Ozone Strike Pro Backlit Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review
Read More ...
Scythe Ashura Review
Read More ...
PowerColor PCS+ R9 390 8GB Review
Read More ...
MSI R9 380 Gaming 2G Review
Read More ...
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Review
Read More ...
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Review
Read More ...
Ozone Neon Precision Laser Mouse Review
Read More ...
Kingston HyperX Savage 240GB Review
Read More ...
COUGAR 600M Gaming Mouse Review
COUGAR 600M Gaming Mouse Review
Read More ...
Grand Theft Auto V Review
Read More ...
Patriot Ignite 480GB Review
Read More ...
Noctua NH-D9L Review
Read More ...
Noctua NH-U9S Review
Read More ...
Grand Theft Auto IV 7-Years Later Review
Read More ...
Thermaltake Core X9 Review
Read More ...
Minecraft: Story Mode is the Next Offering From Telltale Games
Telltale Games is the developer behind popular point and click adventure games based on franchises like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones. The company has just announced at Minecon over the weekend that Minecraft will be the next property to be adapted. In Minecraft: Story Mode, gamers will follow Jesse as he and his friends "set out on a journey to find The Order of the Stone if they are to save their world from oblivion." The game will be released on PC, PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Android, and iOS later this year following the episodic format of other Telltale games. Mojang Chief World Officer Owen Hill described the game stating, "They've crafted a story that follows the logic of Minecraft, but still manages to feel original. It's actually pretty funny too. And the pig is adorable. We're super excited about players digging deeper into the world of Minecraft: Story Mode later this year." Telltale CEO Kevin Bruner added "We've worked closely with the amazing team at Mojang to ensure this story is a natural fit for the Minecraft world fans already know and love."
Read More ...
Prototype Nintendo Play Station Surfaces From Failed Nintendo-Sony Collaboration
Back in the late 1980s, Nintendo and Sony were collaborating on a game console that would merge cartridge and CD-based systems into one. This Play Station could play SNES-CD games, SNES cartridge games, and would make use of Sony's SPC 700 chip for eight-channel sound. The partnership would also result in the SNES-CD, an attachment for current SNES consoles that could play CDs. However, the initial deal gave Sony control over any SNES-CD games developed, since the discs were a Sony design, and this didn't sit well with the folks at Nintendo. When CES 1991 rolled around, Nintendo's then-chairman Howard Lincoln announced a partnership between Nintendo and Philips to develop a CD-ROM-based console. This was a major shock to Sony, and a deal that Nintendo pulled off at the last minute in order to try and retain control of its games. That deal didn't work either, but it did lead Philips to creating and releasing its ill-fated CD-i.
This was not the end for Sony, as it would later take the work done by Ken Kutaragi to develop its own game console, the PlayStation. Kutaragi, who had been working on the SPC 700 in secret, was in danger of losing his job before Sony's then-CEO Norio Ohaga recognized the potential in the chip and the partnership with Nintendo. When that partnership collapsed, Sony went to Sega for another collaboration, but after that rejection, decided on its own console and the rest is history.
As for that initial Play Station from the Nintendo collaboration, well, about 200 prototypes were made, but were presumed lost as the years went on. Strangely, one of these prototype systems has recently turned up, and man, is it a sight. It apparently used to belong to a former Nintendo employee who gave it, along with assorted other items, to a friend, whose son has now shared it on reddit. The top part of it looks like a Super Famicom/SNES typically would, except for a small LCD display and audio playback controls. The front has the familiar controller connections, but also a CD tray. The controllers resemble the SNES ones, but have Sony branding on the front and Nintendo Super Famicom on the back. The rear has plenty of connections, and is actually quite similar to what the PlayStation would eventually have in 1994, minus the parallel port.
Some language
Source: reddit [1] & [2], YouTube, and Ars Technica
Read More ...
Hardware Roundup: Friday, July 3, 2015, Edition
The last day of the week is here, and before the weekend festivities for those in the US begin, why not kick it off with some reviews and articles. There is a look at the Kingston HyperX Savage 240GB SSD, which uses a Phison S10 controller and offers plenty of space for those needing an upgrade or a new primary drive in their computer. If you have a new video card and want a way to keep it running cooler for longer, perhaps the Corsair HG10 A1 bracket and H80i GT liquid cooler is the one for you. We also have a custom made leather wrist rest for TKL keyboards from Noko, as its Leatherworks TKL Wrist Rest gets inspected to see if it should be in front of your keyboard. Lastly we have a new case mod using a Bitfenix Prodigy to turn it into something any Fallout fan would be proud to have as their own.
Storage/Hard Drives
Kingston HyperX Savage 240GB SSD @ Neoseeker
VGA Cooling
Corsair HG10 A1 Bracket + H80i GT Cooler @ Madshrimps
Miscellany
Noko Leatherworks TKL Wrist Rest @ LanOC Reviews
Case Mod Friday: Vault Boy @ ThinkComputers
Read More ...
Ultrasonic Fingerprint Sensor for Smartphones Developed
Some phones today feature fingerprint sensors that can be used to unlock the device. While this is a neat idea, the sensors can be fooled with just a picture of the correct print. As reported by the American Institute of Physics, researchers have created a superior fingerprint sensor for phones that uses more secure 3D images instead.
The new sensor is actually ultrasonic, and operates in a similar manner to medical ultrasound machines. The ultrasonic waves bounce off of the surface of the finger, and the flesh within, creating echoes that can be captured and processed to generate a 3D image. This 3D image will be much harder to fake than the current fingerprint sensors found on phones, which rely on 2D images instead. Beyond this security application, the researchers believe we may also see this technology adapted as a low-cost medical tool.
The ultrasound is generated by piezoelectric transducers, which have the application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) for processing directly beneath them. This two-wafer design is actually fairly easy to produce, because the methods needed to do so are already used to create other components for our phones.
Source: EurekAlert!
Read More ...
ASUS Begins Selling the GeForce GTX 980 Ti Strix Graphics Card
ASUS, a Taiwanese multinational computer hardware and electronics company, has officially began selling its GeForce GTX 980 Ti Strix graphics card. The latest video card by ASUS aims to impress, as it offers gamers with boost clock speeds of up to 1291MHz in gaming mode and 1317MHz in OC mode, a DirectCU III cooler that features zero fan noise while under light loads and is 30 percent cooler compared to reference designs, as well as Super Alloy Power II components which increase efficiency and decrease overall buzzing noise. The Strix GTX 980 Ti also features a 12+2-phase power design, a GPU-fortifier and strengthened backplate that together prevent bending of the PCB over time, and a Strix LED that comes with pulsating lighting effects.
ASUS is quick to point out that the GeForce GTX 980 Ti Strix graphics card is built utilizing Auto-Extreme technology, an exclusive to ASUS that is the industry’s first completely automated manufacturing process that eliminates human intervention. According to ASUS, Auto-Extreme technology allows the Strix GTX 980 Ti to feature amazing reliability and a smooth rear printed circuit board. ASUS’ Auto-Extreme technology eliminates harsh chemicals and reduces power consumption by 50 percent, making the new manufacturing process more environmentally friendly as well.
The GeForce GTX 980 Ti Strix Graphics Card by ASUS will be available worldwide sometime during this month.
Source: TechPowerUp
Read More ...
Broforce Receives New Content for Fourth of July
In time for the Fourth of July, Broforce is receiving the Freedom Update that adds two new bros, new melee attacks, and a new flexing feature to the fight against "rampant un-Americanism." The new bros are the Brocketeer, wearing a jet-pack and armed with a dive bomb move, and the Scottish-American hero of legend. The new melee attacks include the 'organ punch' and roundhouse kick, but naturally the combat flexing feature is the most important addition, as you will stop attacking to flex your biceps for your enemies to see.
To further celebrate the holiday, Broforce is also 33% off on Steam.
Source: Press Release
Read More ...
Microsoft Details the Upgrade Plans for Windows 10
Windows 10, the latest and greatest operating system from Microsoft, is due to arrive at the end of this month. It is a free upgrade for the first year for anyone who wants to take advantage of the offer, which is a fantastic gesture from the folks in Redmond. OEMs and retailers will be receiving their versions of the OS before long to ensure new and recent PC purchases are ready to go. If you're curious exactly how and when you can get your free copy of Windows 10 Home or Pro, wonder no more, as Microsoft has provided the details on when we can begin the download. Starting on July 29, all Windows Insiders will be the first to get the official version of Windows 10. So if you've already been testing it out through the Insiders program, you'll get it first. After that, Windows 10 will roll out in waves to everyone who has reserved a copy on their Windows 7 or 8 machine. All reservations will receive a notice once Windows 10 has been downloaded and is ready to go, so just hold tight once we get to July 29.
The waves should be rather large, but some people may not get Windows 10 as soon as others. It isn't an entirely bad idea, since those still waiting for the new OS can hear from others exactly how it is working. If a system is not yet ready to receive Windows 10, Microsoft will provide solutions on how to make it compatible, and it is up to you whether or not to download Windows 10 before then. For businesses and schools that have purchased Windows 10 Enterprise or Education keys in bulk, those will be sent out on August 1.
Source: Windows Blog
Read More ...
Hardware Roundup: Thursday, July 2, 2015, Edition
The second day of July is here, and with it comes a few items to help you get through the day. We have an examination of the water pump noise from AMD's initial run of Radeon R9 Fury X video cards. Keeping with the liquid cooler, but switching to the CPU side, there is a review of the NZXT Kraken X41 CPU cooler, which features a a thicker radiator and longer tubing than its X40 predecessor. Finally we have the Corsair HX1200i power supply, a 1200W model with 80 PLUS Platinum certification and a Zero RPM fan that doesn't spin until a certain threshold is reached.
Video Cards
Retail AMD Fury X Sound Testing - Pump Whine Investigation @ PC Perspective
CPU Cooling
NZXT Kraken X41 @ Benchmark Reviews
Power Supplies
Corsair HX1200i @ ThinkComputers
Read More ...
Improving Optical Quantum Communication with Hyperentanglement
For some time now, communication technologies have been trending towards using quantum mechanical phenomena for improved performance and security, with some networks already using quantum encryption. One of the phenomena used is entanglement, which allows multiple particles to be coupled so strongly that by knowing the state of one particle, you know the state of the others. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles have recently taken this to a new level with photons by achieving hyperentanglement (which is actually a word).
Normally the entangled dimension for a pair of photons is their polarization, but the researchers have succeeded in entangling more dimensions. They accomplished this by turning the photons into a biphoton frequency comb, which effectively breaks the photons up into smaller parts. Each of these parts can then be entangled, and thanks to how this works, each new dimension of entanglement doubles how much information can be encoded onto the pair, meaning it exponentially increases.
This discovery has obvious applications for sending large amounts of data securely and quickly. It may even help distributed quantum computing and quantum cloud communications take form in the future.
Source: University of California, Los Angeles
Read More ...
Revised Water Pump Design Eliminates Radeon R9 Fury X Noise Issues
Just days ago, it was reported that owners of AMD’s latest flagship card, the Radeon R9 Fury X, were experiencing frustrating noise issues. The cause of the noise turned out to be the Cooler Master all-in-one water pump that comes bundled with the Radeon R9 Fury X. Antal Tungler, an AMD representative, noted that a fix for the water pump noise was being applied by Cooler Master, and it now looks as if the fix has made its way to consumers. According to the latest owners of the Radeon R9 Fury X, the revised water pump runs much quieter than previous versions of the AMD card. From early photographs and reports, it seems that the only way to tell if the revised water pump is included with the Radeon R9 Fury X is by the Cooler Master logo featured atop the pump-block. The revised water pump features a chrome Cooler Master logo, while the old pump that exhibits the high pitch whine features a multi-color company logo.
Source: TechPowerUp
Read More ...
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Final Cut Announced, Free to Existing Owners of the ...
With Van Helsing III releasing back in May, concluding the trilogy, you would think that developer NeocoreGames would be done with the series, but not so fast. Today, NeocoreGames announced The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Final Cut, which the studio says is its way of giving back something to the loyal community.
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Final Cut is a standalone product that combines the campaign content of all three games with modified or additional content. Players get to choose from the six playable classes featured in Van Helsing III from the very beginning and play through all the campaign content with a campaign level cap of 80, which can be increased to 100 in additional game modes. Players will be able to create a new character or start right at level 80 so they can fully enjoy the endgame content, which will include 20 randomly generated scenario maps, daily quests, challenges, and weekly events, all the tower defense game modes, and four refined multiplayer modes (4-player co-op, touchdown, arena, and battle royal).
The best part is, if you have been a loyal Van Helsing fan and own all three games of the trilogy on Steam, you'll receive the Final Cut for free! If not, it'll cost $44.99. The Final Cut is planned for a September 2015 release via Steam. Non-Steam Windows and Mac versions are planned for a later date.
With "remastering" and "HD remakes" all the rage these days, milking consumers for more money, it's always nice when a developer truly rewards its loyal fans and shows appreciation. NeocoreGames could have simply offered a discount to existing owners and most fans would have been completely satisfied with that, but the studio decided to go the extra mile, and it should be applauded for that.
Source: Press Release
Read More ...
NVIDIA Working on GeForce GTX 950 Series Graphics Cards
NVIDIA is reportedly developing replacements for the GeForce GTX 750 series cards based around the GM206-250 GPU. The two cards will be the GeForce GTX 950 and 950 Ti and are predicted to be on par with the GeForce GTX 960 series. The cards will support all of the latest graphics technology including DirectX 12.1, OpenGL 4.3, H.265 encoding and decoding, and HDCP 2.2 compliance. Based on the cards that are being replaced, Kit Guru expects the cards to have a price tag in the $150 range.
Source: Kit Guru
Read More ...
Cisco Acquires OpenDNS For $635 Million
Cisco has announced that it plans to acquire cloud-based security firm OpenDNS for $635 million. Cisco had previously invested $35 million in the company and as a result obtained "defensive rights that give it an edge to acquire companies it has invested in ahead of competitors." Cisco has traditionally focused on security from a firewall perspective, though it branched into intrusion detection and prevention with the acquisition of Sourcefire in 2013. The purchase of OpenDNS enhances this ability as it "uses predictive intelligence to block malware, botnets and phishing threats that antivirus and firewalls miss."
Source: NDTV
Read More ...
Latest Windows 10 Build Fixes More Than 300 Bugs
The official release date of Windows 10 is July 29, but Microsoft continues to put out preview builds of its next OS. Build 10159 is the latest and carries with it more than 300 new bug fixes. Build 10158 was released a day earlier to the Windows Insider program and "was heavy on new features." Also included was a new background image which is reported to be the new default background.
Source: WCCF Tech
Read More ...
Program Developed for Fixing Software Bugs by Analyzing Other Programs
In general, it is a bad thing when a program crashes, which is why so much effort is invested to make sure it does not happen, but even then, things may be missed. To catch those remaining bugs, automated tools have been developed to identify problem spots in code, but now researchers at MIT have developed a system that will actually repair the problems. It does this by analyzing other programs and learning how they operate, without accessing their source code.
This new system, named CodePhage, works by first identifying inputs that cause crashes with the DIODE system the researchers previously developed, as well as safe inputs. CodePhage then feeds both the safe and crash-inducing inputs for one program, into another program that performs similar operations, but does not crash from these inputs, and generates the symbolic expressions for both inputs. Symbolic expressions are strings of symbols describing the logical constraints applied by operations. When the expression for the crash-inducing input deviates from the safe input, CodePhage stops the process and then looks at the original, crashing program to find locations where an input would meet most, but not all of the constraints described. It then inserts code into the original program to add the constraints for the donor program, and tests it with the crash-inducing input. If the program still crashes, CodePhage will move on to another location to add the constraints, until the bug is fixed.
The researchers tested CodePhage on seven open-source programs DIODE had previously found bugs in, and was able to fix all of those bugs, taking just two to ten minutes for each repair. Believe it or not, but even the researchers were surprised by how well it functions.
Source: MIT
Read More ...
Available Tags:Gaming , Keyboard , MSI , NVIDIA , GeForce , GTX , Kingston , Thermaltake , Play Station , Nintendo , Hardware , ASUS , Microsoft , Windows , Radeon , Cisco , Other ,
No comments:
Post a Comment