IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 1/20/2015

The Long Dark secures over 250,000 Early Access sales so far
Hinterland Studios' new game, The Long Dark, has sold over 250,000 copies on Steam's Early Access service since it launched on September 22. Although sales are up, the life expectancy of gamers within the Northern woods survival title are quite low.

Just 24% of gamers have made it through the game world for over five days, with just 1.4% players having the smarts to last the harsh environments for 50 days. A dedicated story mode is in the works, but an update being pushed out for The Long Dark is coming soon which will add fresh places to explore (and probably die in), and more threats within the gaming world.

You can buy The Long Dark right now on Steam for the PC and Mac for just $19.99.


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Take home the 'Fury' on Blu-ray, thanks to Universal Sony Pictures
Thanks to our friends at Universal Sony Pictures Entertainment Australia, we have copies of this weeks Blu-ray release of 'Fury' up for grabs for 10 lucky readers!

War never ends quietly. April, 1945. As the Allies make their final push in the European Theatre, a battle-hardened army sergeant named Wardaddy (Brad Pitt) commands a Sherman tank and her five-man crew on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. Outnumbered and outgunned, Wardaddy and his men face overwhelming odds in their heroic attempts to strike at the heart of Nazi Germany.

To go into the running to take home a copy of the Blu-ray, simply answer the following question:

What was the top speed of the M4 Sherman tank?

To enter, simply 'like' this post and share via Facebook or Twitter and send your answers, along with your postal address to ben at TweakTown dot com before the competition closes on January 23rd.

'Fury' is available on Blu-ray, DVD and digital from Australian retailers starting January 21st.


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CryEngine powered Jak 2 level remake looks pretty damn good
The beauty of PC gaming is the modding community, with YouTube user Floordan showing off his work on a project named "Jak 2 Renegade: Reborn" that he built-in CryEngine.

The level that is shown in the video above is from the pumping station, which looks pretty damn incredible. Naughty Dog, the studio behind The Last of Us and Uncharted, considered making a new Jak & Dexter title a few years ago, but scrapped that idea to work on The Last of Us. But seeing this next-gen look at a window into the world of what a new Jak & Dexter game looks like, could be enough to get some suits talking. What do you think?

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10-year veterans of World of Warcraft receive statue from Blizzard
According to posts on both MMO Champion and the Battle.net forums, serious veteran World of Warcraft gamers are receiving a "tenth anniversary physical gift" from Blizzard.

Just who is receiving this physical gift? In order "to be eligible for this gift, a player must have created a World of Warcraft account within 60 days of the game's release in America or Europe" which falls between November 23, 2004 and February 11, 2005 according to the post on MMO Champion.

Over on the Battle.net forums 'Smitti' posted a picture of the physical gift, which is a small scale version of the orc statue that was erected on Blizzard's campus.


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32-year-old Taiwanese man dies after gaming for 3 days straight
Doctors have said that a 32-year-old man has died after playing 72 hours of non-stop games at an Internet cafe in Taiwan, without taking a break from his long gaming session.

The man known as Hsieh was found slumped motionless in his chair, reports the Taipei Times. He died last week, but the press only caught wind of the story on Friday. Gamers that surrounded Hsieh in the Internet cafe thought he was just sleeping after his massive gaming binge, but one of the Internet cafe's employees noticed that he wasn't breathing. Once Hsieh reached the hospital, he was pronounced dead.

The cafe attendant told reporters: "Hsieh was a regular customer here and always played for consecutive days. When tired, he would sleep face-down on the table or doze off slumped in his chair. That is why we were not aware of his condition in the beginning". Hunei Police Precinct Chief Wend Chung-neng said: "We advise people to get up and move around after every two hours of computer gaming. More patrols will be conducted to remind residents about the dangers of prolonged sitting and game-playing".

Medics said there were no signs of external damage on Hsieh, as the gamer died from a cardiac failure. But this isn't the first time a gamer has died in an Internet cafe after a huge gaming session, and not in Taiwan, either. On New Year's Day, a 38-year-old man died in an Internet cafe in New Taipei City after a gigantic five-day gaming binge session. Police added that other customers didn't show much interest in the cases, as they were too busy within their own gaming world.

A police spokesperson said: "We went inside to cordon off the tables and had investigators there to gather evidence. Only then did the other patrons realize that someone had died, but they still showed no concern and kept playing their games. We were amazed at their nonchalant attitude".


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Redesigned PlayStation 4 could use Samsung's new 8Gb GDDR5 chips
We've heard rumors of a redesigned, or slim PlayStation 4 to be announced in the future, but Samsung looks like it has just unveiled what will turn out to be one of the new components of the refreshed PS4 console: high-density 8Gb GDDR5 memory chips.

Samsung's latest GDDR5 VRAM chips are built on the company's 20nm technology, and are the first 8Gb density modules to hit mass production. Not only could these chips find their way into Sony's PS4 console, but it will also be a great next step for gaming laptops, as they can start baking mass amounts of VRAM into them.

Joo Sun Choi, the Executive Vice President of Memory Sales at Samsung electronics arm said: "We expect that our 8Gb GDDR5 will provide original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with the best graphics memory solution available for game consoles as well as general use notebook PCs". In the company's press release, Samsung said: "Combining only eight of the new 8Gb chips will achieve the same density as the 8 gigabytes (GB) needed in the latest game consoles". So we can see from these two quotes, game consoles seem to be a big part of the announcement of the 8Gb GDDR5 VRAM chips, which is an interesting turn.

We should expect Sony to announce a thinner, newer, redesigned PS4 sometime before the holidays, hopefully.


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Microsoft offers their Lumia 635 in conjunction with Sprint for $168
Set as the first Lumia product to be part of Sprints offerings, Microsoft are putting up their Lumia 635 smartphone for free on a new two-year contract, or $168 if no contract is something you're interested in. This 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400-powered entry-level phone has been on offer through Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile since December the 23rd, seeing it finally hit the big-name brand Sprint.

Announced back in April 2014, this phone also contains 512MB of RAM, 8GB of storage, a 4.5-inch display running at 865x480 resolution and 4G LTE capability - obviously providing nothing too crash-hot and ground breaking, however for $168 it's an extremely good entry-level device, spare phone for travel or emergency backup device.

Its saving grace is said to be the LTE support, often not seen for phones in this pay-grade - however I think it's a suitable candidate for your child's first device or any of the other applications as mentioned above.


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Facebook hires new designers - updates incoming?
The massive social media network Facebook has just hired Teehan+Lax, claimed as one of Toronto's most successful digital design agencies - seeing three of its top partners joining Facebook as part of a talent acquisition, claimed as not a company buyout.

With John Lax, Geoff Teehan and David Gillis joining the big blue F, their company has in turn decided to shut down. Some previous company employee's are also looking to join Facebook, whereas others are on the search for a new occupation. After the being founded in 2002 and working on large contracts such as Flipboard and some of Facebook's Atlas ad-serving services, these ex-employee's should have no issue moving to somewhere else.

Teehan+Lax's website contained a lengthy closure message, explaining the companies directions, the top three designers' thoughts and feelings and a glimpse into the future. Part of this announcement reads "We are incredibly excited about the future. The things we will be doing at Facebook are amazing new challenges. The scope and scale of them are simultaneously thrilling and scary. The opportunity to make things that will impact over a billion people is extraordinary."

You might not think much about this acquisition, however these designers are top notch so it's going to be very interesting to see what Facebook can produce next.


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Mobile industry is booming, creating $3.3 trillion, 11M jobs in 2014
The mobile industry is absolutely booming, helping generate $3.3 trillion revenue and 11 million jobs in 2014, according to a new study commissioned by the Boston Consulting Group. Apple, Google, Alibaba, Facebook, Verizon and China Mobile, six of the 25 most valuable companies, are creating revenue by embracing mobile technology.

Not surprisingly, companies that invested in mobile hardware and software development early on - and have larger development teams - are seeing better return on investment (ROI) than companies jumping into the market later.

Analyst groups believe tablet sales growth will slow in 2015, but the mobile ecosystem is maturing - and should prove valuable in emerging markets. Meanwhile, the mobile ecosystem in established markets further opens the door to embrace services typically available on PCs.


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Wearing these smart shoes helps generate power with each footstep
Researchers in Germany are working on a new type of wearable that will help generate power collected when shoe wearers walk or run. The harvested energy can be used to power electronic sensors and other devices, with a long-term vision of no longer needing to plug in devices to recharge them.

The "shock harvester" generates power based on heel strikes and a "swing harvester" able to produce power when the shoe wearer swings one of their feet. During a recent test on a treadmill, the harvested energy is enough to power a temperature sensor and wireless transmitter responsible for sending data to a smartphone.

"One application we are working on is indoor navigation which means we have sensors within the shoe that measure the acceleration of the foot, the angular velocity - whether you're turning the foot or not - and the magnetic field," said Klevis Ylli, researcher from the HSG-IMIT research facility in Germany, in a statement published by journalists. "From the data from these sensors, you could calculate how far you have traveled and in which direction."


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Myanmar seizing copies of 'The Interview' at North Korea's request
Police authorities in Myanmar are seizing pirated copies of "The Interview," per an official request by the North Korean embassy.

"We seized them because they were unapproved and pirated," according to a police officer speaking to Reuters.

Rangoon chief minister Mying Swe spoke with North Korean Ambassador Kim Sok Choi, and they both deny official orders to seize pirated copies of the film. Shortly after the meeting, the film disappeared from DVD stalls in Yangyon, with stall owners claiming the film was now banned.

Even though "The Interview" was released in the United States, there has been a growing effort to get copies of the film into North Korea. However, it appears the North Korean government wants to limit the film's distribution wherever it has political influence.


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Report: Google interested in making a play to acquire Softcard
Google reportedly wants to acquire Softcard, a joint venture between AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile, as Google wants to step up its own mobile payment offering. None of the companies have issued public statements, and it's possible the deal would be worth less than $100 million, according to unnamed sources.

Softcard reportedly laid off upwards of 60 employees, telling them to stop working on current projects.

There is growing interest in mobile payment and wallet services, and Google wants to ensure it can compete against Apple and other competitors. "With Apple pay picking up in popularity and PayPal going solo later this year every major tech company is rethinking their mobile payments strategy," an unnamed banker told the Financial Times. "We are likely to see a lot of M&A activity in this space."


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Lizard Squad's DDoS attack service hacked, as pressure mounts
Unknown cybercriminals breached the Lizard Squad's LizardStresser distributed denial of service (DDoS) service, which serves customers as an attack-for-hire tool. There are more than 14,000 registered users, with $11,000 collected via bitcoin to help pay for DDoS attacks against thousands of website URLs and IP addresses.

The Lizard Squad reportedly brought down Microsoft Xbox Live and Sony PlayStation Network (PSN) to promote its service.

Lizard Squad appears to have a number of younger members contributing to its cybercriminal operation, though several reported members have been arrested across the world. However, core members of the group still haven't been identified and arrested, so future cyberattacks are expected to continue against higher-profile targets.


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Facebook increasingly hiring to fill growing virtual reality ambitions
For software and hardware experts with a focus on virtual reality, Facebook - which acquired Oculus Rift last year - plans to increase virtual reality hiring up to 14 percent in the immediate future. The company continues to enjoy high profit margins, with strong revenue and a workforce smaller than other leading Silicon Valley tech companies.

Facebook has a specific focus on its Oculus VR headsets, with 54 new positions geared towards employees with virtual reality experience.

"We are an ambitious company run by an ambitious CEO," said Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, in a statement to Reuters. "Our users are growing and our business is growing and we want to support that."


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Russian hacker fighting extradition to US and back to Russia
Russian hacker Vladimir Drinkman faces a final extradition ruling later this month, where US officials hope he is transferred from a Dutch prison to the United States.

Drinkman and an alleged accomplice in the cybercriminal ring that stole millions of debit and credit card numbers, Dmitriy Smilianets, were arrested while on holiday in Amsterdam. They were part of a group that caused more than $300 million losses to companies, while selling cards for $10, $15, or $50 apiece.

"'Hacker' is an elastic notion," Drinkman told Bloomberg Businessweek. "Now every third person is called a hacker because he has technical skills, and not because he is actually using them."

Drinkman has fought extradition for two and a half years, and reportedly is considering a plea deal, as he faces charges in the United States and Russia. He faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence in Russia, and a 25-year maximum sentence in the United States if convicted.


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Patriot Blaze 240GB SSD Review

Introduction

We recently looked at both capacities of the Amazon-only Patriot Torch. The Patriot Blaze shares similar components to the Torch series, but ships in more capacities, and is sold at more locations. Online, we found the Blaze series at the usual shops, and we have even seen them at brick and mortar stores like Fry's Electronics.

The Blaze 240GB model we're testing today uses a Phison S8 controller, Nanya DDR3 DRAM, and IMFT 16nm ONFi flash. The setup sounds identical to the Torch 240GB model we just tested, but there is one small difference between the two; the Blaze 240GB uses standard voltage DDR3 DRAM, while the Torch 240GB uses low voltage DDR3, also from Nanya.

Specifications, Pricing, and Availability

The Patriot Blaze ships in four capacities. The 60GB and 120GB models both use Phison S9 controllers, a DRAM-less controller built for cache duty. Both the 480GB models and the 240GB we're testing today use Phison S8 controllers with a DRAM buffer.

Patriot claims 555 MB/s sequential read performance, and 535 MB/s sequential write speed for the Blaze 240GB we're testing today. Random performance isn't stated, but we'll find that out in our testing today.

Unlike the Torch products we recently reviewed, the Blaze series ships in a full retail friendly box. This does raise the overall cost slightly. We found the Blaze 240GB at Amazon for $126.45, and all capacities in the Blaze series include a three-year warranty.

PRICING: You can find the Patriot Blaze 240GB SSD 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 Patriot Blaze 240GB retails for $145.38 at Amazon.

Canada: The Patriot Blaze 240GB retails for CDN$129.99 at Amazon Canada.
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