Oculus Rift used with Half-Life 2 and a VR head and gun tracking mod, incredible results
I think Oculus' Rift VR headset is going to change gaming as we know it, but before it's consumer release sometime at the end of this year, or early 2014, we're already seeing what developers are capable of.
During my usual multiple-times-per-day trawling of Reddit, I came across poster 'Auto_aim1' who posted a video of his Half-Life 2 VR head and gun tracking mod for the Oculus Rift and what a video it is! It looks bloody incredible, and gives freedom between the players point of view and the placement of the gun.
He uses a physical gun, which makes things that much more realistic, but the head tracking through Oculus' Rift VR headset is nothing short of amazing. If this is what one modder can do, imagine what we can expect twelve months from now. Imagine what we can expect 2-3 years from now. Next-gen consoles? They're not needed, Oculus' Rift is here and works on PC games right now.
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Minecraft creator made a cool $100 million last year
Markus 'Notch' Persson, the guy behind Minecraft made approximately $100 million last year, not bad for what most people consider an "indie" game. Making $100 million pits him directly against mode huge games, and even nipping on the heels of AAA titles.
Notch was answering some questions through a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything), where readers unearthed (geddit?) some information on him, and how he was able to acquire so much cash, so quickly. Notch isn't too sure what to do with it all, as would most people that aren't born into money, but he'd like to provide for his family and finally get his drivers license and maybe buy a car, but he's still a bit uneasy about it all, he wrote:
I grew up in a relatively poor family, but once I got a decent job, I never really had to worry about money. My hobbies were playing games and programming, so there wasn't any real drain. I could eat out when I wanted to, and go to the movies without having to save up for it. I still had to save up for trips and to be able to buy computers or consoles, but that just felt normal.
Notch also revealed a very human side of himself during the AMA, where he talked about the systems in place that have allowed him to amass so much money from not doing much work at all, apart from creating Minecraft, he says:
Well, on one hand I don't mind having loads of money at all. On the other, it's a bit strange that I can create something once and keep getting paid over and over and over for it. If you build a car, you can only sell it once. If you paint a fence, you only get paid for it once. If you create a piece of software that's essentially free to reproduce, you can keep getting paid over and over perpetually.
I can understand, most people - myself included - work each and every day to make money for the next. If I don't work tomorrow, I don't get paid for that. If I stop working for 6 months, I have no money for 6 months, but Notch - by creating Minecraft - makes money for doing no more work, and enjoys the constant stream of cash. Good on him!
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Mozilla, Google show off cross-browser video chat using WebRTC
Google and Mozilla are pushing WebRTC as the future of software-independent video and voice chat. To show off the capabilities, Mozilla called up Google from Firefox to Chrome to demonstrate the cross-browser functionality that is available via WebRTC. Of course, to do this, you'll need the latest builds of both browsers.
Mozilla's blog post talks up the new technology and open source:
Mozilla is excited to announce that we've achieved a major milestone in WebRTC development: WebRTC RTCPeerConnection interoperability between Firefox and Chrome. This effort was made possible because of the close collaboration between the open Web community and engineers from both Mozilla and Google.
Google's blog post is similar:
For the first time, Chrome and Firefox can "talk" to each other via WebRTC. WebRTC is a new set of technologies that brings clear crisp voice, sharp high-definition (HD) video and low-delay communication to the web browser.
The nice thing about the technology being built into the browser is it allows web apps to be more easily distributed. Neither user will have to install a plug-in, restart the browser, and hope that it works. This will allow Facebook to easily add video calling to its messaging functionality that doesn't require users to install a plug-in.
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Google trying out new YouTube channel design, currently in limited beta
Google is trying out a redesigned YouTube channel layout in a limited beta. The new design features cover photos, called "channel art" by Google, and trailers, which allow content creators to promote their channel's content to non-subscribers.
The new design looks strikingly similar to Google+ profiles, which could indicate how closely Google wants to integrate their products. The new design is seen above. You can see that the design doesn't have quite the same fit and finish as the old design.
Soon, however, all users will be able to use the new design. What do you think of it? Let us know!
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Hundreds of thousands download Evasi0n jailbreak tool in mere hours
The software tool released today known as Evasi0n has garnered hundreds of thousands of downloads in mere hours. Around 270,000 users were active when the download went live and the Evad3r's team saw 1TB of server data used in just 10 minutes. The download is just under 10 MB, which means that around 100,000 copies had been downloaded.
Fast forward a couple of hours and that number surpassed 4.2TB of data used. This equates to around 500,000 downloads. While not every download equates to a jailbreak, a single download could equate to several jailbreaks in a multi-device or multi-user environment.
Of course, the tool won't keep up that sort of download rate for long, but you can see the amount of users who were waiting desperately for a jailbreak tool. We're hoping to hear a final download count for the first day, so stay tuned to our Facebook page where we will announce it as soon as we hear something.
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ReportTT: Facebook to develop location tracking app for friend discovery
Facebook is reportedly developing an application that would track users, according to sources familiar with the company. Bloomberg is reporting that Facebook is working on an app that would help friends discover nearby friends by constantly tracking users' locations, even when the app isn't open.
This presents potential privacy risks, as well as possible data mines for federal and state officials. None of the plans have been confirmed by Facebook. When asked, a Facebook spokesman declined to comment on the report. This new app could be part of Zuckerberg's call to focus on mobile:
"
A lot of what we had to do last year was simply to improve our mobile development process," Zuckerberg said. "
The next thing we're going to do is get really good at building new mobile-first experiences."
Would you let a Facebook app track your locations in the hopes of running into a friend while out and about? Unfortunately, you may have already given Facebook the right to do so when accepting previous terms and conditions. What do you think of the idea? Let us know in the comments.
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Lenovo delays the ThinkPad Helix, looks like March or April release
Sorry, folks. For those of you looking to pick up the Lenovo ThinkPad Helix, you'll have to wait just a bit longer. The ThinkPad Helix is a convertable Ultrabook and won't see it's release until March or April. It was originally slated to be released in February, though that won't be happening.
According to a comment on Lenovo's Facebook page, "
we received word that it will be delayed till March or April. More details will be announced soon."
The ThinkPad Helix is an 11.6-inch beast that features a Full HD 1080p screen covered by Gorilla Glass. Of course, it comes with an equally impressive price tag: $1,499. We'll get the details out to you as soon as Lenovo announces those "more details" that it promised in the Facebook comment.
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LeakedTT: Xbox 720 GPU specifications reportedly leaked online
It would appear that detailed specifications of the Xbox 720's GPU have been leaked online. While there is no guarantee that these specifications are authentic, they are along the lines of what we would expect from the next-generation console. Couple that with the fact we are only a few months away from the expected announcement and these specifications get a bit more credence.
As you can see in the picture above, the GPU is said to have an 800MHz clock speed. The GPU reportedly features 32MB of embedded ESRAM, similar to the EDSRAM on the 360. However, this ESRAM is said to be free of some of the many restrictions placed on the 360's ESDRAM.
The GPU is also reportedly able to do 2x, 4s, and 8x MSAA antaliasing, which means picture quality should be vastly improved in games. The Xbox 720 is widely expected to be announced by Microsoft in June at E3, which is a couple of months after Sony is expected to announce the PlayStation 4.
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US Department of Energy was hacked, hundreds of employees affected
In another example of the future being cyber terror and cyber warfare, the US Department of Energy has announced that it was hacked mid-January. The hack reportedly affected several hundred employees, though the agency says that "no classified data was compromised."
This story comes on the heels of The New York Times announcing that they had been the target of Chinese hackers after running a story about the new president of China. The hack appears to have only provided the hackers with personal data of employees, though there is cause for concern as the Department of Energy oversees the US's nuclear research.
The hackers have not been identified, though it appears that they may not be connected with any countries that have previously been accused of hacking.
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HP releases the Pavilion 14 Chromebook, could signal they are here to stay
HP has officially unveiled and launched the Chromebook Pavilion 14. Based upon Google's Chrome OS, this new Chromebook is built by the world's largest PC maker and shows that Chromebooks could be here to stay. The 14-inch laptop is priced at $329.99, the same as an iPad mini, and is above the pricing of other available Chromebooks.
So, what exactly do you get for that extra cash? Not much, actually. The screen is the largest of any of the available Chromebooks, but the Celeron processor is actually a step down from the Samsung Chromebook 550's Core processor. Other than that, most of the Chromebooks share similar components.
The Pavilion 14 comes with a 16GB SSD, 2GB of RAM, a 1366x768 screen, and a 4-cell battery, which is said to provide up to 4 hours and 15 minutes of battery life. It's not clear why someone would pick the Pavilion 14 over some of the other available Chromebooks. Other than brand and price, the devices are all very similar.
You can buy the new HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook on
HP's website.
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RumorTT: iPad mini 2 to feature Retina display with 324 PPI
A new rumor is placing the next iPad mini with a Retina display that outputs a resolution of 2048x1536. That puts the pixel per inch count at 324, or near double that of the current iPad mini's 163. The Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD both come with PPI's of 216, so the new iPad mini would blow them away if this rumor proves true.
Many slammed Apple for releasing the iPad mini with such a low-resolution screen. However, the Retina display is more power hungry and costs more, so it was a sacrifice that Apple had to make in order to keep the device thin, light, and cheap. This rumor may prove to be true, however, as it goes along with an earlier rumor that Apple has picked AU Optronics to make the HD Retina panel for the next iPad mini.
We likely won't see a new mini until at least August. When that time rolls around, we should hopefully know more about the device.
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Amazon will start collecting Conn. sales tax, residents prepare to pay 6.35% more
Amazon has struck a deal with Connecticut officials to start collecting the state's 6.35 percent sales tax. For the last two years, the online retail giant had been fighting against state officials who wanted Amazon to collect the sales tax from the online shoppers.
Amazon, as part of the deal, promised to build a $50 million order-fulfillment center in the state to create jobs. Connecticut is expected to get $8 million in the first year of tax collection and $13-$15 million in the next. Amazon is also putting pressure onto other online retailers by starting to collect tax.
Tax will start being collected November 1. Amazon is supporting federal reforms that would "finally resolve the sales tax issue, level the playing field for all retailers, protect states' rights and allow states to collect the revenue owed." If you live in Connecticut, you might consider buying your Christmas gifts before November 1.
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Evasi0n jailbreak out now, jailbreak all your iOS 6/6.1 devices
The evasi0n jailbreak has officially been released earlier today and is capable of jailbreaking all of your iOS 6 and iOS 6.1 devices. I've given the piece of software a test run on my iPhone 5 and it is confirmed to be working and extremely easy to use. All it takes is one click on your computer and a tap on the iPhone and the device will be jailbroken.
Linux, Mac, and Windows are all supported by the jailbreaking tool, which means you can jailbreak your iDevice no matter what operating system you are using at home. You can download the jailbreak tool at the
evasi0n website. Let us know if you have any trouble jailbreaking your device!
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Nokia considering both Windows and Android for upcoming tablet
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has gone on the record saying that Nokia is willing to consider "any option" for the OS on its upcoming tablet. Both Android and Windows are in the running with Nokia leaning towards Windows at the moment.
With the surmounting success of its Windows Phone 8 based Lumia smartphones, Nokia has all the right to consider going with Windows as its new tablet OS. It has a massive Windows Phone user base that would more than likely trust the company's tablet offering better than others.
Speaking to the Australian Financial Review, Elop said the "
opportunity for companionship is something that any user is looking for," before he went on to talk about the integrated experience of a Lumia 920 and a Windows Tablet, PC and even Xbox. He did however attempt to put a stop to rumors of a new tablet launch at the Mobile World Congress later this month by saying, "
We have made no decision or announced anything."
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Ziff Davis buys IGN, as Rupert Murdoch's News Corp continues digital property selloff
Rumors of IGN being up for sale were abundant and today they proved true. IGN has been sold by its parent company News Corp to Ziff Davis Enterprises in its quest to sell off much of its digital properties.
Word on the street is that Ziff Davis will be bringing the gaming website 1UP back into the mix as after it sold the site to Hearst Media which intern sold it to IGN. The deal between Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and Ziff Davis over IGN was reportedly made for less than the $100 million News Corp was asking.
In recent years, News Corp has been unloading its digital properties at an alarming rate. In 2011 it sold MySpace for over half a billion dollar loss. The selloff is no doubt the result of the company's plans to split the publishing and entertainment sides of its business into separate entities.
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HTC expects to see massive profit drop ahead of M7 launch
Things seem to be looking worse every day for the Taiwan based smartphone manufacturer HTC. The bad news this time is from HTC CEO Peter Chou himself. Chou said that profits for its first quarter will plummet much lower than market analysts predicted.
HTC is expected to announce that its profits have dropped 90% in the last three months and is expected to drop another 17% by the time the quarter ends in March. HTC says first quarter revenue will be in the $2 billion range, which is below market estimates.
Chou blamed the decline in sales on a lack of marketing combined with strong competition. "
Our competitors were too strong and very resourceful, pouring in lots of money into marketing," he told the Wall Street Journal. "
We haven't done enough on the marketing front." HTC is set to unveil its M7 handset at an event ahead of Mobile World Congress, and HTC is hoping it could be a change in recent tides for the company.
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Affected Facebook users begin to be notified of Class Action lawsuit settlement, did you win $10?
You might have
read a story I did a few days ago on a class action lawsuit settlement in which Facebook admitted to using its users images in "Sponsored Posts". The settlement was agreed upon with $20 million being set aside to compensate affected parties.
This morning I received my settlement notice even though I had no idea that I was one of the affected parties. The notice does say that I could be entitled to up to $10, but if the number of claims exceeded a financially feasible number, then all the money will be donated to charity. Other than that, it is full of legalese, but it does state a few interesting things which I have quoted below.
This Notice relates to a proposed settlement ("Settlement") of a class action lawsuit ("Action") filed against Facebook relating to a particular Facebook feature called "Sponsored Stories." According to available records, you may be a "Class Member."
Facebook will pay $20 million into a fund that can be used, in part, to pay claims of Class Members (including Minor Class Members) who appeared in a Sponsored Story. Each participating Class Member who submits a valid and timely claim form may be eligible to receive up to $10. The amount, if any, paid to each claimant depends upon the number of claims made and other factors detailed in the Settlement. No one knows in advance how much each claimant will receive, or whether any money will be paid directly to claimants. If the number of claims made renders it economically infeasible to pay money to persons who make a timely and valid claim, payment will be made to the not-for-profit organizations
In addition to monetary relief, Facebook will (a) revise its terms of service (known as the "Statement of Rights and Responsibilities" or "SRR") to more fully explain the instances in which users agree to the display of their names and profile pictures in connection with Sponsored Stories; (b) create an easily accessible mechanism that enables users to view, on a going-forward basis, the subset of their interactions and other content on Facebook that have been displayed in Sponsored Stories (if any); (c) develop settings that will allow users to prevent particular items or categories of content or information related to them from being displayed in future Sponsored Stories
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Popular Linux app Wine is coming to Android - don't expect to run Photoshop anytime soon
We have heard rumors that the popular Wine software that is used to run Windows apps inside Linux was being ported to Android for a few months now. Over the weekend at the FOSDEM conference held in Brussels, a demonstration of Wine running on Android was given during a talk about Wine on ARM.
Alexandre Julliard, the original developer behind Wine, showed a very brief demonstration of Wine on Android. Julliard is now employed by CodeWeaver to update and maintain the Wine project due to the company's vested interest in the software based on its commercial Wine-based crossover software for Linux and Apple OSX.
So, does this mean that we will see Windows applications like Adobe Photoshop CS6 or Office 2013 running on Android anytime soon? I do not think so, the demo was said to run very slow, and programs like Photoshop simply need more resources than any Android phone or tablet has at the moment. What do you think about Wine coming to Android? Is there a need for such software with Android having such a vast app selection already? Let us know in the comments.
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Top 10 TweakTown News Stories from the past week [04 February 2013]
Here are our top 10 news posts from the past week!
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X-Plane Flight Sim creator gets hit with lawsuit from east Texas patent troll, asks for help fighting the good fight
It looks like the patent trolls are out in full force in 2013 as we seem to be hearing about a new lawsuit filed every day in east Texas. This time, the trolls have set their sights on Austin Meyer, the creator of X-Plane Flight Simulator. Uniloc says Meyer used a means of game authentication that they own the rights to.
Early last fall Meyer received notice that he was being sued for not licensing the "
code for verifying the license data stored on the licensing medium by communicating with a registration authority having verification data." This pretty much means that he used a game key verification system that polled a server to see if the game key was valid. It's pretty much the same system used by every software manufacturer out there.
The issue is actually over the X-Plane app for Android, in which Google actually supplies the authentication code for, just like every other paid app uses. Minecraft creator Mojang received a similar complaint from Uniloc recently as well. Meyer is asking for your help, he has petitioned the White House, and is seeking donations to help cover the cost of trial, since he refuses to settle.
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$25 Raspberry Pi Model A launches in Europe, coming soon to rest of the world
When the Raspberry Pi was first announced, there were many skeptics that thought a $35 fully functional Linux computer was just a pipedream. Then the launch of the Raspberry Pi model B took the world by storm, selling out in mere hours globally.
This morning the long awaited and much anticipated Raspberry Pi Model A was released in Europe for $25. For less than the cost of dinner for two, you can get a fully functional Raspberry Pi, that is missing the Ethernet jack, one USB port, and only contains 256MB RAM. On the Model A network connectivity is achieved by a USB WiFi adapter that is supplied by the end-user.
For now the Raspberry Pi Model A is only available in Europe at the moment. I do have it on good authority from my sources within Element14, that we will be seeing the Model A state side very shortly. For now US customers can purchase the Model A from UK distributors, but the Raspberry Pi Foundation warns of a slight delay.
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Twitter dominates social media during Super Bowl 2013
The Super Bowl is over for another year, with the Baltimore Ravens beating the San Francisco 49ers, but Twitter are the champions of social networking for Super Bowl XLVII.
According to Marketing Land, Twitter was mentioned in 26 of 52 national TV commercials, taking 50% of the spots that aired during CBS' coverage. Facebook only took four mentions and Google+? None. YouTube and Instagram were mentioned once each, with Hyundai and Oreo, respectively. Last year's Super Bowl was a totally different story, which saw Facebook and Twitter even with eight mentions out of 59 commercials.
Last year saw Google+ not being mentioned either, and for Google+ reportedly being the second largest social network, that's weird. It all comes down to how people use social networks. Twitter, in my opinion, more of an instant tied-to-your-smartphone-and-event kind of thing, and Facebook is more of a 'everything else I do' social network. I don't know where Google+ fits in (personally), and Instagram is purely pictures - mostly of food.
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House of Representatives bans the use of Spotify
As an avid Spotify user - heck, I'm listening to music on Spotify right now, Black Eyed Peas to be precise - this news comes as a bit of a shock. The House of Representatives has slapped a ban on the use of music streaming and subscription service, Spotify.
The House has a longstanding ban on peer-to-peer technology, and while Spotify isn't exactly a P2P program, it has still been banned. The ban on peer-to-peer software was made to stop illegal file-sharing and to prevent infections on computers with malware. A spokesman for the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer told Politico:
To help protect House data, our IT policy generally prohibits the use of peer-to-peer (P2P) technologies while operating within the secure network. While Spotify is currently not authorized, the CAO has and will continue to work with outside vendors to enable the popular services that improve member communication capabilities.
Spotify aren't too happy with the move, with a Spotify spokesman telling Politico:
It is a sad day when a few bureaucrats can block our nation's leadership from enjoying free, secure access to over 20 million songs. Music is a common language that all political parties speak and should be used to bring the legislators of this great country together so they can solve the serious issues facing our nation.
It's weird considering both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney used Spotify to connect with voters during the presidential campaign, where Spotify adds
"We truly hope the House of Representatives will see the error of their ways and stop blocking Spotify so that all of America can benefit from their collective joy of music."
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Sony ends an era by discontinuing their MiniDisc player after 21 years
After 21 years in the limelight (well, until the iPod was unveiled) Sony's MiniDisc player has been discontinued. Sony are just finishing off the MiniDisc, where the last units will leave the assembly line next month.
Debuting back in 1992, Sony's MiniDisc player was heralded as the next big step in portable music players, where it was capable of cram a bunch of music onto a small optical disc, which at the time was about half the size of a compact disc. This made it easier to take your music with you, enjoying a nice 80 minutes of listening, but it never really took off with US consumers for a few reasons.
Pricing on the format was expensive and didn't slide down to acceptable levels for years, and there weren't many new releases dumped onto the format. Japan was the place to be for the MiniDisc, but elsewhere? Not so much.
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Scientists experiment with moving data in 3D through magnetic spin
Until now, shifting around data in 3D has been but a pipe dream, but the University of Cambridge have broken outside of that dream and began experimenting with a chip that is capable of much, much more.
The team at Cambridge have put a layer of ruthenium atoms between cobalt and platinum, where the researchers have found they can move data bo th up and down, in an otherwise silicon-based design through spintronics. This method uses the magnetic field manipulation to send information across the ruthenium to its destination.
This layering is perfect enough to create a "staircase" that has the data take one step at a time, incredible stuff! Unfortunately there's no ETA on whether this would take the step (pun intended) to real-world circuitry, but with all steps - it will eventually happen.
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The next-gen 3DMark is here, we take it for a quick spin around the block
Introduction and First Look
The original 3DMark came out all the way back in 1998, a huge 15 years ago now and arrived as 3DMark99. This, at the time, ushered in a totally new era of testing out your PC. I would've run that bad boy over a thousand times without a problem. Back in those days, we were in three-digit MHz processors, less than 512MB of RAM, and barely even had dedicated 3D graphics cards.
It was a time when 3DFX were the shiznit, and 3D graphics were just going more mainstream on PC. After that we saw releases of 3DMark pretty quickly, moving into the mainstream and being used by enthusiasts and gamers alike to test their systems out. This can be for entertainment purposes, or to test your new overclock on your CPU or GPU.
I've always found 3DMark to be the best test to see how you score against similarly speced PCs as yours. For example, you've just purchased a brand new Radeon HD 7970 GPU and you feel performance in games isn't what you've seen online. Download and install 3DMark and compare it to tech sites or other users' 3DMark scores and if you come close - you're all good - but if you don't, you know something is wrong.
Fault finding until you reach scores within 5-10% of a similar system online, and you're on the right track. That's how I've personally used 3DMark over the years, but now Futuremark are stepping in a truly different direction: multi-platform benchmarking.
The new 3DMark we're testing out today is for Windows, but there will be an Android, iOS and Windows RT versions released shortly. We've just downloaded a copy of the new 3DMark ahead of the public release to take a look at how it runs, the tests included and just a quick rundown of what to expect from the latest benchmarking software we'll all become accustomed to over the coming years. And we aren't missing anything here, the new 3DMark is simply called "3DMark", no numbers or naming after it.
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Top 10 TweakTown Content from the past week [04 February 2013]
Here are our top 10 articles, reviews and guides from the past week!
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Fractal Design Node 605 HTPC Chassis Review
Introduction
At CES this year I had an opportunity to do something I hadn't done before. We all get to run around and get maybe 20 minutes or so to chat with our company reps, but most of the time in the suites or on the floor are taken up explaining all of the new products. This year I actually got to sit down to lunch with the VP of Marketing from Fractal Design, Josh Smith, and we spent the better part of an hour and a half discussing other companies, as well as the future of Fractal Design. Here it was a light atmosphere, like two old friends having a beer at the bar. What we covered were things like videos of product testing where birdshot was shot from a shotgun at their door panels to see how tough they really were, and I believe I was told 12 shots were taken before the panel was penetrated. We also talked about some up and coming products, but most of that I am not at liberty to discuss at the moment.
What I am able to discuss is that Fractal Design is jumping into the HTPC segment now as well with their first such design. I know a lot of their previous designs may have very well worked in an HTPC environment, due to the way they incorporate sound proofing and noise management into their designs, but there has yet to be a component style design that would look right at home sitting next to your receiver and Blu-ray player. This time around Fractal looked at what they could do specifically for the HTPC crowd, and in my opinion, they didn't do all that bad as far as what this chassis looks like on paper, but at TweakTown, what is on paper is of little consequence, what matters here is the actual product, how it works, and does it do what it is intended for without cutting or frustrating its users.
This newest chassis is from the Node series, the same series that brought us the Node 304. Today we are looking at a chassis that has some resemblance to the 304, but is actually almost two 304's set side by side. This chassis is of course the Node 605 that I have been eluding to, and while keeping what made the 304 so sleek and appealing like the full aluminum front panel, and the black and white color scheme, the Node 605 definitely has a design all its own, and while I have seen similar designs, there is nothing exactly like this that I have seen before.
That in mind, I say we cover what is offered in the specifications, take a look at how it's packed, and dive right into what makes the Node 605 stand out from the others.
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RunCore Announces it as First "BiTMICRO OnBoard"� OEM Partner
Fremont, CA. USA - January 21, 2013 - As one of the largest manufacturer and supplier in the field of solid state drives, RunCore announced that it has become the first OEM partner to join their recently announced BiTMICRO OnBoardâ„¢ Program. It opened a new era of cooperation between RunCore and BiTMICRO. BiTMICRO is a pioneer in high performance, flash-based solid state disks (SSDs), and storage management technologies.
This partnership gives RunCore license to offer solid state drive products with BiTMICRO's revolutionary Talino Architecture. RunCore will use the Talino Architecture to drive RunCore's Kylin III MAX PCIe solid state products for enterprise applications.
"
It is extremely important for both company to professionally develop a product for Enterprise market," said Jack Wu, CEO of RunCore. "
BiTMICRO has developed a high performance and highly scalable SSD controller architecture. We are combining this architecture with RunCore's wafer packaging technology, firmware and hardware design optimization and capability to manufacture and deliver the next generation of SSDs for our enterprise customers."
Limuel Yap, VP of Strategic Technology Development at RunCore, reiterated the importance of the Talino Architecture technology. "The competition in enterprise application streamed down to performance and reliability at a competitive price per gigabyte," Yap said. "When we looked at various technology partners that could meet those needs, BiTMICRO was the only company we could find that delivered the performance, reliability, and scalability that the enterprise market demands."
"
Runcore is a key partner for BiTMICRO," said Zophar Sante, VP of Marketing & Sales at BiTMICRO. "
Their Kylin III MAX PCIe has the BiTMICRO Talino SSD controller architecture at its core. There are many other players in the enterprise SSD and SSA (Solid State Accelerator) market, but I think the combination of our BiTMICRO Talino Architecture and RunCore technology and manufacturing efficiency will be impossible to ignore. "
BiTMICRO's Talino Architecture features their Talino SSD controller, which can achieve up to 400,000 random IOPS at 4KB, and ISIPâ„¢ ASIC flash expander, which allows them to scale up capacity and performance. The Talino Architecture powers BiTMICRO's recently announced maxIO line of enterprise
solid state drives.
RunCore's expertise is especially strong in the enterprise and industrial sectors, where reliability, speed and energy efficiency of utmost importance. With the RunCore's Kylin III MAX PCIe solid state products implementation, RunCore delivers an ideal solution for applications such as datacenter, web hosting, workstation, cloud computing, Bank and Financial Establishments.
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X-IO Storage Becomes Integral Part of Microsoft Technology Center Architecture
Colorado Springs, CO, February 4, 2013 - Storage industry innovator X-IO Technologies today announced that it has been named as a hardware partner for the worldwide network of Microsoft Technology Centers (MTCs). This partnership will allow enterprise customers to test X-IO's ISE intelligent storage elements as part of the high-performance MTC architecture, ultimately facilitating clear technical documentation about the crucial role played by storage in data center performance.
"
X-IO is a strong addition to our Alliances Program, providing a unique storage solution that helps users get the most out of their Microsoft deployments," said Chuck McCann, Worldwide MTC Alliances Program Director, Microsoft. "
Its ISE solutions have performed very impressively with Microsoft software to date, and we look forward to further testing in our technology centers."
MTCs are collaborative environments that provide Microsoft customers with access to innovative technologies and world-class expertise, enabling them to envision, design, and deploy solutions to meet their exact needs. The MTC Alliances program comprises industry leaders in hardware, software and services who provide their resources to these environments. By working together to create and drive joint initiatives and offerings, the MTCs and their partners provide customers with the newest and most cutting edge products and services during an MTC engagement.
"
X-IO is delighted to expand our already robust working relationship with Microsoft," said Rick Nelson, VP, X-IO. "
This program will clearly demonstrate how X-IO's cost effective, high performance storage plays a critical role in getting the most out of Microsoft's modern operating system, server and productivity software."
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ORIGIN PC brings Technical Support to a New Level with the First Ever In-Game PC Support for Gamers
Miami, FL - February 4th, 2013, 9:00 A.M. EST - ORIGIN PC announced today its exclusive in-game technical support client, the ORIGIN Nexus. Powered by Xfire , the world's premier online destination for millions of gamers, the ORIGIN Nexus client allows customers to contact ORIGIN PC's award-winning support team, in or out of gameplay, for any technical support related questions.
ORIGIN Nexus also features the ability to chat with friends within the Xfire community, screen record gameplay, conveniently launch PC game favorites and much more. The ORIGIN Nexus client is an optional install, at no cost, to all current and new ORIGIN PC customers.
ORIGIN PC raised the bar for gamers when it first announced their standard Lifetime 24/7 U.S.-based support, and now extends that legacy by offering free in-game technical chat support with the new ORIGIN Nexus client.
ORIGIN Nexus Features
- In-Game Technical Chat Support*
- In-Game Instant Messaging With Friends
- In-Game Internet Browsing
- Take Screenshots and Videos of Your Gameplay
- Live Broadcast Your Gameplay
"
ORIGIN PC's focus has always been to provide the best PC experience to our customers and we are proud to continue our legacy of providing the best support in the PC industry," said Kevin Wasielewski, CEO and co-founder, ORIGIN PC. "
Thanks to the great client from the Xfire team, ORIGIN Nexus makes it even more convenient for our customers to contact us without ever having to leave their game, and we're really excited to be the first and only company to offer this new level of support in our industry."
"
This partnership is a no-brainer," said Paul Kim, CEO, Xfire. "
Origin is quickly becoming one of the premiere providers of high performance gaming systems, and establishing this relationship exemplifies our commitment to working with partners that provide hard core gamers with the best hardware, tools and content in the industry."
*During normal office business hours from 9:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. EST
For more detailed information, screenshots, and a tutorial video regarding ORIGIN Nexus visit:
http://www.originpc.com/nexus
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AMD Never Settle Reloaded Bundles Now Live, Region-Specific Details Released
AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced the arrival of its "Never Settle: Reloaded" game bundle, the sequel to last year's monumental "Never Settle" bundle. "Never Settle: Reloaded" delivers by bundling up to four of this year's most anticipated PC games -- "BioShock Infinite" by 2K Games and Irrational Games, "Crysis 3" by Electronic Arts, "DmC Devil May Cry" by Capcom and "Tomb Raider" by Square Enix -- with select AMD Radeon HD 7900 and HD 7800 Series graphics cards. The bundle highlights the continued commitment by AMD to ensure an incredible gaming experience on the world's top PC titles optimized for AMD Radeon graphics cards
"AMD knows gaming and in 2013 we plan to make a huge mark on the industry. Today we begin that journey by showing the world that the best PC game developers are AMD Gaming Evolved partners," said Matt Skynner, corporate vice president and general manager of AMD Graphics. "The 'Never Settle: Reloaded' bundle clearly stands apart from anything else in the market. Gaming has always been, and will remain, the core of the AMD Graphics strategy and success. In 2013, we plan to forge greater inroads into the gaming industry and it begins with packaging this year's biggest games with the best graphics hardware from AMD." The "Never Settle: Reloaded" bundle offers the following games when purchased with select AMD Radeon HD 7900 and HD 7800 Series graphics cards:
The introduction of this gaming bundle further demonstrates AMD leadership in and commitment to gaming as the centerpiece of its long-term graphics strategy. In 2013, AMD plans to further reinforce its position as an industry-leading graphics provider by focusing on four critical pillars. The first pillar is content, where AMD will continue its ground-breaking work with game developers to ensure the greatest games are optimized to play on the greatest hardware, AMD Radeon graphics. Second, AMD will work with console developers to evolve and improve the console experience for both gamers and game developers. Third is the cloud, where AMD will expand the limits of online gaming through technology partnerships with companies like CiiNow, enabling game publishers, retailers and carriers to tap into the growing online video game market, ultimately providing greater choice for PC gamers. And finally, AMD will continue to deliver cutting-edge graphics technology which ultimately sets the foundation for driving the best gaming experiences regardless of the platform.
"The 'Crysis' franchise has a reputation for demanding the world's most powerful graphics cards," said Cevat Yerli, CEO and president of Crytek. "'Crysis 3' pushes GPU technology even further and is the best looking game we have ever worked on, so we needed a hardware partner that could keep up with us. The AMD Gaming Evolved program clearly demonstrated that AMD Radeon and the Graphics Core Next architecture is what we needed."
"One of our goals with 'Tomb Raider' is to make the game experience feel believable and the graphics become one of the key components to help deliver that," said Karl Stewart, global brand director, Crystal Dynamics.
"Using AMD Radeon with the compute-driven graphics features in 'Tomb Raider' helped us create an island which can be visually stunning or inhospitably hostile, introduce a cast of characters and tell this origins story to the best effect."
AMD Radeon Technology
The award-winning AMD Radeon HD 7900 and HD 7800 Series graphics cards feature AMD CrossFire technology, immersive AMD Eyefinity multidisplay technology and AMD HD3D stereo 3D, which when combined with the latest DirectX 11.1 capable games, deliver exceptional experiences and cutting-edge visuals for gamers. For gamers looking for the ultimate gaming card to take full advantage of the "Never Settle: Reloaded" bundle, the limited-edition ASUS ROG ARES II graphics card is currently available. Equipped with two overclocked AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition GPUs in a slender two-slot design, the ROG ARES II suits a variety of PC cases, and has a new hybrid thermal design that combines liquid and air cooling.
"We are pleased that the AMD 'Never Settle' promotion of 2012 returns in 2013. This free game promotion for AMD Radeon graphics was a huge success and was very well received by our gaming enthusiasts," said Rob Verheij, marketing coordinator, Alternate Netherlands.
"I am convinced that this new bundle promotion, which contains top games like 'BioShock Infinite,' 'Crysis 3' and 'Tomb Raider,' will be a big success."
"After the success of last year's Never Settle Bundle, we are thrilled to see AMD, yet again, offer 2013's most anticipated PC games packaged with their award-winning graphics cards to our customers," said Soren Mills, chief marketing officer of Newegg North America.
"Both Newegg and AMD are supporters of the PC gaming community, which is why we value this partnership and look forward to offering this exciting new bundle."
Redemption
Coupons for games included in the AMD Radeon Never Settle: Reloaded bundle will be provided by resellers when customers purchase AMD Radeon HD 7900 and HD 7800 Series graphics cards, and can be redeemed on the AMD Redemption portal.
WW = worldwide; NA = North America (US and Canada); EMEA = Europe, Middle-East, and Africa; ANZ = Australia and New Zealand; APAC = Asia-Pacific; GC = Greater China; JPN = Japan; KOR = Korea
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HP Unveils Pavilion 14 Chromebook
HP today announced its first Chromebook, widening the company's extensive PC and workstation portfolio and expanding its multiOS approach to offer customers more choices.
The HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook boasts a display that's approximately 2 inches wider (diagonally) than any other Chromebook in the market today. It provides a fast and easy gateway to a seamless Google experience with popular products like Search, Gmail, YouTube, Google Drive and Google+ Hangouts for multiperson video chat as well as access to apps in the Chrome Web Store. A 14-inch diagonal design provides an ideal balance of mobility and comfort, while the HP BrightView display lets users see and surf easily.
The HP Pavilion Chromebook joins HP's PC portfolio as an ideal companion PC for the home.
"Google's Chrome OS is showing great appeal to a growing customer base," said Kevin Frost, vice president and general manager, Consumer PCs, Printing and Personal Systems, HP.
"With HP's Chromebook, customers can get the best of the Google experience on a full-sized laptop -- all backed up by our service and brand."
Instant access to digital life
With the HP Pavilion Chromebook, customers can effortlessly and quickly access Google applications, social networks, websites and other content such as photos and documents. Constant automatic updates to applications and the Chrome OS mean that software and security is effortlessly kept up to date.
Powered by an Intel Celeron processor and Intel high-definition (HD) graphics, the HP Pavilion Chromebook includes a 16 GB solid-state drive for fast start-up times. Extra hardware security via the built-in Trusted Platform Module (TPM) protects against unauthorized access to sensitive data and credentials so customers can feel confident that personal data is protected. The HP Pavilion Chromebook weighs just under 4 pounds.
A full array of ports including HDMI, USB 2.0 and Ethernet jack, and a combination headphone and microphone jack allow for fast and easy connections to displays and other devices.
The HP Pavilion Chromebook features an HP Imprint design in sparkling black, up to 4 GB of memory and a removable battery. An HP TrueVision HD Webcam offers superb viewing experience, even in low lighting conditions.
With 100 GB of free storage on Google Drive for two years, customers can access their content from any internet-connected device -- while at home or on the go. Plus, users can visit the Chrome Web Store to customize their HP Chromebook by downloading applications for work or play.
Pricing and availability
The Chromebook is available in the United States with a starting price of $329.99 at HPDirect.com.
Additional information about the HP Chromebook is available at
http://www.hp.com/go/chromebook.
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Toshiba Develops High Speed Nano Flash 100 Standard
Toshiba Corporation today announced that it has developed NANO FLASH-100 much faster access for embedded microcontrollers, based on Toshiba's original NANO FLASH. The rich functionality and high speed capabilities of embedded microcontrollers require much flash memory with much faster access rates. Toshiba has recognized and responded to this by developing NANO FLASH which merges two features: high speed programming, based on NAND flash memory cell device technology; and NOR flash memory circuit technology.
Toshiba has subsequently brought this high level performance to its original microcontrollers and to ARM core-based microcontrollers. Now, as more users use ARM core-based microcontrollers, there is an emerging need for greater speed and large memory capacities. NANO FLASH-100 is highly suited to this market.
Features:
- The newly developed NANO FLASH-100 achieves a zero-wait cycle during random access at 100 MHz operation (note 1), the industry's top class. This allows the core in ARM-based microcontrollers to fully utilize the superior performance and code density of applications requiring high speed and large capacity memory.
- Using the ultra low power technology of NANO FLASH microcontrollers, a wide range of high speed, low power applications developments are available.
Toshiba will follow up on its first NANO FLASH-100 product, TMPM440F10XBG, with additional ARM core-based products and will continue the proactive development of flash memory technologies for embedded microcontrollers.
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Top 10 TweakTown Press Releases from the past week [04 February 2013]
Here are our top 10 posted press releases from the past week!
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Fractal Design Announces Core 3000 USB 3.0 Case
Fractal Design brings you the Core 3000 USB 3.0! The Core 3000 USB 3.0 has plenty of cooling options with space to install up to 7 fans of various sizes. The front panel is easily removable and pre-fitted with fan filters to ensure a dust free interior. The sleek black interior is matched and contrasted with white expansion slots and HDD trays. Similar to the Define Series, all the HDD trays are fitted with anti-vibration silicon grommets. The upper HDD cage is removable and rotatable, which allows for installation of even the longest graphic cards.
Key Features:
- Simple yet elegant front panel with mesh and filter
- NEW: USB 3.0 support on front I/O
- Three Silent Series R2 fans included:
- 1x 140mm in front , 1000 RPM
- 1x 120mm in rear, 1200 RPM
- 1x 140mm in top, 1000 RPM
- Optimized for performance with multiple cooling options
- A total of 7 fan slots (1x 120mm + 1x 140mm in front, 2x 120/140mm in top, 1x 120mm in bottom, 1x 120mm in rear, 1x 120/140mm in side panel)
- Six white painted HDD trays complete with silicon vibration dampening grommets - Each tray supports 3.5" or 2.5" HDD/SSDs
- Upper HDD cage is rotatable and removable
- Dust filters for PSU and front fan positions
MSRPs:
- USD: 74.95
- EURO: 64.95
- GBP: 54.95
- SEK: 599
For more information, visit the
product page.
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