Next Generation Consoles Likely Not Compatible

Subject: Editorial, General Tech | February 16, 2013 - 02:08 AM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: consoles, consolitis, pc gaming

If you really enjoy an Xbox or Playstation game, better hope your console does not die: it is likely that nothing else will play it. This news comes from a statement made by Blake Jorgensen, CFO of Electronic Arts. Clearly EA is a trusted partner of all console developers and not just an anonymous tipster.

You mean, Devil May Stop Crying?

I tend to rant about this point quite often. For a market so devoted to the opinion that video games are art, the market certainly does not care about its preservation as art. There is always room for consumable and even disposable entertainment, but the difference with art is that it cannot be substituted with another piece of content.

There would be a difference if someone magically replaced every copy of Schindler’s List, including the vaulted masters, with The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. I could safely assume that the vast majority of the audience for either film was not just browsing the Holocaust movie genre. I would expect the viewer was seeking out the one or the other for a specific reason.

This is incompatible with the console ecosystem by its design. The point of the platform is to be disposable and its content is along for the ride while it lasts. They often deliver the console for less than their parts and labor fees: research, development, and marketing costs regardless. The business model is to eliminate as many big fees as possible and then jack up the price of everything else ten bucks here and there. Over time you will not be given a bargain, over time you will give them more than they made you think you saved. They then spend this extra money keeping content exclusively under their control, not yours. Also, profits... give or take.

Again, there is always room for consumable entertainment. The consoles are designed to be very convenient, but not cheap and not suitable for timeless art. Really, the only unfortunate element is how these impairments are viewed as assets and all the while examples such as this one dance around the background largely shrugged off without being pieced together.

As for your favorite game? Who knows, maybe you will get lucky and it will be remade on some other platform for you to purchase again. You might be lucky, it might even be available on the PC.

Some Stakeholders Yell, "Oh... DELL No!"

Subject: Editorial, General Tech | February 16, 2013 - 01:19 AM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: dell

There have been some groups opposed to the planned deal to cease publicly trading Dell and release their shares. It would seem that for many, a short-term payout of 25 percent over trading price is insufficient and, they believe, undervalues the company. I mean, the price is totally not derived from the value you gave it when you just finished trading stocks at 80 percent of what Dell is offering you or anything. Yes, I am making a joke: some investors were almost definitely going long on Dell. I still suspect that some are just playing hardball, hoping that a quarter on the dollar raise is just a starting bid.

Buckle in, I will separate stockholders opinions into two categories: investment firms and employees.

Ars Technica clearly had football on the mind when they wrote a very Superbowl-themed editorial. Early in the month, Southeastern Asset Management sent a letter to Dell management expressing their stance to vote against a deal to go private. The investment firm controls 8.5 percent of Dell which means their opinion has a fair amount of sway. A short few days later, T. Rowe Price stepped up to likewise oppose the deal. This firm owns 4.4 percent of Dell, which means combined they have roughly a 13 percent vote.

Factor in a bunch of smaller investors and you are looking at almost a fifth of the company wanting to keep it public. That combined voting power slightly overtakes the 16 percent control owned by Micheal Dell and could hamper the festivities.

Employees, meanwhile, are upset all the same. Again, according to Ars Technica and their vigilant coverage states that some employees were force to sell their stock acquired as a part of their 401k at $9 per share – substantially lower than the 13.65$ being offered to investors.

There are several other ways which employees get their stake in the company reduced or hampered, but I would direct you to the Ars Technica article so I do not butcher any details.

Unfortunately these sorts of practices are fairly commonplace when it comes to investment deals. It would appear as if this deal trots on common ground instead of taking the high road.

God, I hate mixed metaphors.

Deals for February 15th - Dell UltraSharp U2711 27" 2560 x 1440 LCD Monitor for $649

Subject: General Tech | February 15, 2013 - 06:14 PM | PCPer Staff
Tagged: deals

Top deal

Dell UltraSharp U2711 27" 2560 x 1440 LCD Monitor for $649.00 with Free Shipping (normally $1000 - use coupon code: RDSVHG$9FHDJ44).

Laptops

HP Pavilion Sleekbook 14z-b100 AMD Dual-core Laptop w/ Windows 8 for $384.99 (normally $720 - use coupon code: 15LOGICBUY).

Desktops

Dell XPS 8500 Core i7 Quad-Core Desktop w/ 8GB RAM, Radeon HD 7570 for $649.99 with Free Shipping (normally $720 - use coupon code: PJHNV2JD13PHC$).

Mobile

Samsung Focus S 1.4GHz Windows Phone 7.5 smartphone [AT&T] for $1 with Free Shipping

AT&T RoundUp: Refurb Galaxy S III $30, iPhone 4 for $1, Lumia 900 for $1 with Free Shipping

Freebies

Free Juice It Up Smoothie for joining EClub

Maxim Magazine Subscription (1 Year Print) for Free!

Reader's Digest Magazine (Digital Issues) for Free!

Gadgets

zBoost YX545 SOHO Dual-Band Cell Phone Signal Booste for $189.99 (normally $230).

ZAGGkeys FLEX Bluetooth Tablet Keyboard & Stand for $34.99 with Free Shipping (normally $80).

ZAGGkeys iPad Mini Bluetooth Keyboard Case & Cover for $44.99 with Free Shipping (normally $100).

Jawbone BIG JAMBOX Wireless Bluetooth Speaker in Graphite (J2011-03-US) for $262.98 with Free Shipping (normally $300).

Revisit the Vector, it is worth it

Subject: Storage | February 15, 2013 - 04:26 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: vector, ssd, sata, ocz, mlc, Indilinx Barefoot

Just in case you forgot how impressive the OCZ Vector 256GB is, Overclockers Club would like to remind you.  The Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller is matched with low cost 25nm MLC IMFT NAND modules and 512MB of DDR3-1600 RAM for a cache.  That translates to incredibly fast performance but without the high price of other drives.  The 256GB model sits currently just under $1/GB, it is not the least expensive SSD available but when you consider the speeds this drive operates at it is the best value.  Remind yourself where OCZ's Vector sits in the pack by reading on at OCC.

"OCZ's Vector line of solid state drives is every bit the performer that the Vertex 4 drives are with very few exceptions. In many of the tests, the two fastest drives were the Vertex 4 and OCZ's latest Indilinx Barefoot 3-equipped Vector. The only real weakness I saw was that the Vector was less frugal with the CPU cycles than the other Indilinx equipped drives. OCZ's move to the Barefoot 3 controller is beginning to pay dividends as it uses the technologies it has available in-house after the Indilinx and PLX acquisitions. It's taken a while to go all-in but that time has come. As the first totally in-house designed controller from OCZ, it seems to have hit on a controller that does better at managing real world usage scenarios and handling both compressible and incompressible data streams.”

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

• OCZ Vector 256GB Solid State Drive Review @ OCIA
• Micron P400m 200GB Enterprise SSD @ Tweaktown
• Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD @ Tweaktown
• Samsung 840 SSD Storage Endurance Testing - TLC to the End @ Tweaktown
• kingston HyperX 3K 120GB SSD Review @ XtremeComputing
• Intel DC S3700 800GB Enterprise SSD @ Tweaktown
• Intel 525 Series mSATA SSD Performance Roundup @ Legit Reviews
• Plextor M5M 128GB review: the mSATA version of the M5 Pro @ Hardware.info
• Plextor 128GB M5M mSATA @ Kitguru
• MyDigitalSSD BP4 120GB SSD Review - SATA 3 At an Amazing Price @ SSD Review
• Micron P400m @ AnandTech
• Intel 525 mSATA SSD Review – Every Capacity Tested @ HCW
• Intel SSD 335 vs. Intel SSD 330 Review: Inexpensive SSD Evolution @ X-bit Labs
• Western Digital Red Hard Disk Drives for Network Attached Storage @ X-bit Labs
• Seagate Enterprise Capacity 3.5 V.3 4TB SATA III HDD Review @ NikKTech
• HighPoint RocketStor 5322 Review @ OCC
• Kingston Wi-Drive MobileLite Wireless Card Reader Preview @ Legit Reviews
• Kingston DataTraveler HyperX Predator 512GB Flash Drive Review @ Techgage
• Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate G3 64GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review @ NikKTech
• SanDisk Extreme 64GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive @ Tweaktown
• Thecus N5550 @ Legion Hardware
• Thecus Top Tower N8850 review: a powerful eight-disk NAS device @ Hardware.info
• 24 two-bay NAS device group test @ Hardware.info
• Transcend StoreJet 25M3 1 TB External USB 3.0 HDD Review @ OCC

AMD wants to set the record straight on its future GPU strategy

Subject: Graphics Cards | February 15, 2013 - 01:50 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: southern islands, Solar System, Sea Islands, radeon, oland, mars, holycrapiamtotallyconfused, amd

Remember that story we posted last week and then discussed on the podcast about AMD not releasing any new GPUs in 2013?  Today we had a call with AMD that attempted to answer some questions, clear up some confusion and give us some insight to the company's direction.  I say 'attempted' because after a 53 minute discussion, we have some answers, but we also have some interesting questions that remain.

First, some definitions.  If you have heard about code names like "Solar System" and "Sea Islands" you might not know what they refer to.  Sea Islands is a new line that will fall into the 8000-series of products and will be a refresh, slightly different architecture based heavily on the Southern Islands parts you've come to love in the Radeon HD 7000 parts.  Solar System is the name AMD has given to the sub-category of Sea Islands directly related to mobile products, the 8000M. 

The slide that started this confusion - and our questions.

What might make things even more confusing is that there are some 8000-series parts that are already shipping in OEM desktops and notebooks that use verbatim HD 7000 GPU specs.  So what you have is a combination series with Radeon HD 8000 that is made up of some rebrands and at least a couple of "new" chips thus far.  Those two new GPUs, Mars and Oland (Radeon HD 8650 and HD 8670) depending on the mobile or desktop target, are already out and you can find them if you look hard.  They are NOT available in the channel or for DIY PC users. 

Our readers might be disappointed to learn that Sea Islands is heavily focused on the notebook and mobile markets though AMD did indicate that there some good things coming for the channel users in the future in 2013. 

We also learned that the HD 7900-series will remain the company's high end parts through the end of 2013 but AMD said that there are new SKUs set to be released in this series sometime this year as well.  Will that be the elusive HD 7990 dual-GPU product or maybe just something in the mainstream 7800 segments?  They wouldn't tell us but we are definitely hoping for higher performance parts.  You might also expect to see these new 7000-series parts to use Sea Islands silicon...

The Radeon HD 7970 looks like it will stay a focus for AMD throughout 2013.

Many readers might be wondering why AMD is breaking its standard cadence of near-yearly GPU releases.  The answer came from AMD's Roy Taylor, VP of Channel Sales, who said that "7000 series parts are continuing to ramp UP, sales are increasing" so it is premature for AMD, as a company intending to make money, to introduce a new series or architecture. 

In fact Roy was very emphatic about relieving us of potential ambiguity. 

We have products, we have a road map.  We are not announcing them now because we want to reposition the ones we have now.  We are not sitting still, we do not lack resources, we do not lack imagination.

So what can you expect for the future?  Sea Islands chips will continue to be released and eventually in the desktop, channel market and some of them will be branded as 7000-series parts and some of them will be branded as 8000-series parts.  They wouldn't give us information on whether or not you'll see BIGGER chips (which we would assume would be faster) than the current HD 7900 cards or if they would all be in the mainstream segment. 

AMD thinks its partnerships with key games like Crysis 3 will help keep momentum in 2013.

The residual message from this call was that AMD wants everyone to know that they have the best products on the market today and to maintain that momentum, AMD will enhance drivers, establish big partnerships with gaming companies and developers and release SOME new GPUs. 

AMD was cagey again when asked about the possibility of a new architecture by the end of 2013 but based on the reactions of AMD reps I tend to believe we will see it, though probably very very close to the end of that time.  (Update: AMD did in fact say that an entire new product stack would be releaed by the end of 2013.)

That all clear now?

UNIGINE's Newest Valley Benchmark Features Huge, Open-Space Expanses

Subject: General Tech, Graphics Cards | February 15, 2013 - 01:43 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: UNIGINE, valley benchmark

Move over Heaven, there is an uncanny new benchmark in town from UNIGINE called Valley, which takes your GPU on a journey to Siberia and forces it to labour on wide open spaces with full DX11 scenery.

Valley Benchmark is a new GPU stress-testing tool from the developers of the very popular and highly acclaimed Heaven Benchmark. The forest-covered valley surrounded by vast mountains amazes with its scale from a bird's-eye view and is extremely detailed down to every leaf and flower petal. This non-synthetic benchmark powered by the state-of-the art UNIGINE Engine showcases a comprehensive set of cutting-edge graphics technologies with a dynamic environment and fully interactive modes available to the end user.

Editions of Valley Benchmark

Alongside a completely free Basic edition, Valley Benchmark provides in-depth performance reviews in the Advanced and Pro editions for hardware manufacturers, graphics driver developers, industry professionals and all individuals involved with video card stability testing.

Advanced Edition
Targeted mainly towards overclockers and hardware reviewers, the Advanced Edition allows for stress-testing under different conditions and thorough reports outputted into a flexible format.

The Advanced Edition exclusive features:

• Command line automation for full control over run tests S
• tress testing mode (benchmark looping)
• Highly customizable reports in CSV format

The Valley Benchmark Advanced Edition is available for purchase in the official UNIGINE online store.

Professional Edition
The Professional Edition is a comprehensive benchmarking tool for hardware manufacturers and graphics driver developers as it is bestowed with the complexity of top-level gaming technology.

The Professional Edition exclusive features include:

• Licensed for commercial use (for one PC, site licensing option is available on request)
• Command line automation for full control over run tests Stress testing mode (benchmark looping)
• Highly customizable reports in CSV format Per-frame deep analysis
• Rendering of a specified frame Software rendering mode in DirectX 11 for reference purposes Technical support

The Valley Benchmark Pro Edition is available for purchase in the official UNIGINE online store.

 

Want some Raspberry Pi with a side of hashes?

Subject: General Tech | February 15, 2013 - 01:27 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: WPAD, security, Raspberry Pi, fud

On this weeks Podcast, Ryan wondered what he could do with his new Raspberry Pi and Hack a Day has an idea for him, though it is a wee bit nefarious.  It seems that Travis over at MADSEC is using a Raspberry Pi in penetration testing, using the NetBIOS Name Service to get responses from the Web Proxy Auto-Discovery Protocol (WPAD); responses which can include LM hashes from Windows machines.  With the use of Rainbow tables you can crack those hashes and take control of existing accounts on the PCs.  This type of attack is well know, but automating the attack on something as small and easily modifiable as a Raspberry Pi adds a new layer.  Whether you use it for good or evil, you can read more about it at Hack a Day.

"Plug in the power and Ethernet and this Raspberry Pi board will automatically collect Windows hashes from computers on the network. With a couple of RPi boards on hand [Travis] was searching for more hacks to try with them. This made a great little test to see how the board performs with the well established attack."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Traceroute reveals Star Wars Episode IV 'crawl' text @ The Register
• Your own head-mounted display for under two bills @ Hack a Day
• Apple: iOS 6.1 network overload caused by our Exchange SYNC OF DOOM @ The Register
• Doped nanotubes boost lithium battery power three-fold @ The Register
• SSDs at the Office – Trials, Tribulations and Still Worth It @ Techgage
• Nvidia revenues fight the PC tide, but annual profits pinched @ The Register
• Valve releases its Steam client for Linux @ The Inquirer

A4Tech might have trouble with mouse aesthetics but not with functionality

Subject: General Tech | February 14, 2013 - 07:29 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: input, gaming mouse, A4Tech, Ultracore3 V7 Gun3, HoleLESS engine

While the name and the bloody hand motif of the A4Tech Ultracore3 V7 Gun3 gaming mouse might be a little questionable there is one thing on this mouse which makes it stand above the competition, the so called HoleLESS engine.  Instead of an open area on the bottom of the mouse for the sensor and laser, there is a tinted covering protecting those components which means you will no longer have to pick hair or gunge out of your mouse.  Benchmark Reviews had no problems whatsoever with interference from the lack of an open hole during their testing and they had a bit of fun bumping mice together during the Q-Shoot tool in the driver.  This mouse comes with an impressive bundle, functions well and costs less than $30 ... not a bad deal at all.

"Being an enthusiast doesn't necessarily mean pouring an incredible amount of money into a hobby. While going to a web site that sells computer components, sorting by "Highest Price" and just adding everything at the top of the list to your cart will probably result in a fast computer (probably...) I'm not sure if that is what defines an "enthusiast." Sometimes finding those products that ride that price/performance line, getting the absolute most for the money spent - that's where enthusiasm can be found. A4Tech, a company with 25 years of experience with mice and other peripherals, has just released a new line of gaming mice that Benchmark Reviews is going to take a look at today. First up, the A4Tech Ultracore3 V7 Gun3 wired gaming mouse - let's see what A4Tech has in store for gaming enthusiasts..."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• AZiO Levetron GM2000 Gaming Mouse Review @ Neoseeker
• ROCCAT Lua Classic 3-Button Gaming Mouse Review @ Madshrimps
• Thermaltake Level 10 Mouse Review @ OCIA
• Roccat Kone XTD Gaming mouse @ Rbmods
• Zowie Gear EC1 Evo Black Competitive Gaming Mouse @ Tweaktown
• Cooler Master CM Storm Sentinel Advance II Gaming Mouse Revisited @ Madshrimps
• GX Gaming Gila MMO/RTS Professional Gaming Mouse @ Tweaktown
• GX-Gaming Gila @ LanOC Reviews
• FUNC MS-3 Gaming Mouse @ Kitguru
• Leetgion El'Druin RPG Gaming Mouse @ techPowerUp
• Cooler Master CM Storm QuickFire TK Compact Mechanical Keyboard Review @ Pro-Clockers
• Eagle Tech Bluetooth Mini Keyboard with Speakerphone ET-KB100B-BK @ TechwareLabs
• Razer Orbweaver Mechanical Gaming Keypad Review @ Custom PC Review

A mid-weight PSU from Seasonic, the Platinum 660W

Subject: Cases and Cooling | February 14, 2013 - 05:47 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: rosewill, PSU, Platinim 660, modular psu, 80plus platinum

If the 1000W Rosewill PSU that Lee just reviewed is more power than your system needs, [H]ard|OCP has a slightly less powerful 660W 80Plus Platinum PSU you could consider that Lee has also looked at.  At $150 it is fairly expensive for a 660W PSU, but a 7 year warranty and a Platinum efficiency rating do not come cheap.  With four 6+2 PCIe connectors and up to 55A on the 12V rail and an unparalleled peak change of 0.01v this will solidly power several GPUs.  [H] was so impressed that they couldn't think of a PSU to contrast against, this unit is miles ahead of the competition when it comes to the purity of the voltages provided.

"Seasonic's new SS-660XP comes to us boasting high end PSU features in what we can consider a smaller wattage package than what we are used to seeing. This PSU has a fully modular design, great efficiency, optional Hybrid fan control allowing fanless, silent, and normal cooling modes. Does Seasonic have another winner?"

Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:

CASES & COOLING

• Aerocool GT-SG 700 W @ techPowerUp
• FSP Raider 550w @ XSReviews
• In Win Commander III 700 W Power Supply Review @ Hardware Secrets
• PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 850-Watt 80 PLUS Gold @ Tweaktown
• SilverStone Strider Plus ST60F-PS 600 W @ techPowerUp
• SilverStone PP06B Individual-Sleeved PSU Cables Review @ Pro-Clockers
• PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 750 W Power Supply Review @ Hardware Secrets
• BeQuiet! Pure Power L8 530W CM @ Kitguru
• Rosewill Tachyon 650W Power Supply Review @ Legit Reviews

Podcast #238 - Thinkpad Tablet 2, Raspberry Pi, Nonvolatile DIMMS and more!

Subject: General Tech | February 14, 2013 - 04:07 PM | Ken Addison
Tagged: podcast, NVDIMMS, Raspberry Pi, Thinkpad, tablet 2, nvidia, amd, southern islands, Solar System, Crysis 3, Intel

PC Perspective Podcast #238 - 02/14/2013

Join us this week as we discuss the Thinkpad Tablet 2, Raspberry Pi, Nonvolatile DIMMS and more!

You can subscribe to us through iTunes and you can still access it directly through the RSS page HERE.

The URL for the podcast is: http://pcper.com/podcast - Share with your friends!

• iTunes - Subscribe to the podcast directly through the iTunes Store
• RSS - Subscribe through your regular RSS reader
• MP3 - Direct download link to the MP3 file

Hosts: Ryan Shrout, Jeremy Hellstrom, Josh Walrath and Allyn Malventano

This Podcast is brought to you by MSI!

Program length: 1:13:52

Podcast topics of discussion:

1. Week in Reviews:
   1. 0:02:00 Crysis 3 Live Game Stream - Win Free Stuff!!
   2. 0:04:10 Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 Preview
   3. 0:09:15 Rosewill Tachyon Series 1000 watt power supply
   4. 0:12:00 Gigabyte GA-F2A85X-UP4 Preview
2. 0:16:18 This Podcast is brought to you by MSI!
3. News items of interest:
   1. 0:17:50 Reports of no new AMD cards for 2013
   2. 0:26:40 Windows is feeling "blue"
   3. 0:32:15 Nonvolatile DIMMs
   4. 0:38:08 Raspberry Pie 5MP camera module
   5. 0:43:55 NVIDIA bundles credits for free to play games
   6. 0:49:30 Corsair Acquires Simple Audio
   7. 0:53:00 Intel confirms upcoming set top box
4. Closing:
   1. 0:56:45 Hardware / Software Pick of the Week
      1. Ryan: A Raspberry Pi device
      2. Jeremy: ping -p 32 -s 1110 x.x.x.x
      3. Josh: System Shock 2 on GOG.com
      4. Allyn: ioSafe N2

1. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
2. http://pcper.com/podcast
3. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
4. Closing/outro

Be sure to subscribe to the PC Perspective YouTube channel!!

Deals for February 14th - Dell Inspiron 15R Special Edition 15.6" Core i5 Laptop w/ 2GB HD 7730M for $549

Subject: General Tech | February 14, 2013 - 02:23 PM | PCPer Staff
Tagged: deals

Top deal

Dell Inspiron 15R Special Edition 15.6" Core i5 Laptop w/ 2GB Radeon HD 7730M, Backlit Keyboard for $549.99 with free shipping (normally $800 - use coupon code: V0N3VFFVHKTWS0).

Laptops

HP Pavilion Sleekbook 14z-b100 AMD Dual-core Laptop w/ Windows 8 for $364.99 (normally $720 - use coupon code: 15LOGICBUY).

Computer Components

Logitech Rechargeable Wireless Touchpad T650 w/ Windows 8 Multi-touch Navigation for $67.99 with Free Shipping (normally $80 - use coupon code: 8LG7XLCVX7VL21).

WD My Passport 1TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive (WDBBEP0010BBK) for $89.99 (normally $100 - use coupon code: 2SWVM6553NQ6F7).

Dell V525w All-in-One Wireless Inkjet Printer w/ 2.4" Color LCD & Fax for $49.99 with Free Shipping (normally $130).

Dell UltraSharp U2711 27" 2560 x 1440 LCD Monitor for $649.00 with Free Shipping (normally $1000 - use coupon code: RDSVHG$9FHDJ44).

Mobile

AT&T RoundUp: Refurb Galaxy S III $30, iPhone 4 for $1, Lumia 900 for $1 with Free Shipping

Freebies

Maxim Magazine Subscription (1 Year Print) for Free!

eMusic: 14 Day Trial plus $10 Music Credit for Free!

Gadgets

Fitbit One Wireless Fitness Sleep Tracker for $99.95 with Free Shipping (normally $110).

EcoSphere Closed Aquatic Ecosystem for $45.00 with Free Shipping (normally $80).

Starbucks Verismo 585 Espresso Machine for $399.95 with Free Shipping (normally $436.80 - use coupon code: SHIP4FREE).

Ride Manic Wide Snowboard (154cm) for $251.95 with Free Shipping (normally $360).

Bad day for cellphone security

Subject: General Tech | February 14, 2013 - 01:47 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: Android, iOS 6, apple, security, FROST

Two different mobile phone security concerns were revealed today, one for devices using iOS 6.1 and one for Androids.  DailyTech has posted text instructions as well as linking to a video which shows how an iPhone 5's password protection can be completely bypassed and allow anyone with physical access to your phone to log into the phone with full access.  The second vulnerability, tested with Android 4.0 but possibly wide spread, was discovered by a team at the Friedrich-Alexander University in Germany, and it allows you to recover  information from a phone which has used the Android disk encryption.  They used both a freezer to drop the temperature of the phone and a trick with the battery which puts the phone into 'fastboot' mode and allows the loading of a custom image via a Linux PC which installs their Forensic Recovery Of Scrambled Telephones tool, aka FROST.  As you can see from the images below, that gives you the ability to get the encryption key or even brute force some passwords. 

"First part:
-Go to emergency call, push down the power button and tap cancel.
-Dial 112 and tap green and inmediately red.
-Go to lock screen.

Ok...ready for second part:
-Go to passcode screen.
-Keep pushing down the power button ...1...2...3...seconds and before showing the slider "turn off"...tap the emergency call button and ...voilá!
-Then without releasing the power button press the home button and ready..."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Intel's new TV box to point creepy spy camera at YOUR FACE @ The Register
• Toshiba announces a noise cancelling chip @ The Inquirer
• 555-timer charges lead acid batteries @ Hack a Day
• Micron glues DDR4 RAM to flash, animates the 256GB franken-DIMM @ The Register
• Futuremark 3DMark Review @ Neoseeker
• Hacking a Coffee Machine for a Better Brew @ Hack a Day
• Cern shuts down LHC after three years of operations @ The Inquirer
• NVIDIA/AMD OpenGL Benchmarks Of Unigine Valley @ Phoronix
• Win an AverMedia RECentral Live Gamer HD Capture Card @ eTeknix
• Funky Kit Presents: Mod-my-Box™ Spring 2013 - Official Launch

Corsair updates their self contained watercoolers and not just with an 'i' at the end

Subject: Cases and Cooling | February 13, 2013 - 07:20 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: corsair, Hydro Series, H80i, H100i, watercooling, Corsair Link

The updated Hydro Series coolers, the H80i and H100i both feature all new tubing that might not be much more flexible than the previous models but offers improved flow rates.  As well these coolers are now able to be controlled via Corsair's Link technology, allowing you to either set the LED colour displayed or to use it as a real time temperature indicator.  As you would suspect the H100i is the larger of the two units, the H80i being 120 x 38 x 152mm and the H100i measuring 275 x 120mm x  27mm with both supporting up to four fans via the Link software.  [H]ard|OCP saw an improvement from the previous models which you can read about in their full review.

"Corsair updates its aging H80 and H100 performance liquid CPU coolers, with the new H80i and H100i models. Changes include a new cold plate design, smooth outer diameter no-kink tubing designed to further limit evaporation, and newer designed fans claiming better static pressures, and quieter operation."

Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:

CASES & COOLING

• NZXT Kraken X60 CPU Cooler Review @ Hardware Secrets
• NZXT Kraken X60 @ Kitguru
• NZXT Kraken X40 & X60 CPU Coolers Review @ Hardware Canucks
• Cooler Master Seidon 120M Liquid CPU Cooler @ eTeknix
• ilverStone NT01 Pro Low Profile HTPC CPU Cooler @ eTeknix
• Evercool Silent Shark CPU Cooler Review @ Hi Tech Legion
• Thermalright Goes All In: SilverArrow SB-E Extreme Super-Cooler @ X-bit Labs
• Corsair H100i CPU Cooler Review @ Hardware Secrets
• Noctua NF-A Series 140mm Fan Review @ Hi Tech Legion
• Xigmatek Asgard 381 @ techPowerUp
• Enermax Ostrog Midi Tower PC Case Review @ NikKTech
• NZXT Phantom 820 Tower Computer Case @ Benchmark Reviews
• AZZA Silentium 920 Quiet Case Review @ Pro-Clockers
• Zalman MS800 Case Review @ Hardware Secrets
• Cooler Master HAF XB Mid-Tower @ Kitguru
• SilverStone Redline RL04 Case Review @ Hardware Secrets
• Silverstone Redline Series RL04 Chassis Review @ Pro-Clockers
• Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 Mid-Tower Case Review @ Hi Tech Legion
• Silverstone Sugo Pack @ LanOC Reviews
• Cougar Spike Mini Gaming Case Review @ Pro-Clockers

Deals for February 13th - HP ENVY 27 IPS-panel 27" LED-backlit LCD Monitor w/ Beats Audio for $454

Subject: General Tech | February 13, 2013 - 05:10 PM | PCPer Staff
Tagged: deals

Top deal

HP ENVY 27 IPS-panel 27" LED-backlit LCD Monitor w/ Beats Audio for $454.99 with free shipping (normally $469.99 - use coupon code: 15LOGICBUY).

Laptops

Asus Zenbook UX32A-DB31 13.3" Ultrabook w/Core i3 ULV for $549.99 with Free Shipping (normally $720).

Computer Components

HP Pavilion 27xi 27" 1080p IPS LED-backlit LCD Monitor for $294.00 with Free Shipping (normally $340 - use coupon code: DIG5).

HP Pavilion 23xi 23" 1080p IPS LED-backlit LCD Monitor for $194.00 with Free Shipping (normally $230 - use coupon code: DIG5).

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Beat SAD with a new system build

Subject: Systems | February 13, 2013 - 02:49 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: DIY, econobox, sweet spot, double stuff

The Tech Report has updated their System Guide for February and added in a new SFF build as well as instructional videos on building a PC for those just joining the enthusiast crowd.  The four price points that they aim for are $600, $1,000, $1,500, and $3,000 and range from an EconoBox for basic usage up to the Double Stuff workstation and of course the new Mighty Mite system.  Head on over to see what they've assembled and feel free to contrast it with our own Hardware Leaderboard.

"In the latest edition of the TR System Guide, we've tweaked our usual builds to incorporate newer components and price changes, making our recommended systems better than ever. We've also included a small-form-factor gaming build priced just under $1,000."

Here are some more Systems articles from around the web:

Systems

• HP Pavilion 20-b010z Review @ TechReviewSource
• Acer T232HL - Touch Comes to the Desktop @ AnandTech
• HP Envy 23 TouchSmart @ Hardware.info
• Intel’s Next Unit of Computing Review: Desktop of the Future or Another Nettop @ X-bit Labs
• Wired2Fire Diablo Predator System @ Kitguru
• Zotac's Zbox ID42 Plus nettop @ The Tech Report

Finally SHODAN rides again

Subject: General Tech | February 13, 2013 - 01:31 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: gaming, system shock 2, GOG, steam, kick ass

It has been a long drawn out battle but gamers can finally claim a victory as Good Old Games and Steam finally get the rights to distribute System Shock 2, one of the best FPS games ever released.  Not only were the mechanics, (can you say leaning?) and the AI but the story and atmosphere were the scariest around at the time and still compete well with similar modern games such as Dead Space.  The team at Night Dive has been working hard on stability and option improvements as well as adding in soundtracks, interviews and other historical documents from the games inception.  You will be able to pick up the game 16.5 hours from the writing of this post for $10, well worth the investment and much more fun and probably less buggy than Colonial Marines.  Check out Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN's interview with the team that has finally been allowed to provide the most requested old game around.

"RPS: You have updated the Night Dive website to read: “System Shock franchise to resurface with GOG/Steam release”. What is your involvement in the release and is the digital version an update, with high-res textures etc, or a straight re-release?

Kick: Night Dive Studios secured the license to distribute the game, and made the initial modifications to allow the game to run on most current operating systems.

Rambourg: There are some user-made mods out there which do phenomenal work on the game’s stability, but none of them were quite perfect, so we took the game to our expert techninjas to analyse and swat the remaining bugs. It was some work to get it done, but as this is a game that we’ve wanted to release for four-plus years, it was also definitely a labour of love."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Gaming

• Hands On: Neverwinter Beta @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• Wot I Think – Aliens: Colonial Marines Single Player @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• Star Trek To Feature Ship From Star Trek @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• Assassin's Creed III: Deluxe Edition @ Benchmark Reviews
• Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed Review @ Techgage
• Dead Space 3 Tested, Benchmarked @ Techspot
• Mojang Releases Minecraft: Pi Edition For the Raspberry Pi @ Slashdot
• Dead Space 3 Xbox 360 @ Tweaktown
• The Cave Review (PSN) @ Kitguru

... and Intel officially jumps into the TV or set top box business too

Subject: General Tech | February 13, 2013 - 12:40 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: Intel, tv, intel media, imagination, PowerVR, intel tv

Ryan spotted prototype Intel TV hardware at CES in the Imagination suite and today Intel Media's Erik Huggers has confirmed that Intel will be producing some sort of set top box or TV for sale in the near future.  It will likely be in partnership with Imagination and their PowerVR technology and might possibly be tied to the new NUC that Intel released recently and which would fit the definition of set top box, plus keep your cat nice and warm.  While The Inquirer did get confirmation that Intel will release hardware to compete with Apple and Google before the end of the year but they would not specify exactly what that hardware would be.  They plan to set themselves apart from NetFlix and other content streamers by offering live TV streams which will probably not make them popular with established cable or satellite proveders but with Intel's deep pockets and the possiblity of personalized advertising they could well steal customers away.

"CHIPMAKER Intel has confirmed that it is working on hardware to stream live and on-demand content to televisions in 2013."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Intel outs caching software for 910 series SSDs @ The Inquirer
• iFixit tears down the Surface Pro @ The Inquirer
• Apple iWatch could be used as smartphone ‘support’ tool @ Kitguru
• TECH LOVERS competition with Seasonic and Sapphire @ Kitguru

Pick up a GTX660 GC and get close to its value in online currency

Subject: Graphics Cards | February 12, 2013 - 05:33 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: galaxy, GTX 660 GC, factory overclocked, nvidia

For those unable or unwilling to spend over $200 on a GPU, the non-Ti Galaxy GTX 660 GC comes with a nice factory overclock of 6GHz on its 2GB of RAM and a core of 1006MHz with a boost of 1074MHz as well as a custom dual fan cooler.  You are not going to be maxing out Crysis 3 with it, at this level of power perhaps online gaming is the way to go in which case NVIDIA's new bundle of in game currency might make a lot of sense for you.  [H]ard|OCP tested it against the similarly priced HD7850 as well as the slightly more expensive HD7870.  In the tests the 660 GC beat the HD7850 by enough that it is not really worth your consideration and traded wins with the slightly more expensive HD7870.  In this particular case it might be the bundle that decides you, do you want in game currency or free full games?

"GALAXY has a factory overclocked NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 complete with a custom cooler. Today, we have it on our test bench to run against an AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition and an AMD Radeon HD 7850 to see which is the go-to card at the $200 price point now in the latest games with the latest drivers."

Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:

Graphics Cards

• GeForce GTX 660 Graphics Cards Roundup @ X-bit Labs
• Inno3D GeForce GTX 670 iChill, Inno3D GeForce GTX 660 Ti Graphics Cards @ iXBT Labs
• Arctic Accelero Hybrid VGA Cooler Review @ Hi Tech Legion
• 3DMark 2013 review: 52 graphic cards tested with the new benchmarks @ Hardware.info
• AMD Radeon Gallium3D Starting To Out-Run Catalyst In Some Cases @ Phoronix
• Workstation Graphics Card Comparison Guide @ TechARP
• Desktop Graphics Card Comparison Guide @ TechARP
• A Trio from HIS: 7970 IceQ X² GHz Edition, 7950 IceQ X² Boost Clock and 7850 IceQ Turbo X Graphics Cards @ X-bit Labs
• Club 3D Radeon HD 7990 6GB @ Hardware.info