the Plex for Android or Plex for iOS applications as well as from their Mac or PC using the Plex web app.

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Plex also added support for a new Camera Upload feature that will allow users to back up their smartphone's photos straight to their Plex Media Server. This positions the service to move into the personal cloud storage arena as well, making Plex Media Server a multi-position home storage solution the entire family can utilize. At the moment, the photo upload feature is limited only to the iOS app, but Android support wil come in the near future.

NSA denies posing as Facebook to compromise user HDDs
Of all the spying programs revealed by former IT contractor Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency (NSA) was quick to deny exploiting users by impersonating Facebook.

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Shortly after reports surfaced accusing the NSA of mimicking a Facebook server to help infect user PCs, users were upset - and the NSA wanted to offer a public statement.
"Recent media reports that allege NSA has infected millions of computers around the world with malware, and that NSA is impersonating U.S. social media or other websites, are inaccurate," the NSA said via its Public Affairs Office. "NSA uses its technical capabilities only to support lawful and appropriate foreign intelligence operations, all of which must be carried out in strict accordance with its authorities."
It's unusual for the NSA to respond publicly, with the statement also saying the NSA protects "legitimate privacy interests of all persons, though following Snowden's whistleblowing, it seems unlikely many Americans would believe that.

The new app store for Google Docs and Sheets is now live
Google has just finished rolling out its new online marketplace for third-party applications designed to enhance Google Drive. Google says that the marketplace is available from within Google Docs and Sheets, and can easily be accessed by clicking on the add-on tab at the top of a documents page. There have been chrome extensions that integrate into Docs before, but this is the first time that Google has released an official marketplace for apps that directly integrate.

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Called Add-On's the apps are created by third-party developers and enhance the service by adding handy features such as the ability to sign documents, create custom templates, add images with annotations, and quickly generate macros for spreadsheets. Other apps allow users to quickly and easily cite sources, write footnotes, and build bibliographies by simply searching the web for the desired sources.

First curved coins from USMint unveiled, commemorate Baseball HoF
Traditionally coins minted in the US have a very distinctive round and flat shape, but a new release from the US Mint has all but shattered that pattern. A new commemorative design will soon roll out that honors the National Baseball Hall of Fame's 75th birthday in the form of the country's first curved coin. The round coin takes the profile of a baseball and is featured in both gold and silver mintings.

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The coins profile and design are loosely based on the curved shape of the International Year of Astronomy coins minted by France back in 2009, as well as Australia's Southern Cross coins. Designed by California Artist, Cassie McFarland, the coins feature a baseball on the front and a catchers mitt on the reverse. Her winning "Hand full of Gold" design was chosen from a pool of 178 entries and was based off of a baseball glove she used as a kid.
"Raised loving the native pastime, a glove assisted me not only as a tool, but helped foster communication between my family and peers," she wrote in her submission. "It is a fundamental symbol for teamwork and camaraderie." Up to 50,000 $5 gold coins, 400,000 $1 silver coins and 750,000 half-dollar coins will be minted, and will cost an extra $35, $10 and $5 each, which will go toward funding the Baseball Hall of Fame's non-profit operations.

Check out this dual Arduino Micro XPlorerBoard on Kickstarter
Electronic education kits were one of the highlights of my youth, and I spent many hours attaching resistors, wires and other components together via those little shiny springs. Today with microcontroller boards such as the Arduino being as cheap as they are, educational electronic kits have taken on a whole new look, and ease of use. The Portable Dual Arduino Micro XPlorerBoard is one of those new easy to use educational electronic boards.

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Featuring support for two Arduino Micro boards, the XPlorerBoard makes life easy by eliminating loose parts, and adding in very handy features such as a 3V and 5V logic level converter, on-board power supply, and a full compliment of analog and digital sensors. Since the XPlorerBoard was designed for education, the entire board is coated in an anti-static coating and all of the leads on the bottom are protected as well.
The entire board along with accessories fits neatly into a standard binder as well, making the board portable and easy to carry to class or your favorite MakerSpace. The XPlorerBoard is being offered through a KickStarter campaign right now and appears to be one of the best value educational development kits on the market at the moment. Best of all, the XPlorerBoard is a product of Savanna, Georgia, and not too far from my home town!

Microsoft cuts Office 365 price for individuals
Microsoft has been offering its online version of Office called Office 365 for a while. Microsoft first envisioned this as a way to get people to pay for constantly updated productivity programs rather than buying a copy of Office once and never upgrading.

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Microsoft announced this week that it was cutting the price of Office 365 for individual users. That subscription is called Office 365 Personal. Currently Microsoft Office 365 Premium for households sells for $9.99 monthly and lets users access the service on up to five computers.
Some people don't have that many computers or that money people needing access. Office 365 Personal will cost a bit less at $6.99 per month or $69.99 annually for one user. Office 365 Home Premium is getting a name change to Office 365 Home.
The new subscription price and all other subscriptions come with the same features. Microsoft said, "[all subscribers will] get all of the subscription benefits including 60 minutes of Skype calling per month, 20GB of additional OneDrive storage."

Apple want's you to take more selfies, adds entire section to iTunes
Almost everyone with a smartphone has taken a selfie at some point and Apple is looking to make the process even easier with the creation of a new section in the iTunes App Store geared specifically towards selfie apps. The section will be filled with apps such as Snapchat, Justin Bieber's Shots, and much more.

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I had no idea that there were even apps in existance that were geared toward selfie image generation except for Snapchat, and I consider that more of a photo messaging app than anything else. This past year, the word Selfie gained notoriety when it was officially added to the Oxford Dictionary which had the following to say on the words addition. "If it is good enough for the Obamas or the pope, then it is good enough for Word of the Year."

Google Maps explores Colorado River with Street View
Google Street View is a cool service that shows you what streets and landmarks look like at the level you would see in a car or on foot. Back in 2012, Google took a tour of the Grand Canyon with a Trekker backpack that let you virtually explore trails around the canyon.

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Google has now strapped one of those Trekker systems into a raft and explored the Colorado River. The footage is very cool and makes you feel like you are right on the water. The footage required two Trekker cameras attached to rafts shooting images every 2.5 seconds.
The journey down the Colorado River was made in partnership with American Rivers organization that tries to protect endangered rivers. Google worked with Arizona River Runners for the actual journey. Google started at Lee's Ferry and ended at Pearce Ferry.
"We collected photos when the sun was the highest," Karin Tuxen-Bettman, leader of the Colorado River Street View Project, said Wednesday. "The canyon is narrow in places, and we didn't want shadows overtaking [the shots]."

Paypal adjust policies to fix issues surrounding crowdfunding
When it comes to crowdfunding, Paypal is not the most popular of choices when it comes to transaction processing. This is because the company has withheld funds in the past when taking crowdfunding donations on behalf of project creators. This is a problem because the whole idea of crowdfunding is to generate the funding needed to move forward with a project. Paypal is looking to change its image with the crowdfunding crowd by altering its policies on the subject.

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PayPal's Chief Risk Officer, Tomer Barel, says that his company now contacts campaign owners early in the crowdfunding process in an effort to better understand the projects goals. Different government regulations apply based on if the campaign is fundraising or simply offering pre-order sales. PayPal also has varying policies based on this as well and says it will not put limits on the account if the campaign is strictly fundraising. Restrictions will apply however if the capaign is strictly a pre-order type project. "We enable their campaigns without interrupting payments under the condition that the campaign owner is explicit and transparent to their contributors that there is no guarantee of delivery regarding the rewards being offered upon contribution," Barel says.

AT&T acquisition of Leap Wireless gets FCC approval
AT&T has been working on an acquisition of Leap Wireless for a while. Leap is a pre paid carrier favored by mobile users that don't like contracts. AT&T's purchase will cost it $1.2 billion and the FCC gave the deal the green light this week.

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Leap Wireless is also the owner of the Cricket brand of devices and service. The deal was first announced in July 2013 and no objections were raised by the DOJ against the deal. That meant all that AT&T needed was FCC approval.
The FCC had initially said that the deal raised concerns about competition in the marketplace. However, the FCC later decided that any concerns about reduced competition were offset by AT&T's plans to roll out LTE services on spectrum that Leap is currently using.
AT&T also plans to sell off spectrum it has in certain markets. AT&T has also agreed to LTE service in six markets in South Texas in the next 18 months. AT&T also promised to offer trade-in programs for Leap users before it phases out CDMA coverage on the network. The deal officially closed Thursday of this week.

LUXA2 P-MEGA 41,600mAh Portable Charger Review - World's Largest Power Bank

Introduction & Specifications

I remember a few months back that LUXA2 teased through its Facebook page the P-MEGA, its 41,600 Power Station. I imagined it being this massive, cumbersome portable battery, but the 41,600mAh of charge would be simply unbeatable.

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An e-mail requesting one as soon as possible was instantly shot off, and that day came last week. It arrived in the mail in a much smaller Express Post bag than I thought it would. Once I ripped through that bag with excitement, the P-MEGA awaited me.
Starting off with an introduction and specifications on LUXA2's P-MEGA, we have a massive 41,600mAh battery inside, six USB outputs for multiple devices, three are 2A and three are 1A. It features an LED 'mood light' that looks ultra-cool and a very plain power button.
In the box, you'll receive the P-MEGA itself, a carry pouch, power adapter, and user manual. I didn't expect less, but I wanted more; maybe some retractable microUSB cables? That would've been a nice touch, even just one that was built into the P-MEGA.

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The P-MEGA has power input rated at 12V/1.5A and takes around 10-11 hours for a full charge. For a battery with 41,600mAh inside, one would expect it to weigh a considerable amount, but the P-MEGA comes in at under 1kg.
LUXA2 has priced the P-MEGA incredibly well in my opinion, with the 41,600mAh mobile powerhouse selling for $199 on Amazon. $199 is a lot for a mobile battery, but for those who travel often, or charge lots of devices at once, this price is a steal.

Using the LUXA2 P-MEGA

I have a solar power system powering my house, so I charge up all of my devices during the day harnessing the power of our Sun. This means that I can charge up mobile batteries, such as the LUXA2 P-MEGA, during the day for free, and then when I'm discharging them, it's virtually giving me free power.
I decided to take the LUXA2 P-MEGA to my brother's house for a night of shenanigans where I could plug in a bunch of our devices and try--key word there being 'try'--to drain the P-MEGA as much as I could. Well, I could not... I failed. I barely took down one of its four LEDs, and that was from charging devices all day and night.
I charged up an iPhone 5S, Nexus 5, a portable speaker, another portable battery, and then an iPhone 5; all the devices were on varying levels of charge, but it barely took off one LED. With one LED representing around 10,000mAh of charge, this is an awesome achievement.
The USB ports themselves have a blue LED glowing from them when they're active, but I did wish that I could have at least one retractable cord included and built into the P-MEGA. That would make life that much easier, as I wouldn't need to tote around multiple microUSB to USB cables.

What's Hot

41,600mAh of Portable Charging - This is the selling point of the P-MEGA; right there on the box it states that it's the "world's largest power bank", and, with 41,600mAh of charge, it is. It provides 48 hours of non-stop charging to six devices, which is something other devices simply can't get close to.

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Six USB Ports - Being able to charge six devices simultaneously is great, as you can be charging up multiple devices at once, without draining the battery down too much. This comes in handy when you have kids, or lots of friends, who want their mobile devices charged up quickly from a single device.

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LUXA2's Design Work on the P-MEGA - LUXA2 has some truly beautiful products, with the P-MEGA now added to that growing list. The blue LEDs really tip it off, with the only downside being that Plain Jane power button.

What's Not

No Retractable/Built-In Cables - This is the only thing wrong with the P-MEGA: no built-in or retractable cables. This is something I would've loved to see included, but it definitely doesn't make me think it is a device less worthy of a near-perfect review.

Final Thoughts

If you travel a lot, have kids, or are really social, the LUXA2 P-MEGA is for you. With 41,600mAh of charge, you won't run out of battery even if you're charging multiple devices for the entire weekend. This is a massive bonus; you could take the P-MEGA away with you for the weekend, put it on the table, and plug things up to it as you need it.

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Having six USB ports on the P-MEGA is another selling point, as you can plug up all of your devices--even other portable batteries--and they'll all be charged by the morning. On top of that, the P-MEGA itself will also be charged, ready to go.
We've just been hit by a massive heat wave here in Australia, where temperatures soared above 110F. In my state, and just a few suburbs over, power was cut to close to 100,000 homes. I noticed my Facebook feed was filled with people saying they were going over to friends' or families' houses to charge up their devices (phones, tablets, etc).
In this day and age, you really need your smartphone(s) charged up in case of an emergency. If the P-MEGA was in the house, you have a couple of weeks of charge, or even a week with multiple devices. It really has a million-and-one uses and a million-and-one reasons to buy it.
PRICING: You can find the LUXA2 P-MEGA for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.
United States: The LUXA2 P-MEGA retails for $178.13 at Amazon.

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MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Twin Frozr Gaming OC Video Card Review

Introduction

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Last month, we got a chance to look at the new GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB from NVIDIA and found ourselves really impressed with what the company was offering.
When you talk about dollar for dollar and FPS for FPS, the model just screams value against its main competitor, the similarly priced AMD Radeon R7 260X 2GB. While impressed with the performance of the card from an FPS stand point, we saw some room for improvement.
Out of the box, the cooler on the reference card was nothing to get excited about. If anything, it was something to be disappointed in. Of course, we knew that this was only going to be temporary and when we got our hand on retail versions of the card, this small issue would be fixed.
The other thing is we've always got room for improvement when it comes to stock clocks. Today, the MSI card we're looking at is, of course, overclocked out of the box as the "OC" label would suggest.
Outside of that, there's really not much else for us to say. We're doing exactly what we wanted today: getting the chance to look at a retail version of the new GTX 750 Ti 2GB. Let's see what MSI is able to bring to the party with its GTX 750 Ti 2GB Twin Frozr Gaming OC offering.

Package

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Taking a look at the box, we really don't see anything out of the ordinary with the overall design. The Gaming series has been around for a while now, and the black and red color scheme looks great. We can see the model clearly on the front, and, in the corner, you can see that we're dealing with an OC model as we mentioned in the introduction.

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Turning the box over, you can see some of the main features in more detail, including support for the Gaming APP, which brings easy overclocking via three modes. Along with that, you can see Military Class 4 support, which brings Hi-c and Solid Capacitors along with the Twin Frozr IV cooler, which we've always been a fan of. We're looking forward to seeing how it performs on the new Maxwell chip.

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Moving inside the package, you can see there's not a whole lot going on besides the standard User Guide and CD being present. Along with that, we've also got another piece of paper that explains the Hybrid BIOS feature that is included on the card. We'll take a closer look at that in just a moment when we move to the card.
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be quiet! Dark Rock 3 CPU Cooler Review

Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing

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Just last month, we had a chance to take a look at the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3. In fact, we were sent said cooler as soon as it was released and even before retail stock was available. Looking back to the DRP3, we were given a dual-tower cooler that covered most of the top half of the motherboard, which made accessing screws a bit tough.
Mounting the cooler took sleight of hand and a bit of magic, and it even blocked off three of the four DIMM slots, which made memory choice a huge concern. On the flip side, the cooler performed well, and as with anything from be quiet! that we have had the pleasure of testing, it was near silent at any stage of the game.
Things change slightly as we now take a look at their newest solution in CPU air cooling. Many of the problems or issues that show up with the DRP3 are gone with this design: the mounting becomes much easier, memory clearance is much less of an issue, and since this is a single tower design, we no longer are taking the majority of the top of the motherboard with this cooler, making getting the motherboard mounted into a chassis with the cooler already mounted an easy task to accomplish.
Today, we will be getting very close and personal with the newest of be quiet! coolers, the Dark Rock 3. We addressed the single tower nature of this air cooler, but behind this design is a lot of engineering and tricks of the trade being applied to hopefully take this silent single tower into the charts at a respectable level. One thing that remains a constant: no matter the performance levels achieved, the major selling point to all be quiet! products is the near silence afforded to the users when sitting at idle or allowing their SilentWings fans to spool all the way up under gaming or benching.

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As we see in the chart, be quiet! has no issues putting it all on the table for potential buyers to educate themselves with what they have to offer. Right out of the gate, we start with the cooler dimensions. It shows the main assembly to be 97mm long, 137mm wide, and 160mm in height. It also shows us that this cooler weighs in at 976 grams fully assembled and boasts a TDP of 190W. The chart then goes on to show all of the Intel and AMD mounting compatibility. It also shows that we receive a single SilentWings PWM 135mm fan and covers the noise level for said fan at various power levels.
The next section of the chart specifies information about the cooler body. The dimensions are, of course, smaller once the fan is removed, and the measurements reflect that. We are also given the fin count so we don't have to do it ourselves. This is also where be quiet! covers the aluminum used in the 50 fins, the copper used in the heat pipes, and the CNC milled base. The last bits mentioned in this section cover the six 6mm diameter heat pipes used in this design, the fact the aluminum bits of the cooler have dark nickel plating applied to them to dress things up a bit, and the features that follow the "Dark" part of this cooler's naming.
The last section then covers the fan supplied with the Dark Rock 3. This fan is 135mm in diameter and is 25mm thick. It is said to spin at 1400 RPM. With maximum power offered to it, it offers 68.3 CFM of airflow and also offers 2.1mmH2O of static pressure. The nine blades of the hub spin on a fluid dynamic bearing. The chart also covers the rated voltage of 12V, the maximum current of 0.11A, and the 1.56W this fan pulls when powered via the 4-pin PWM connection at the end of 220mm fan cable. We also see that the SilentWings PWM 135mm fan has a life expectancy of 300,000 hours, which we think is a typo because 300,000 hours works out to something like 34 years of run time.
Just like with our DRP3 sample from be quiet!, this Dark Rock 3 also arrived well ahead of schedule, and, while not on store shelves as we write this, we are privy to the MSRP pricing. Since we know the dual-tower DRP3 was set with an MSRP of $89.99, we expected a lower price for this single-tower design. That being said, the $69.99 US dollar MSRP set for the Dark Rock 3 is very reasonable, and while breaking our old $50 comfort mark we used to talk about all the time, with these tough times in the economy, pricing is bound to rise some, and we feel that on paper, and just looking at what this design offers, the MSRP is on point and not that unreasonable.
At this point, you may as well get comfortable and settle in for the latest release from be quiet! in the form of the Dark Rock 3. We plan to put this cooler through all the same testing all of our samples receive and see just how well be quiet! and this Dark Rock 3 can compete with other space saving tower coolers as well as comparing it on the larger scale against all other solutions. Hopefully, if the noise levels don't win you over, the styling, accessibility to the rest of the system, and its performance levels will send you hunting this cooler down to put in your own system.
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Vantec EZSwap M2512T HDD Storage Rack Review

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In our last review from Vantec, we had the chance to take a look at the M3500. Today, we are fixing to take a look at the little brother, or rather the 2.5-inch model, the M2500.
The M2500 shares many of the same design characteristics we found in the M3500, though the M2500 moves from the traditional 3.5-inch form factor to the 2.5-inch form factor. This time around, we have four, eight, and twelve bay models, with the twelve bay being the unit we have for testing.
Each of these models supports both SATA and SAS hard drives and solid state drives and features a full aluminium design. MSRP of the Vantec M2512T is set at $149.99 with a one year warranty.

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Scope of delivery for the M2512T features a complete set of twelve SATA cables for connecting to your system. We also have a full set of screws for installing drives and keys for the locking mechanisms on the trays.

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Taking a look at the front of the M2512T, we first noticed the aluminium design of the enclosure. Each tray is also completely aluminium. A downside here is each tray isn't labelled, so it's hard to know which connections on the back of the unit correspond to the trays on the front.

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The back of the unit houses a SATA connector for each bay, though on this enclosure things were much easier to read than the M3500. We also have three SATA power connections up top.

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At the bottom of the enclosure, we have a fan control switch along with the LED control for the bays. We also have the pins for connecting an activity LED to a chassis.

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Here we took a peek at the internal connector. You can see we have an Optimus SAS SSD in one of the slots to check the SAS capabilities.

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Above, we have the tray for the M2500, again made of aluminium.

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Above, we have the results with our Seagate 600 Pro connected directly to the native SATA III port on our Z77 motherboard. As you can see, we reached 500 MB/s read and 450 MB/s write.

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In our second test, we installed the same drive into the Vantec M2512T. Here we came up with equally performing results with the enclosure registering 518 MB/s read and 470 MB/s write.
Like its larger brother, the EZSwap M2512T carries the same great new design that I have really come to love from Vantec. However, this unit does carry a few more downsides than the larger model.
First, let's talk build quality. Here we have a great aluminium design with locking trays that slide effortlessly into the enclosure. Drives are very easy to install with the included hardware kit, and the back of the unit has each bay connection labelled so they are easy to see in low light conditions.
Performance was just as good as having your drives plugged directly into the SATA III port, which is as expected.
Downsides for the M2512T start with the fan, which again is too loud for my liking and something I know Vantec could improve on. The second is the lack of a bay numbering scheme on the front of the unit. I know there isn't much room on the side for numbers, but a simple sticker on the top of each tray could go a long ways in helping you figure out what drive is plugged in on what channel.
MSRP of the Vantec M2512T is set at $149.99 with a one-year warranty.

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Rosewill RPLC-500 500 Mbps Powerline AV Networking Adapter Starter Kit Review

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Every once in awhile, you come across a situation where normal solutions just won't work or cannot be easily executed. In a more recent case where things didn't come together as expected, I was attempting to run an Ethernet line from my office to my garage to connect an additional PC that I normally use to lookup parts when tinkering with my toys.
Typically, I would grab a healthy length of Cat5e or Cat6 and start running the line towards my destination. This time, a few things landed in the way. The first being the distance, and the second, a twelve inch beam.
In situations like this, you start to look elsewhere. Traditionally, I would use wireless, but even that at times doesn't deliver the speed I would like to have. Luckily, technology has evolved enough to the point where Powerline networking has matured quite a bit to the point where we are reaching upwards of 500 Mbps.
Today, we have the Rosewill RPLC500 in house and tested. This kit features one push 128-bit security along with gigabit Ethernet built into each Powerline receiver. Maximum speed of this kit is said to reach 500 Mbps with a range of 300 meters. MSRP of the Rosewill AV500 Powerline Kit sits at $69.99 with a one-year warranty.

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Scope of delivery for the RPLC500 kit included Powerline adapters, two Cat5 cables, and utility DVD.

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Looking at the front of the adapter, we find a set of three LEDs. The first two are green with the third changing colors from green to orange and red depending on how good your Powerline connection is.

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On the back of the adapter, we have a standard North American plug.

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On the input side of things, we have a gigabit RJ45 LAN port. To the left, the security button and reset are present.

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Here is the testing layout for the charts that follow.

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As you can see, we didn't quite hit the 500 Mbps mark set forth by marketing, but we did manage to reach 230 Mbps at peak. As we moved our second receiver further away, things did take a turn for the worse, but it was quickly noticeable as the LED color changed.

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Above, we have the file transfer test for each of the situations above. At its peak, we reached 27 MB/s.
With the Rosewill RPLC500 being the first time I have had the chance to use Powerline networking, I must say it's a great beginning. The build quality of the Rosewill units was great and the ease of use made the experience even better.
Performance of the units didn't quite hit the advertised speeds, but I was able to obtain 230 Mbps, which isn't too bad for a wired connection that uses existing infrastructure. Even better, this product will successfully allow you to extend your network even further, taking you to the garage or second story without the need to run Cat5 through walls.
Additionally, you can setup up to sixteen of these adapter into one network with each device having a built-in QoS making for a pretty powerful video streaming network for a bedroom or home office.
MSRP of the Rosewill RPLC500 Kit is set at $69.99 with a one-year warranty. Current market pricing can be found below.
PRICING: You can find the Rosewill RPLC500 Kit for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing, but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.
United States: The Rosewill RPLC500 Kit retails for $69.99 at Amazon.
Canada: The Rosewill RPLC500 Kit retails for CDN$136.76 at Amazon Canada.

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CalDigit FASTA 6GU3Pro PCIe Host Adapter Review

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Anyone that has spent time around a PC or Mac has heard of the CalDigit brand. CalDigit has been making high-performance storage solutions catered to the prosumer market since its beginnings.
In the lab today, we have the latest product refresh from CalDigit in the form of the 6GU3Pro. The 6GU3 Pro is a PCI Express expansion card giving additional eSATA and USB 3.0 connectivity to Mac and PC users alike. What previously took multiple cards and populated multiple slots in a traditional system can now be had in one simple solution.
Compatibility of the 6GU3 Pro extends to Windows 7+ and OS X 10.7+. Of course, you will need an available PCIe-x4 slot as well. MSRP of the 6GU3 Pro is listed at $169.99 with a one-year warranty.

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Looking over the card, we find CalDigit's signature purple PCB. The center of the card houses the PLX for direct PCIe connections to the SATA and USB 3.0 controller.

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The back I/O of the 6GU3 houses dual eSATA 6Gb/s ports along with dual USB 3.0 ports that support the latest UASP protocol.

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On the edge of the PCB, we found additional SATA ports.

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The SATA controller used on the 6GU3 is the Marvell 88SE9230.

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The USB 3.0 host controller used is the Fresco Logic FL1100.

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Above, we have the results from testing the SATA ports on the 6GU3. As you can see, we were able to touch 498 MB/s read and 350 MB/s write with our Seagate 600 Pro.

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Over on the eSATA side, our Seagate 600 Pro was able to touch 496 MB/s read and 350 MB/s write.

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Above, we have the results from the USB 3.0 testing. We used the very fast SSD2Go Pro from Angelbird. Peak speeds came in at 350 MB/s read and 370 MB/s write.
The CalDigit 6GU3Pro has the unique ability to do multiple things in one form factor. In the beginning, if you wanted to have all these connection options, you would be running multiple cards populating many slots in your system. With the CalDigit, you can add USB 3.0, eSATA, and SATA to your PC using one solution.
Build quality of the CalDigit 6GU3 is exceptional; all of the solder joints look solid, and the PCB looks to be at least a five layer design. Performance of the adapter was great in both eSATA and SATA. We touched 500 MB/s in both testing scenarios. USB 3.0 performance was solid, but if we compare to native USB 3.0 on our Intel chipset, it came in slightly slower.
Overall, the CalDigit is a great solution for those looking to add on to existing connectivity options or even get their first taste of USB 3.0 on older systems.
MSRP of the CalDigit 6GU3Pro sits at $169.99 with a one-year warranty. Current market pricing can be found below.
PRICING: You can find the CalDigit 6GU3 (non-PRO) for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing, but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.
United States: The CalDigit 6GU3 (non-PRO) retails for $199.99 at Amazon.
Canada: The CalDigit 6GU3 (non-PRO) retails for CDN $149.00 at Amazon Canada.

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Create Your Personal Cloud! ASRock Cloud Free Offers $150 USD Value Software To ASRock Users
TAIPEI, Taiwan, March 12, 2014 - ASRock partners with Kloudian to make your mobile devices connect to your PC seamlessly! We offer ASRock Cloud - a three year subscription to Orbweb.ME Professional version (worth USD $149.97), a personal cloud service which is originally $49.99 per year. Plus an additional one month upgrade to Orbweb.ME Ultimate package with Remote Desktop function. Now, download Orbweb.ME Host, enter ASRock Cloud promotion code "ASR2014"?, ASRock's users are allowed to enjoy all services above.

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ASRock Cloud is a collaboration of ASRock and Kloudian Systems Inc. Kloudian is a cloud service solution provider focused on personal cloud enablement innovations.
"It is very exciting to work with ASRock, one of the world's largest motherboard manufacturers. With the continued proliferation of mobile devices and the growing demand to 'stay connected', we are proud to provide a powerful and convenient solution to enable users the freedom of their portable device plus the power of their ASRock personal computer."? said James Wei, CEO of Kloudian. "ASRock has had a vision of personal cloud as a data sharing solution for several years. With Kloudian's assistance, ASRock has finally fulfilled this dream."? said James Lee, VP of ASRock Sales and Marketing.
Designed for easy-setup, you'll be ready to go in minutes. Install the iOS or Android app (or use a PC browser) then you can remotely power on your PC, stream music, photos, and video clips remotely via Orbweb.ME's file Xplorer anytime, anywhere. Forgot to bring your presentation files? Just remotely login to your PC to search and access the files you need. Running out of storage on your mobile device? Send your photos and videos from your mobile device back to your PC.
Still struggling with your mobile device to work with Windows applications and files? Try Orbweb.ME Remote Desktop*. Unlike other cloud software that may only allow access to PC files, Orbweb.ME Remote Desktop also provides full access to your desktop, applications, and files.
Download the software and enter the ASRock Cloud promotion code "ASR2014"? (available only to ASRock motherboard customers), to get a three year subscription to Orbweb.ME Professional which includes a one month subscription to Orbweb.ME Ultimate! ASRock Cloud is the best solution to get mobile devices connected to your PC remotely.
*Remote Desktop comes with the Ultimate package which is only free for the first month.
For more information, please visit: http://www.asrock.com/feature/cloud/
QR code for accessing ASRock Cloud:

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View the exciting video introduction:

Digital Storm Unveils the VANQUISH II Gaming PC
Digital Storm is excited to unveil the new VANQUISH II, a gaming PC built to play the most demanding games with maximum detail, speed, and power without breaking the bank.

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"Starting at just $699, VANQUISH II delivers an incredible value with the ability to play the most graphic intensive games at max settings," said Rajeev Kuruppu, Digital Storm's Director of Product Development. "That is still obviously more expensive than purchasing a console, but we believe delivering graphics up to three times the resolution is well worth the extra $100-200 investment."
From a "Good" configuration with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 1 GB video card and Intel Core i3 4330 processor to an "Ultimate" build with a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 2 GB video card and Intel Core i5 4570 processor, VANQUISH II is armed to deliver a truly immersive gaming experience.
VANQUISH II's fully upgradeable, open architecture helps gamers stay ahead of the competition with easy upgrades that keep the system on the cutting edge for years to come.
"PC gamers demand the best and that means utilizing the latest components and technologies to deliver the most immersive gaming experience possible. Conversely, consoles quickly become outdated due to a limited architecture and the inability to upgrade performance," said Kuruppu.
There's no waiting or delays like a traditional build-to-order system, all VANQUISH II units ship within 72 hours from the moment an order is placed. During those 72 hours each VANQUISH II system undergoes rigorous stress testing and benchmarking. Afterwards, each desktop goes a multi-point QA inspection where every aspect of the system is scrutinized, from part fitment to software setup, to make sure each unit is perfect.
VANQUISH II is available exclusively at http://www.digitalstormonline.com/vanquish-ii.asp.

CYBERPOWERPC Debuts FANGbook EVO HX7 Notebooks
CyberPower Inc., a global manufacturer of custom gaming PCs, gaming laptops, and performance workstations, today unleashed its FANGbook EVO HX7 line of high performance gaming notebooks. The FANGbook EVO HX7 series features next-generation NVIDIA GeForce GTX 800M series video cards and 4th Generation Intel Core i7 mobile processors.

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The new notebook will be offered as four base models, from HX7-100 to HX7-400, with a starting price of $1499. Packed into a sleek chassis that offers excellent cooling, each model delivers the power and performance to decimate, dominate, and annihilate every foe for hours on end.
Thanks to next-generation NVIDIA GeForce GTX 800M series video cards, the FANGbook EVO HX7 provides ultra-smooth, high-definition game play on maximum settings. The range-topping GeForce GTX 880M boasts up to 20% better performance than its predecessor, while the GTX 870M is nearly 50% faster than last year's equivalent part. Select FANGbook models will also feature the GTX 860M, which offers similar performance enhancements over the previous generation.
FANGbook EVO HX7 notebooks equipped with NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 800M series support NVIDIA's CUDA and PhysX technologies for the most advanced, most immersive gaming experience possible. The EVO HX7 series also features NVIDIA Optimus technology, which increases battery life by toggling between display adapters while maintaining the seamless computing experience expected of CYBERPOWERPC notebooks.
Through NVIDIA's GeForce Experience application, EVO HX7 gamers can turn on GeForce ShadowPlay to capture and share in-game footage. GeForce Battery Boost technology, which can automatically restrict graphics performance under certain power conditions to extend battery life by up to two times, can also be enabled in the GeForce Experience application.
The FANGbook EVO HX7's 17.3" full HD (1920 x 1080) anti-glare display is perfect for the mobile gamer who requires vivid color reproduction and plenty of screen real estate, while the custom crafted design makes a gaming fashion statement without being too bulky. The FANGbook EVO HX7 measures 16.85" (W) x 11.34" (D) x 2.17" (H) and weighs just 7.9 pounds with battery.
Other standard gaming features include HD Surround Sound for crystal clear audio fidelity, and an anti-ghosting, fully backlit gaming keyboard that captures simultaneous keystrokes and lights up with red LEDs so you never miss a key.
The FANGbook HX7 series is pre-loaded with Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit, and can be customized with additional performance gaming memory up to 32 GB, a variety of Intel SSD options, and dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi cards.
FANGbook HX7-100 Base Specs:

17.3" Full HD 1080p Display
Intel Core i7-4700MQ
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M 6 GB
8 GB DDR3
1 TB HDD
Windows 8.1
802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi + Bluetooth

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/LandingPages/FangbookEVO/

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