Red Faction 13 Years-Later Review
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Genetic Algorithm Used to Develop Broadband Metamaterial
Designing something to be as efficient as possible can be very tricky, depending on what it is, but clever algorithms do exist to help the process. One system that is tricky to optimize is metamaterials, which possess properties not found in Nature. Researchers at Penn State recently designed a broadband metamaterial with a genetic algorithm to achieve the best performance possible.
The laws of physics can be described mathematically, and this truth has some interesting consequences as it means we can bend the laws with math to create some otherwise impossible materials. Metamaterials are materials that have been carefully engineered with properties that cannot exist in Nature, such as negative indices of refraction. To create their new metamaterial, the Penn State researchers used a genetic algorithm, which operates by testing multiple candidates. The most successful candidates are preserved and randomly combined to produce a new generation of candidates, which are then tested to determine the best candidates again. After so many generations, you arrive at what should be a very successful result.
In this case the result is a metamaterial that uses a special pattern of palladium to absorb a broad range of wavelengths and could be used to shield objects form infrared sensors and to protect instruments. While the metamaterial itself may have some interesting uses, it is the use a genetic algorithm that may be the most important aspect of this research, by demonstrating that they can be used to design metamaterials
Source: Penn State
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ASUS Introduces New Chromebooks
Two new Chromebooks have just been unveiled by ASUS, known as the C200 and C300. Both models feature some impressive specifications, with each including an Intel Bay Trail N2830 running at 2.42GHz, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac2, Bluetooth 4.0, a 720p webcam, an audio port, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, HDMI, and an SD slot. The main difference between the C200 and C300 comes in the form of screen size and RAM, with the former featuring an 11.6-inch screen and 2GB of RAM, and the latter boasting a 13.3-inch screen and 4GB of RAM. Other differences between the models include 16GB or 32GB storage options being available for the C200, while the C300 only comes with a configuration of 32GB of storage.
ASUS will make both of its new Chromebooks available in June of this year, with a price point starting at $249.99. No additional pricing or release information has been revealed.
Source: ZDNet
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Seagate Upgrades Wireless Plus Mobile Storage Expander
Although the Seagate Wireless Plus product line has been around since early 2013, Seagate has just announced that it has made multiple upgrades to its mobile storage expander solution for smartphones, which is a battery operated Wi-Fi portable hard drive that smartphones and tablets can connect to for additional storage. The Seagate Media mobile application has been updated to be compatible with major mobile platforms including Android, iOS, Kindle Fire, Windows, and Windows RT. Additionally, the smartphone application now features integration with cloud storage services, such as Dropbox and Google Drive. The largest upgrade to the Wireless Plus product line is that the hard drives are now available in 500GB and 2TB capacities, complimenting the already available 1TB version.
Consumers can purchase a Seagate Wireless Plus hard drive immediately, with the 1TB model costing $180 and the 2TB model costing $200. The 500GB version of the Seagate Wireless Plus will be available for purchase starting May 9, 2014, with a price of $150.
Source: CNET
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Valve Removes Controversial Game Earth: Year 2066 From Steam and Issues Refunds
In a rather rare move, Valve has removed Earth: Year 2066 from Steam, stating that "Steam does require honesty from developers in the marketing of their games." The game launched as a Steam Early Access title on April 17 for $19.99 after being greenlit by the community, but right from the onset, customers not only called the game "broken," but accused the developer of misleading them with inaccurate claims. While this may be seen as a black eye on Steam Greenlight, the bigger issue is Steam Early Access, which some people believe too many game developers are taking advantage of to push out incomplete projects just to collect money, with no intention on fulfilling promises. Of course, maybe Steam users should be a little more diligent in which games they decide to back on Early Access.
The good news is that Valve is issuing full refunds on the store page until May 19, so if you were suckered into buying Earth: Year 2066, be sure to get your refund within the next week or so.
Source: Steam via Eurogamer
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MSI Now Shipping Two New Gaming Laptops
Two of MSI's more recent laptops, the GS70 Stealth and GS60 Ghost, are getting the "Pro" treatment beginning today. Both the GS70 Stealth Pro and GS60 Ghost Pro 3K come equipped with a Core i7-4700HQ processor, 16GB DDR3L, and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M GPU, with the Stealth getting 6GB GDDR5 and the Ghost getting 3GB DDR5. Both also feature the Killer E2200 Game Networking LAN technology, a Steel Series full-color backlit keyboard with Anti-Ghost key, and MSI's Super RAID Technology.
The GS70 Stealth Pro is a 17.3" notebook featuring a 1920x1080 resolution and weighing in at 5.73 lbs, while the GS60 Ghost Pro 3K is a 15.6" WQHD+ 3K notebook featuring a 2880x1620 resolution and weighing in at 4.36 lbs. Both are available at an MSRP of $1,999.99 or $2,099.99, depending on the hard drive configuration.
Source: Press Release
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Activision CEO Says Destiny is a '$500 Million Bet'
According to Reuters, during the Milken conference in Los Angeles last week, Activision CEO called Bungie's upcoming shooter-RPG hybrid Destiny a "$500 million bet." That number raised a few eyebrows, but a company spokesperson confirmed the number, though clarifying that it "included marketing, packaging, infrastructure support, royalties and other costs." Still, analysts say that the amount would likely be a record spent on a single game, which is even more surprising considering it's a brand new IP. According to several analysts, Activision would have to sell about 15 million to 16 million units of a $60 game just to break even.
Grand Theft Auto V has sold over 32.5 million units as of February this year, but that was the fifth major installment of a highly popular franchise. While Destiny could indeed be a big success, Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia is expecting it to sell "only" 8 million units. While Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive reportedly only spent around $260 million on GTAV, the costs may not be directly comparable since Activision's number may take into account the entire 10-year deal it signed with Bungie, or at least a large portion of that. For example, it seems part of that "infrastructure" cost is associated with the new next-generation engine, which will surely be used in future titles. Nevertheless, no matter which way you slice it, $500 million spent on an unproven IP is a huge risk.
Destiny is expected to launch September 9, 2014, on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. A PC version has not been ruled out, but if it does come, it certainly wouldn't be until after the console launch.
Source: Reuters
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Building Bilayer Graphene for Future Electronics
It can be quite frustrating when you have two points you want to connect, but lack the path between them. One example of this is having two technologies you want to combine, but need to first develop a third. Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara and Rice University have recently discovered a technology that may connect bilayer graphene with ultra-low power electronics.
Graphene is an atom thick sheet of carbon with many special properties, including extraordinary electrical conductivity. For this reason, many would like to see it used in electronics, but it lacks a band-gap, making it useless as a semiconductor. Bilayer graphene however, which is, as the name suggests, two layers of graphene stacked together can be made to have a band gap by creating a potential difference between the layers. The researchers developed a way to quickly synthesis bilayer graphene to form double-gate field-effect transistors. The double gate is crucial as it is what allows the two graphene layers to have a band gap.
The researchers grew the bilayer graphene on an alloy surface, covering almost all of the nine square-inch area in a matter of minutes. When tested the transistors demonstrated great electron mobility, indicating that what was grown was of high quality, making it potential ideal for future electronics.
Source: EurekAlert!
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