Diamond Dual-Band 2.4GHz/5.0GHz Wireless 802.11n Range Extender Review
Diamond Dual-Band 2.4GHz/5.0GHz Wireless 802.11n Range Extender Review
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NZXT Kraken X31 Review
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Plotting Quantum Paths
Many systems in Nature try to achieve a low state of energy, which can be quite useful by keeping things simple. In quantum mechanics though, simple rarely happens, including when a particle in a superposition just tries to get from one point to another. Finally though, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and University of California, Berkeley have designed and completed an experiment to actually track the path a quantum particle takes, without destroying its quantum nature.
Quantum mechanical phenomena are typically very fragile with observations causing them to collapse down to classical physics. This is true of superposition, which is the phenomenon of a particle existing in multiple mutually-exclusive states at the same time, such as being in two positions at the same time. An electron in an atom will be in just such a superposition when moving between the ground state and an excited state, as it can exist in both states at the same time, resulting in an infinite number of possible paths. Despite that, the electron will still have a desired path, like classical systems do, but observing it is tricky, as observations can collapse the superposition. The researchers got around that though by using microwave photons that would not trigger the electrons to move from one state to another. Being quantum systems, the photons would still collect information about the electrons as it passed by. The researchers also did the work with a superconducting circuit sometimes called an artificial atom, as it can have properties, like quantized electron energy levels, like atoms do.
The results confirmed the researchers' theory by showing that the electrons prefer to move along convex curves, though some had guessed other possibilities including concave curves, a straight line, and even a squiggly line. Given the amount of physics and chemistry that is the result of the behavior of electrons, this research could one day lead to some very interesting discoveries.
Source: Washington University in St. Louis
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Biostar Announces Hi-Fi B85S2G Motherboard
The latest motherboard from Biostar uses the Intel B85 single chip architecture supporting fourth generation i7 and i5 processors from the 1150 socket. The Hi-Fi B85S2G has numerous potential applications including personal, business, and Bitcoin mining with three PCI-E slots. The board also has two Gigabit LAN ports and a "Load Balancing" feature to divide traffic between the ports when both are connected. Up to 16GB of DDR3 is supported in two slots with four SATA3 connectors, two SATA2 connectors, 8-channel audio, and seven USB ports.
Source: Press Release
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Comcast Increases Available Bandwidth in Select Markets
Comcast customers within select markets in California, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas will notice that their broadband speeds have increased substantially. Although the additional available throughput will vary by plan, Comcast is providing the increased speeds at no cost. Those who are currently subscribed to the Performance plan will now notice speeds of up to 50 Mbps, up from 25 Mbps, while those on the Blast plan will notice speeds of up to 105 Mbps, up from 50 Mbps. The Extreme 105 plan is even being upgraded for free, with bandwidth now being bumped up to 150 Mbps.
At this time, Comcast has not announced any changes to its other plans for customers located within the select markets aforementioned.
Source: PCWorld
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Apple Officially Closes Beats Acquisition Deal
Beats, which was cofounded by Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre and is comprised of Beats Electronics and Beats Music, has officially been acquired by Apple following the closing of a $3 billion deal. The deal itself was announced earlier this year in May, with the European Union providing final approval earlier this week. Within the deal closing announcement, Apple mentioned that it plans to elevate the experience that music provides listeners and is excited to work with individuals on the Beats team that are so enthusiastic about music. Apple did not disclose just exactly what it plans to do with Beats as a company going forward, however.
Source: CNET
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Klei Entertainment's Invisible, Inc. Coming to Steam Early Access August 19
Originally entitled Incognita, the turn-based tactical espionage game Invisible, Inc. has been in paid alpha since September 2013. Since then, along with the name change this past January, developer Klei Entertainment has released twelve major updates to the game. On June 17, Klei announced that that it was temporarily suspending alpha purchases in preparation for its arrival on Steam Early Access and its biggest update yet. Today, Klei announced that Invisible, Inc. will be coming to Steam Early Access on August 19.
Klei Entertainment founder Jamie "Bigfoot" Cheng made the announcement today in a forum post and highlighted a few of the things the team has been working on for this major update. Invisible, Inc. now has a Mission Map that allows players to select their own locations. An Infinite Mode has also been added, which is as it sounds, allowing you build up your agency and survive as long as possible. The mainframe, Incognita, has received an overhaul with new abilities, and upgrading her will improve hacking efficiency. Lastly, Cheng promises a "huge amount of gameplay and visual improvements [including] dragging bodies, way better Line of Sight and cover visualization, huge improvements to the HUD, the aforementioned map, reusable items, hacking drones allows you to control them... and more."
Sadly, the Steam page isn't live yet, nor is there any new trailer at this time.
Source: Klei Entertainment via Facebook
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New Shadowgate Cinematic Trailer Unveils the Evil Warlock "Talimar the Black"
Last week we learned that the re-imagining of the 1987 classic Shadowgate was finally set to arrive for Windows and Mac on August 21. Part of the re-imagining is an updated and expanded story complete with cut-scenes. Today, developer Zojoi released a cinematic trailer entitled "Talimar the Black", featuring gorgeous hand-painted sequences from the game. "The trailer unveils the malevolent [warlock] Talimar the Black, his fall from grace, and the power he seeks buried deep within the bowels of Castle Shadowgate." Players take on the role of "The Seed of Prophecy", who is the last hope to defeat this traitorous Warlock Lord.
Source: Press Release
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New Topological Insulator Confirmed
They say one should not judge a book by its cover, and that is definitely true of some materials as well. Topological insulators (TIs) are interesting materials that will conduct electrons across their surfaces, but not through their insulating volumes, which leads to some curious electrical properties. It has recently been confirmed by researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, the Paul Scherrer Institute, and the Chinese Academy of Science that one material hoped to be TI is one, but with some very special properties.
Samarium hexaboride (SmB6) has been theorized to be a TI for some time, but the reasons behind it are slightly different from others. The bulk of SmB6 is an insulator due to the Kondo effect, which causes electrons to scatter in a material due to temperature. It also has the effect of protecting electron currents from being disturbed by irregularities in a material. This means that a topological Kondo insulator would be very robust and efficient, even compared to other TIs that can conduct electricity on their surfaces with minimal resistance. To confirm SmB6 is a topological insulator, the researchers fired photons at it with enough energy to knock electrons off of it. These electrons were then measured to provide information on the TI.
One of the reasons topological insulators are of such interest is that electrons traveling on their surface preserve their spin, an intrinsic characteristic giving electrons their magnetic properties. The hope is that computers could one day be built that operate on electronic spin, instead of electronic charge, and TIs will likely help make that possible.
Source: EurekAlert!
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Properties Separated from Particles in Experiment
In 2001 an idea was published that under quantum mechanics, particles could behave like the Cheshire Cat and have their properties separated from the particle, like the grin being found off of the cat from Alice's Adventure in Wonderland. Researchers at Chapman University and the Vienna University of Technology have finally demonstrated this phenomenon experimentally using neutrons.
Neutrons are subatomic particles lacking an electronic charge, but possessing a spin, so they are affected by magnetic fields. For some time researchers have been using neutron interferometers to measure quantum mechanics by splitting a beam of neutrons and recombining them. As the neutrons enter a superposition, they will take both paths until a measurement forces a decision. For this experiment the two beams were filtered so that the top beam consisted only of neutrons with spins parallel to the beam, with those in the bottom beam having antiparallel spins. (Returning to the Cheshire Cat, the cats in the top beam are all grinning and those in the bottom are all frowning.) When the beams recombine, the resulting beam contains neutrons of both spin directions, but only those with a parallel spin are counted, therefore they must have taken the top path. (Only grins are being counted, so the only cats being counted travelled the top path.)
To separate the properties from the particles, the researchers bring in a magnetic field to disrupt the spins a little. When applied to the top beam, nothing actually happens, but when applied to the bottom beam, they will actually interfere with the measurement. As only the spin parallel neutrons are being counted and only the spin antiparallel neutrons are being affected, there should be no interference. Unless, that is, the spins of the neutrons in the top beam are actually taking the bottom path, and being affected by the magnetic field such that there is interference when the beams recombine. (Some of the grins must be separated from their cats to take the bottom path, because the count of grins changes when applying the field to the bottom path, despite there being no grinning cats on the bottom path.)
What is any of this good for? Besides adding another cat to quantum mechanics experiments, it could also be used to create high precision experiments that are less susceptible to external perturbations.
Source: Chapman University
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Path of Exile's Second Expansion "Forsaken Masters" Launching August 20
Back in March, developer Grinding Gear Games released the first major update for its free-to-play action-RPG Path of Exile: a mini-expansion called Sacrifice of the Vaal. At the time, Grinding Gear said it planned on releasing mini-expansions every four months. Today, Grinding Gear announced the second expansion, entitled Path of Exile: Forsaken Masters. By the time it's released, it'll be a little over five months, but try not to hold that against 'em – the amount of content being added for free is just insane. While Forsaken Masters adds a lot, as with Sacrifice of the Vaal, there's a main theme the expansion revolves around:
As you roam the lands of Wraeclast, you may come across one of those Forsaken Masters. Each master has his or her own unique missions with eight levels of reputation, opening up more options as you progress. Two of the seven Masters have been revealed thus far: Armourmaster Haku needs you to cleanse an ancestral area and recover a lost Karui spirit; Master Assassin Vorici will train you in the art of assassination. "Each Master has its own specialised crafting options, a different Hideout tileset and tiers of Hideout decorations to unlock." What's this about a Hideout?Some say that Dominus exiled the dregs of Oriath to the shores of Wraeclast. No, he exiled anyone who was going to give him trouble, who was going to cause ripples in his progressive theocracy.
Seven men and women, masters in their fields, stood against Dominus' tyranny. Some with words, others with steel. Seven masters forsaken, sent to die in a corrupted land. Seven masters who lived, learned, and now thrive in Wraeclast. Seven Forsaken Masters who can train you... if you choose to help them.
After you've earned a Master's trust, you may unlock a Hideout (which you can personalize and decorate) that can offer daily missions and advanced crafting options – the latter being possible by the new Crafting Benches located in your Hideouts. Crafting Benches allow you to craft new mods onto an item, though only one is allowed at a time, meaning if you craft a new mod, it'll replace the existing one. Crafted mods appear in a brighter blue text on an item to make it clear which would be replaced. Each Master also sells "Magic items with a specific, new, build-defining mod" that can be used as-is or crafted further, and the expansion also introduces 16 new Unique Items. In addition, there are three new skill gems (Tornado Shot, Herald of Ice, and Herald of Ash), a new support gem (Generosity), and an overhaul of many of the game's Curses, along with some new ones, such as Poacher's Mark.
As if all this wasn't enough, existing content is being revamped as well. Many of the existing boss fights "have been made more intense and surprising" and more lore has been added throughout Wraeclast. In addition, the Passive Skill Tree is being redesigned, "mostly focusing on the Witch, Shadow and outer Ranger areas." Tutorials, a new Quest Tracker, and even a PvP Spectator Mode are all being added as well. Did I mention all this is free? And in case you're one of those free-to-play skeptics, I strongly advise you to give Path of Exile a go, especially if you're an action-RPG fan. Path of Exile is free-to-play done right. Path of Exile isn't pay-to-win, it's pay-to-glow.
Source: Official Site
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Action-RPG Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms Splitting Into Two Parts
Announced back in February, action-RPG Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms entered Steam Early Access back in June, marking the return of the Heretic Kingdoms series after nearly ten years. The game has been well received, but it became apparent to publisher bitComposer and developer Games Farm that additional development time was needed to include everything fans wanted to see. As a result, the decision was made to split the game into two books, with the first book arriving this November and the second one scheduled for February 2015. Peter Nagy, Head of Development at Games Farm, explained the decision:
Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms will remain in Early Access with the reduced price of $27.99 granting immediate access, and providing both Book I: Devourer of Souls and Book II: Age of Demons as they become available, in addition to the predecessor Kult: Heretic Kingdoms when its Steam port is released. If everything goes well, "further books to expand the Heretic Kingdoms universe are planned." Early Access has had some bad apples, but Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is certainly an Early Access success story.It was clear to us from the start that Shadows had the potential to be a great game. But at the beginning of development, we realized that Shadows was going to surpass even our expectations and would be the biggest and most ambitious project we’ve ever worked on to date. The hugely positive feedback from the players and the great previews of the Early Access build did the rest.
However, the increased scope of the game has also increased development requirements. We had to ask ourselves a difficult question and make a decision: How can we meet the fans expectations without taking away the features and the content that make the game so unique?
So we made the following decision: to leave Shadows as it is and at the same time meet the high expectations of our fans. We’ll split Shadows into two large segments/stories and call them ‘Books’.
To show our gratitude to the players who have supported us during the Early Access phase and who continue to support us, we have also decided to give them free access to the predecessor of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms - Kult: Heretic Kingdoms as soon as the Steam port is ready.
Source: Press Release
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Mitro Acquired by Twitter
Mitro, a password storage and security startup that offers an Internet browser extension password manager, has been acquired by Twitter. According to the team at Mitro, the company will transition to Twitter’s location team in New York, where it will focus primarily on geo-related development projects. Although the company has been acquired, Mitro will remain as its own service and will not be integrated directly into Twitter.
Along with the acquisition, Mitro revealed that the server and client code that comprises it password manager is now being made open source. Mitro hopes that by transitioning into a community project, which will receive direct advice and support from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the password manager will become more sustainable while continuing to grow its user base.
Source: Mitro Labs
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ASUSTOR Announces Compatibility for 5 New WD Hard Drives
ASUSTOR, a leading provider of network attached storage solutions, has just announced compatibility for five new Western Digital hard drives. The new drives that ASUSTOR NAS devices support include three Western Digital Red Pro drives and two high capacity Western Digital Red drives. More specifically, the Red Pro models that are now supported include the WD4001FFSX, WD3001FFSX, and WD2001FFSX, while the Red models that are verified as being compatible are the WD60EFRX and WD50EFRX. ASUSTOR NAS owners have an even larger selection of hard drives to choose from thanks to this announcement.
All ASUSTOR NAS devices, which feature Intel Atom dual-core processors and the ASUSTOR Data Master operating system, support the five latest Western Digital hard drives.
Source: Press Release
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New Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Trailer Shows Off the Powers of "The Wraith"
Last week, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE) decided to reveal the mysterious wraith in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, and boy is it a doozy. Today, WBIE released a new trailer simply entitled "The Wraith", which explores the wraith's powers in the game. If you passed on the last trailer to avoid spoiling the reveal, you'll be happy to know that this trailer does not state the wraith's name (though I advise you to avoid reading the YouTube description text).
As this new trailer shows, the Wraith's main power allows you to "dominate" an enemy and learn its strengths and weaknesses. You can then use this newfound knowledge to your advantage, steering clear of the strengths while exploiting the weaknesses. For example, learning that a creature is "Invulnerable to Stealth" and thus "cannot be damaged by Stealth Takedowns" will prevent a rather embarrassing failed attempt. Meanwhile, learning that a creature has a "Fear of Ghûls" and thus "becomes terrified at the sight of Ghûls" allows you to call forth Ghûls to cause your enemy to retreat. It's a rather interesting component that fits quite nicely with the game's Nemesis System.
Source: Press Release
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Deep Silver Bringing Six Playable Games to Gamescom, Including Dead Island 2
Gamescom is the biggest gaming convention in the world, which is probably why publisher Deep Silver isn't playing around (no pun intended). Deep Silver announced today that its public booth will feature a whopping six playable games across "more than 150 gaming stations for PC and consoles." The centerpiece of its line-up will be open world, action-RPG Dead Island 2, which will be playable for for the first time. I know a lot of fans will be looking forward to the inevitable gameplay trailer to be released after the excellent E3 CGI trailer whet our appetites last month:
Source: Press Release
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