Never mind the 780; here comes the GTX 770

Subject: Graphics Cards | May 30, 2013 - 02:55 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: nvidia, kepler, gtx 770, gtx 680, GK104, geforce, MSI GTX660 HAWK

$400 is a tempting number, much less expensive than the $650 price tag on the GTX 780 and right in line with the existing GTX670 as well as AMD's HD7970.  You will probably not see many at that price, $450 is more likely as there will be very few reference cards released, all manufacturers will be putting there own spins on the design of these cards, which brings the price in line with the GTX680.  Performance wise these cards outpace the two current single GPU flagship cards, not by enough to make it worth upgrading from a 7970 or 680 but certainly enough to attract owners of previous generation cards.  [H]ard|OCP reviewed MSI's Lightning model, with dual fans, an overclock of 104MHz on the base clock and 117MHz boost, plus a completely unlocked BIOS for even more tweaking choices.

If you want to see how well it fares on our new Frame Rating metric you will have to read Ryan's full review here.

"NVIDIA debuts the "new" GeForce GTX 770 today. The GeForce GTX 770 is poised to provide refreshed performance, for a surprising price. We evaluate a retail MSI GeForce GTX 770 Lightning flagship video card from MSI with specifications that will make any enthusiast smile. The $399 price point just got a kick in the pants."

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

Graphics Cards

• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 Review @ Neoseeker
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 Review: The $400 Fight @ AnandTech
• The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 Tech Report @ TechARP
• EVGA GTX 770 ACX @ LanOC Reviews
• Nvidia GTX 770 @ LanOC Reviews
• MSI GeForce GTX 770 Gaming and ASUS GeForce GTX 770 DirectCU II Review @ Legit Reviews
• ASUS GTX 770 DirectCU II OC 2 GB @ techPowerUp
• Palit GTX 770 JetStream 2 GB @ techPowerUp
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 Video Card @ Benchmark Reviews
• Gigabyte GTX 770 WindForce OC 2 GB @ techPowerUp
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 770 review incl. 3-way SLI and frametimes @ Hardware.info
• Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 OC 2GB Video Card Review @HiTech Legion
• Move Aside, GTX 680: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 Review @ Techgage
• GeForce GTX 770 Review: Adding Value to High-End GFX @ Techspot
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card Review @Hi Tech Legion
• MSI Twin Frozr GTX770 OC @ Kitguru
• GTX770 video with Asus @ Kitguru
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 Review @ Hardware Canucks
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 2 GB @ techPowerUp
• MSI GTX 770 Gaming Review @ OCC
• Gainward GeForce GTX 770 Phantom @ Legion Hardware
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Review @ Neoseeker
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Video Card Review @ Legit Reviews
• EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB SuperClocked Video Cards in SLI Overclocked @ Tweaktown
• EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB SuperClocked Video Cards in SLI @ Tweaktown
• PowerColor HD 7850 SCS3 passive 1 GB @ techPowerUp
• HIS 7850 IceQ Turbo 2GB GDDR5 Video Card Review @ Madshrimps
• PowerColor Radeon HD 7870 Myst Edition Crossfire Review @ OCC
• PowerColor HD Radeon 7850 SCS3 Passive Graphics Card @ eTeknix

Ubuntu bug #1 closed with a sense of humour

Subject: General Tech | May 30, 2013 - 02:34 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: ubuntu, linux, microsoft

The first bug reported about Ubuntu has been closed, it was titled "Microsoft has a majority market share" and could be easily reproduced.

"1. Visit a local PC store
2. Attempt to buy a machine without any proprietary software"

The bug has now been updated to "Fix Released", thanks to the fact that the definition of computer has greatly increased in breadth over the past few years.  Smartphones are running predominantly non-Microsoft OSes and the availability of iOS and Android tablets have really turned the market in a new direction.  Now it is possible to pick up a computer that is good enough for casual usage which has no Microsoft software installed whatsoever.  Finding white box laptops with no installed OS is still uncommon but nowhere near as rare as it once was.  Slashdot links to his full post here.

"Mark Shuttleworth of Ubuntu fame has closed the primal bug on Launchpad, standing since 2004 and titled 'Microsoft has a majority market share,' due to the 'changing realities' of tablets, smartphones, and wearable computing."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Shortcuts for Windows 8 @ TechNet
• Intel's extreme ultraviolet dream still somewhere over the rainbow @ The Register
• Stop the Microsoft, Skype wedding, screams enraged Cisco in court @ The Register
• Ruby on Rails exploit could hijack unpatched web servers @ The Inquirer
• Microsoft waxes lyrical over Windows 8.1 and its Start button @ The Inquirer

World’s Top Overclockers to Compete at Computex OC Main Event Sponsored by Corsair

Subject: General Tech | May 30, 2013 - 02:22 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: corsair, overclocking, competition, haswell

There is more than one reason to keep an eye on Corsair's Overclocking Main Event at Computex this year, not only will you be hearing about the results from the best overclockers around, these results will be from Haswell chips.  In just a few short days we will see their success at overclocking Intel's newest processor, not yet released for purchase by mere mortals.  While there will be growing pains in learning the ins and outs of the new CPU and chipset, you will get an idea how fast these new processors will go when extreme overclockers get their hands on them.

FREMONT, California — May 30, 2013 — Corsair, a worldwide designer of high-perform­­­­­­ance components to the PC hardware market, is teaming up with Intel to host the Computex OC Main Event on June 3rd in Taipei, Taiwan. The event will bring the world’s best overclockers together to compete in setting the first speed records with 4th generation Intel Core processors and Corsair’s soon-to-be-announced new line of highly overclockable memory.

Overclocking is a way of boosting the computer performance by increasing the clock frequency settings of components such as the CPU, memory, and motherboards. Popular with PC enthusiasts, overclocking has grown from being a hobby to a professional technical sport with competitions held in countries around the world.

At this year’s Computex OC Main Event, elite overclockers from around the world will be vying for $20,000 USD in cash prizes. Competitors at the event will include some of the finest overclockers in the world including 8-Pack, Andre, Coldest, Coolice, Der8auer, Dinos22, Elmor, Hazzan, HiCookie, Lin222, lucky_n00b, Mad222, Nick Shih, Pt1t, Slamms, Smoke, Splave, tor_za, ZoLKoRn, and Zzolio. The live event broadcast by Overclocking-TV will be available at corsair.com/OCMainEvent on June 3rd from 13:00 – 18:00 GMT +8.

In addition to the overclocking competition, the event will feature presentations by Intel and Corsair, including a PC building master class and a demonstration of the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility. Attendees will also be among the first to see Corsair’s new line of products that are designed for use with the 4th Generation Intel Core processor. “We are excited to be hosting the premier overclocking event of Computex 2013 with our friends at Intel,” said Thi La, Senior VP and GM of Memory and Enthusiast Component Products at Corsair. “Together we’ll be unleashing the world’s top overclockers for the first time on the latest Intel processors and our new line of Corsair memory. With the sheer level of overclocking talent and the capabilities of the new hardware, I anticipate seeing groundbreaking levels of performance.”

“Our upcoming 4th Gen Intel Core processors will deliver amazing new levels of performance to the enthusiast community,” said Zane Ball, Intel Vice President, Global Ecosystem Development. “We are excited to sponsor the world’s top overclockers at this year’s Computex OC Main Event.”

HP 2511x 25" 1080p LED-backlit LCD @ $200

Subject: General Tech | May 30, 2013 - 02:04 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: deals

At $200 the HP 2511x display is a little more affordable than yesterdays, but at the same time is smaller and a lower resolution.  With a 5ms response time it will provide a decent gaming experience as TN displays tend to be quicker than their IPS counterparts.  The display is incredibly thin which makes it attractive for surround setups but there is no sign of a VESA mount if you had planned on mounting your monitors.

HP 2511x 25" 1080p LED-backlit LCD Monitor
HP Home offers 25-inch HP 2511x 1080p LED-backlit LCD Monitor (XP599AA#ABA) on sale for $199.99 with free shipping. Use $100 coupon code: MT3912 to get final price.

Why get this and why you need it?
HP 2511x features 1920 x 1080 resolution, ultra-slim (1" max thickness), VGA + DVI + HDMI inputs, 5ms response time, 250nit brightness, tilt adjustment, and 3,000,000:1 (Dynamic) contrast ratio.  Also ENERGY STAR 5.0 qualified and EPEAT Silver registered.

Rising Storm gets a release date... er... time?

Subject: General Tech | May 30, 2013 - 01:33 AM | Scott Michaud
Tagged:

Does it really count as a "release date" if it is the day after you announce it?

Red Orchestra started out as a modification for Unreal Tournament 2004. From there, the team won the first Make Something Unreal where they were granted a license to use Unreal Engine commercially. They grew, as a company, to not only develop multiple titles but also publish a few.

Rising Storm is based in the World War II Pacific Theater. Four factions are playable: two American and two Japanese; each country has an army faction and a naval infantry faction. Multiplayer gameplay, note that single-player will arrive at some point beyond launch, is based on a balance of imbalances. Managing the perception of inequality is a difficult task for a developer to take, but also provides a broader experience for players; expect a storm to rise in the official forums.

Rising Storm will be available at some point in the early afternoon of May 30th, 2013 (US Eastern Timezone). The base game will be available on Steam for $19.99 USD, or $29.99 USD for the digital deluxe; for the next handful of hours, you will still be able to pre-order for a 15% discount ($16.99 and $25.49 respectively).

Podcast #253 - NVIDIA GTX 780, OCZ Vertex 450, Western Digital Se Hard Drives and more!

Subject: General Tech | May 30, 2013 - 12:19 AM | Ken Addison
Tagged: video, vertex 450, vertex, titan, podcast, pcper, ocz, gtx 780, 780

PC Perspective Podcast #253 - 05/30/2013

Join us this week as we discuss the NVIDIA GTX 780, OCZ Vertex 450, Western Digital Se Hard Drives 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.

Program length: 1:04:43

1. Week in Review:
   1. 0:01:40 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Graphics Card Review - GK110 Mini
      1. PCPer Live! GeForce GTX 780 3GB Graphics Card
   2. 0:14:30 Opteron X-series debut
   3. 0:22:00 OCZ Vertex 450 256GB SSD Full Review - Indilinx drives 20nm flash
2. 0:31:50 This week we thank you for IGG support!
3. News items of interest:
   1. 0:33:45 Epic Games is disappointed in the PS4 and Xbox One?
      1. Console manufacturers don't want much, just the impossible.
   2. 0:45:15 MSI Z87 MPOWER Motherboard Series
   3. 0:46:20 Western Digital refreshes enterprise lineup, launches new Se series datacenter HDD
   4. 0:50:15 Cirrus7 Launches SFF Nimbus PC With Aluminum Fin Stack (Heatsink) Case
   5. 0:53:00 AMD Catalyst 13.6 Beta Drivers For Windows and Linux Now Available
   6. 0:54:15 ASUS Maximus VI Formula Supreme FX Evolution
4. 0:55:30 Hardware/Software Picks of the Week:
   1. Ryan: Ball Bearing fans / EVGA ACX Cooler
   2. Jeremy: Fry thy brain and stimulate the maths
   3. Josh: I like storage, and I want it.
   4. Allyn: Sony HX300 (20MP, 50x optical zoom (24mm-1200mm))
5. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
6. http://pcper.com/podcast
7. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
8. Closing/outro

Windows 8.1 can Boot to Desktop and has a Start Button

Subject: Editorial, General Tech, Systems | May 29, 2013 - 07:16 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: windows blue, Windows 8.1, windows, microsoft

Personally, I really cannot care too much about the user experience quirks inherent to Windows modernization; the wedge slowly being shoved between the user and their machine is far too concerning. No matter how they modify the interface, restricting what users and developers can install and create on their machine is a deal breaker. But, after that obligatory preface reminding people not to get wound up in UX hiccups and be complacent to the big issues, Windows Blue will certainly address many of those UX hiccups.

As we reported, last month, boot-to-desktop and the Start Button were planned for inclusion with Windows 8.1. Then, the sources were relentless to emphasize: "Until it ships, anything can change."

Images courtesy, Paul Thurrott.

Mary Jo Foley gathered quite a few details since then. Firstly, the option (as in, disabled by default) to boot directly to desktop will be there; from the sounds of it, it looks like it will be disabled by default but not exclusive to Enterprise SKUs. This is somewhat promising, as it would be slightly less likely for Microsoft to kill support for the desktop (and, by extension, x86 applications) if they feel pressure to punctuate it. Still, assuming because "it makes sense" is a bad way to conduct business.

Also available (albeit, enabled by default) is the Start Button, seen in higher quality above. This will be, as far as we know, enabled by default. Its functionality will be to bring up the Start Screen or, alternatively, a new All Apps screen visible at ZDNet. Now this has me interested: while I actually like the Start Screen, a list of apps should provide functionality much closer to the Start Menu than Microsoft was previously comfortable with. Previously, the Start Screen attempted to make the desktop applications feel less comfortable than modern apps; this interface appears like it would feel more comfortable to the desktop. While probably still jarring, it looks to make finding desktop applications easier and quickly gets out of the way of your desktop experience.

According to Paul Thurrott, for those who wish to personalize the Start Screen, you will have the option to share your desktop wallpaper with the it. For tasteful backgrounds, like the one above, I can see this being of good use.

Just please, do not grief someone with a background full of fake tiles.

As a final note, there is still no word about multiple monitor support for "Modern Apps". If you have tried to use them in the past, you know what I am talking about: basically only one at a time, it will jump between monitors if you bring up the Start Screen, and so forth.

A cooler from Thermaltake that knows how to stay out of the way

Subject: Cases and Cooling | May 29, 2013 - 06:49 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: thermaltake, non-interference cooler, NiC, heatsink

One hurdle many Ivy Bridge owners have to deal with is the proximity of the DIMM slots to the CPU socket as many high end coolers impinge on the space which high DIMMs occupy.  This has lead to the adoption of low profile DIMMs or even users removing heatspreaders from their DIMMs in order to have them fit with an installed cooler. Thermaltake is addressing this issue with their new line of NiC heatsinks which do allow the use of full sized DIMMs.  This does lead to a taller heatsink, the NiC F4 that ProClockers reviewed is 155 x 140 x 50mm so you should make sure your case is wide enough to accommodate the cooler.  The design does not seem to have effected the cooling efficiency of the design, in tests it proved to match the performance of other mid-range coolers.

"Thermaltake’s newest CPU cooler consist of four cooler models for now and the line-up is called the NiC or Non-Interference Cooler series. The reason behind the name is that the coolers allow for the builder or end user to fill all of their motherboard DIMM slots. This is something that is often not possible with most coolers because of their massive size. With that in mind, you can be at ease to know the series allows for maximum ram slot usage. It’s great that we didn't need to fill all the memory slots but it is another issue if we have to sacrifice performance. Well, you don’t have to worry because each of the coolers on this series is rated to a certain wattage level. The Thermaltake NiC F4 model we will be looking at today is rated up to 180 watts of TDP. The other three models are the F3, C4 and C5 and are rated at 160W, 200W and 230W respectively."

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

CASES & COOLING

• DeepCool GAMMAXX S40 CPU Cooler Review @ Pro-Clockers
• SilverStone AR01 CPU Cooler Review @ Hardware Secrets
• Phobya Nano-2G 12, G-Silent 12 Slim Edition and NB-eLoop Bionic 120mm Fan Reviews @ eTeknix
• NZXT FZ-200 Airflow Fan Series 200mm fan @ Modders-Inc
• XSPC RayStorm 750 RS240 Water Cooling Kit Review @ Pro-Clockers
• Lamptron CW611 Watercooling Fan Controller @ eTeknix
• Guide: how to install liquid cooling in your PC @ Hardware.info
• Thermaltake Armor Revo Gene Mid Tower Computer Case Review @ Hi Tech Legion
• NZXT H630 Ultra Tower Chassis @ eTeknix
• Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 Case @ Benchmark Reviews
• Cooltek Coolcube Maxi Black @ techPowerUp
• Spire X2 6018 XMOD Chassis @ eTeknix
• Lian Li PC-TU100 Mini-ITX Case @ AnandTech
• Thermaltake Chaser A31 Thunder Case Review @ Ninjalane

Raspberry Pi Replacing X11 With Wayland/Weston To Get GPU Acceleration

Subject: General Tech | May 29, 2013 - 05:20 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: x11, weston, wayland, videocore iv, Raspberry Pi, linux, bcm2835, arm

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has been working with Collabora to fund development of a Wayland display server that is compatible with the Raspberry Pi and also allows the continued use of legacy X applications.

So far, operating systems that run on the Raspberry Pi have used X as the display server and window compositor. The Raspberry Pi Foundation wants to move to a window compositor that will take advantage of the Raspberry Pi's Hardware Video Scaler (HVS) and take the burden of window composition off of the relatively much slower ARM CPU. The Raspberry Pi Foundation has chosen Wayland as the display server for the task.

The Raspberry Pi Model A.

Taking advantage of the HVS and OpenGL ES compatible GPU will make the system feel much more responsive and allow for advanced effects (fading, Expose'-like window browsers, et al) for those that like a little more bling with their OS.

The Wayland/Weston display server allows for GPU acceleration and window composition using the Pi's VideoCore IV GPU and HVS (which is independent of the hardware units that run OpenGL code). The display server will feed the entire set of windows along with how they should be laid out on screen (stacking order, transparency, 2D transform, ect.) to the HVS which will hardware accelerate the process and free the ARM CPU up for other tasks.
According to the Raspberry Pi Foundation, the Raspberry Pi's HVS is fairly powerful for a mobile-class SoC with 500 Megapixel/s scaling throughput and 1 Gigapixel per second blending throughput.

In addition to GPU acceleration, Wayland will allow non-rectangular windows, fading and other effects, support for legacy X applications with Xwayland, and a scaled window browser.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has been working with developers since late last year and is nearly ready to roll a technology preview into the next Raspian operating system release. The developers are still working on improving the performance and  reducing memory usage. As a result, the new Wayland/Weston display server is not expected to become the new default in the various Raspberry Pi operating systems until late 2013 at the earliest.

This is a project that is really nice to see, especially since at least a small part of the development work going into supporting the ARM-based Raspberry Pi on Wayland will help other ARM devices and Wayland in general which is becoming an increasingly popular choice in new Linux distributions and the best X alternative so far. Of course, this is primarily going to be a useful update for those Raspberry Pi users that run OSes with GUIs as the responsiveness should be a lot snappier!

If you simply can't wait until later this year, it is possible to install the technology preview (beta) of Wayland/Weston onto the current version of Raspbian Linux by cloning the git project or installing a Raspbian package of Weston 1.0. Blogger Daniel Stone has all the details for installing the display server onto your Pi under the section titled "sounds great; how do i get it?" on this post.

See a video of Wayland technology preview in action on the Raspberry Pi on the Raspberry Pi Foundation's blog.

Read more about the Raspberry Pi at PC Perspective.

Insync Releases 1.0 RC for Linux

Subject: General Tech | May 29, 2013 - 03:19 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: insync, google drive, cloud storage, linux

Insyc has released a new release candidate for its Google Drive companion software that adds a few new features and bug fixes to the Linux client.

According to Insync, the 1.0 RC implements an improved syncing core build from scratch. It also allows users to selectively sync files and folders between local storage and their Google Drive cloud storage. It is no longer all or nothing, and you can choose to only store what you need locally rather than the entire document archive now. The release candidate software also allows customized account folders that can be renamed and moved to other locations on the drive. Symlink support, headless installs, and a CLI (command line interface) client are also included in the Insync 1.0 RC.

Insync has also made changes to the management user interface to make configuring the syncing options easier. Finally, Insync has also coded in a notification function that will notify users of changes to files on Google Drive which will be handy for collaborative documents and spreadsheets.

Insync has put together Debian packages for OSes like Ubuntu (Nautilus) and Mint (Cinnamon, MATE, Xfce desktop environments). Additionally, support for KDE and RPM packages is “coming soon.” You can grab the new beta 1.0 RC client here.

Caution, this headset might blow your head off

Subject: General Tech | May 29, 2013 - 02:57 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: Tunguska 2.0, Attitude 1, gaming headset, audio

Attitude's latest headset is named after a certain explosive event in a remote location in Russia, but in theory this does not imply danger to your skull while wearing them.  R&B Mods tried out these brightly coloured headsets, with 40mm drivers and a respectable 20-20kHz frequency range and found them to be quite functional if perhaps not made of the best materials they've seen on gaming headsets.  If comfort and audio performance is more important to you than the construction these headsets make a decent choice, though you will have to wait a while if you want the USB model.

"Today we take a look at something brand new, I have never tested anything from Attitude one but today is the day! We are going to review several of their products but the first thing we are going to test is their Tunguska 2.0 gaming headset. This headset seems to be fairly lightweight and have some cool colors and also a braided cable….lets get on with the review."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Audio Corner

• Gigabyte FLY Headphones @ techPowerUp
• Gigabyte Fly Headphones @ eTeknix
• Antec Mobile Products A.M.P. dBs Headphone @ eTeknix
• Wavemaster Dakota Headphones @ eTeknix
• Mad Catz F.R.E.Q. 5 Gaming Headset Review @ Madshrimps
• ASUS ROG Orion Pro Gaming Headset Review @ OCC
• Sunrise Charm3 & Dragon2 Ear buds @ techPowerUp
• Deep Cool M6 2.1 Speaker System ad Laptop Cool Review @ Pro-Clockers
• ASUS Xonar DGX and Xonar DSX Audio Cards Reviews @ Legit Reviews

GPU beatdown, Metro Last Light edition

Subject: General Tech | May 29, 2013 - 02:47 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: gaming, metro last light

Metro 2033 quickly gained a reputation as a game which can take everything a modern GPU could throw at it and still want more.  Now we have not only a new generation of Metro but also some new hardware to test it with, namely the TITAN and the GTX 780 which are now in [H]ard|OCP's test bed.  They tried out the new game at 2560 x 1600 with high tessellation enabled and found the TITAN to be the overall winner thanks to its ability to support PhysX at these high settings, with the GTX 780 a very close second and perhaps a better choice for those not planning on using PhysX.  Their testing also backs up the developers statement that in order to enable SSAA you will need a second GPU.

"Today we look at 4A Games Metro: Last Light. Running the 4A Engine it supports modern DX11 effects including tessellation, and NVIDIA PhysX, providing realistic simulations of particles, water, cloth and fog. We'll evaluate this game using today's latest video cards including GTX TITAN and GTX 780, for a total of eight video cards."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Gaming

• Metro: Last Light @ LanOC Reviews
• Metro: Last Light PC @ Tweaktown
• Metro: Last Light Performance, Benchmarked @ TechSpot
• Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon Review @ OCC
• Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon @ Tweaktown
• Defiance Review: Resistance is Not Futile @ Techgage
• Wot I Think: GRID 2 @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• Endless Space Now Even More Endless Than Before @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN

Beiber can be used for evil

Subject: General Tech | May 29, 2013 - 02:31 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: cell phone, security, fud

If you are feeling safe and secure using your cellphone in public, some research out of the University of Alabama will shatter that confidence for you.  It seems that it is possible to use sound as a trigger to activate malware from a distance, even over low quality speakers.  You already know about Shazam and other apps you can use to identify songs simply by holding up your cellphone and have it successfully connect to a remote database to get the song data, even in a loud room.  This research shows that a previously infected phone could have dormant malware installed which can be remotely activated simply by music with a hidden message contained within it, inaudible to human ears.  Pair this with the known Autoconnect to Saved WiFi Profiles vulnerability and your phone could very easily start leaking information you would much rather keep private.   Follow the links from The Register to read the research paper and reactions to it.

"Security researchers have discovered that specific music, lighting, vibrations or magnetic fields could all be used as infection channels to trigger the activation of mobile malware on a massive scale.

The paper, titled Sensing-Enabled Channels for Hard-to-Detect Command and Control of Mobile Devices, was presented in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou earlier this month by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Nvidia's Geforce GTX 770 comes close to the Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition @ The Inquirer
• Intel nabs mobile GPS business of moribund ST-Ericsson @ The Register
• Apple reportedly to release 2 new iPhones in 3Q13 @ DigiTimes
• Mediatek releases quad-core 1.5GHz ARM Cortex A7 chip for tablets @ The Inquirer

ASUS Maximus VI Formula Supreme FX Evolution

Subject: Motherboards | May 29, 2013 - 02:08 PM | Morry Teitelman
Tagged: SupremeFX, Maximus VI Formula, Intel Z87, asus

Today, ASUS released a preview of the audio functionality to be designed into their upcoming Maximus VI Formula board. They are continuing in their evolution of the SupremeFX audio solution to deliver the best audio experience possible to the end user.

Courtesy of ASUS

Stay tuned for more information about the upcoming Intel Z87-based Maximus VI Formula motherboard and its slew of integrated features including the SupremeFX audio solution.

Alienware M17x r4 Core i7 Gaming Laptop w/ 2GB GeForce GTX 660M @ $1345

Subject: General Tech | May 29, 2013 - 02:04 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: deals

A gaming laptop is not the least expensive way to get powerful performance but it is certainly the most mobile and perfect for LAN parties thanks it only needing a power cord.  The Alienware M17x is on special right now, a Core i7-3630QM, 6GB DDR3 and a GTX 660M will provide serious gaming power and the included SoundBlaster Recon3Di will ensure your audio is crisp and clean as well.

Alienware M17x r4 Core i7 Gaming Laptop w/ 2GB GeForce GTX 660M

1. Start here at Dell Home direct store
2. Configure as per needs (optional), click Review & Checkout button
3. Apply coupon code ?SWK4RL9BTX1MD in-cart and proceed to checkout

Now even your mouse can minimize your game window

Subject: Editorial, General Tech, Cases and Cooling | May 29, 2013 - 02:03 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: Windows key, mouse, microsoft, I Hate This Key

Has this ever happened to you while playing a shooter? You need to get to a position so you mash the alt key to sprint and... aw crap I hit the Windows key... well, now I am dead. Have you ever considered purchasing software or a gaming keyboard which allows you disable that button?

Have you ever considered purchasing a mouse which also has that button to give both hands something to fear?

Definitely not a member of their Sidewinder product line.

Okay, so I should be fair: the Microsoft Sculpt Comfort mouse is not designed for gaming and Windows 8-like user experiences revolve heavily around the start button. The mouse button is also more useful than a redundant Windows key; the blue pad also has swipe functionality for extra functions. According to how it is described on its product page, slide gestures are bound to respond to the computer as mouse buttons 4 and 5.

So you can probably bind them to game functions, if you feel daring.

But, in the end, I still need to congratulate Microsoft for trying to innovate computer hardware. This is more than just trying to graft touch functionality to a mouse surface, as both Apple and Microsoft have tried in the past, and tries to make the classical mouse experience better. I doubt it is for most of our audience, but not everything needs to be.

AMD Catalyst 13.6 Beta Drivers For Windows and Linux Now Available

Subject: Graphics Cards | May 28, 2013 - 11:32 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: gpu, drivers, catalyst 13.6 beta, beta, amd

AMD has released its Catalyst 13.6 beta graphics driver, and it fixes a number of issues under both Windows 8 and Linux. The new beta driver is also compatible with the existing Catalyst 13.5 CAP1 (Catalyst Application Profile) which improves performance of several PC games.

As far as the Windows version of the graphics driver, Catalyst 13.6 adds OpenCL GPU acceleration support to Adobe's Premiere Pro CC software and enables AMD Wireless Display technology on systems with the company's A-Series APUs and either Broadcom or Atheros Wi-Fi chipsets. AMD has also made a couple of tweaks to its Enduro technology, including correctly identifying when a Metro app idles and offloading the corresponding GPU tasks to integrated graphics instead of a discrete card. The new beta driver also resolves an issue with audio dropout over HDMI.

On the Linux side of things, Catalyst 13.6 beta adds support for the following when using AMD's A10, A8, A6, and A4 APUs:

• Ubuntu 13.04
• Xserver 1.14
• GLX_EXT_buffer age

The driver fixes several bugs as well, including resolving black screen and corruption issues under TF2, an issue with OpenGL applications and VSYNC, and UVD playback issues where the taskbar would disappear and/or the system would experience a noticeable performance drop while playing a UVD in XBMC.

You can grab the new beta driver from the AMD website.

Dell UltraSharp U2713H 27" 2560 x 1440 IPS @ $850

Subject: General Tech | May 28, 2013 - 06:43 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: deals

Whether you are looking for a professional level display with 99% Adobe colour gamut or a large 1440p display (sorry not quite 4k) to game on, at $850 the Dell UltraSharp U2713H 27" IPS display is a great deal.  The USB 3.0 connectors are a nice touch but they do add to the size of the bezel for those with enough lucre to consider running more than one of these displays.

Dell UltraSharp U2713H 27" 2560 x 1440 IPS-panel LCD Monitor (Flagship 2013 Model)
Dell Home is offering 27-inch UltraSharp U2713H 27" 2560 x 1440 IPS-panel, LED-backlit LCD Monitor for $849.99 with FREE shipping. Use $150 instant savings to get final price.