LG Launches Optimus F5 Android Smartphone

Subject: General Tech | May 3, 2013 - 11:00 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: smartphone, optimus f5, LG, jelly bean, Android

LG has launched a new Android smartphone with 4G LTE connectivity. The new LG Optimus F5 is available in France now, and will be rolled out worldwide later this month. It measures 126 x 64.5 x 93mm and comes in either glossy white or piano black. Its specifications are not anything surprising, but this is not a new flagship smartphone. Rather, LG is positioning the mobile device as an affordable LTE smartphone.

On the outside, the LG Optimus F5 features a 4.3” IPS qHD display with a resolution of 960x540 (256 PPI). Above the display is a 1.3MP webcam while the rear of the smartphone hosts a 5MP camera with autofocus.

Internally, the LG Optimus F5 is powered by a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC clocked at 1.2GHz, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of internal storage. LG is using a beefy 2,150 mAh battery which should give it decent battery life even when connected to 4G LTE networks. The phone also supports microSD cards for expandable storage up to 32GB. The Optimus F5 is running Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean.

The new Optimus F5 smartphone will be available soon in France and worldwide towards the end of May. LG has not yet released specific pricing information, however.

Enermax Power Supplies Are Ready For New Haswell CPU Sleep States

Subject: General Tech | May 3, 2013 - 08:59 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: zero load, PSU, Intel, haswell, enermax, cpu, c6, c5

Earlier this week, it was revealed that Intel’s upcoming Haswell processors would feature new C6 and C7 sleep states that draw as little as 0.05A on the 12V rail. Such low power draw on the 12V rail may cause problems for existing power supplies, which are not accustomed to facilitating such low power draw (especially on the 12V line). In an attempt to clear up a bit of the confusion for its customers, Enermax has put together a list of its mid-range and high-end power supplies that meet the standards required to support the new low-power processor states.

According to the press release (seen below), the Enermax power supplies use so-called Zero Load technology that uses a DC to DC converter to support low wattage power draw. This technology has been in Enermax power supplies since the Revolution85+ series which was launched in 2008. The company claims that the power supplies deliver “rock solid voltages” down to 0W load, which is within the Intel specification of 0.05A for the CPU alone.

The list of compatible Enermax power supplies is as follows:

• Enermax Platimax Series
  • Platimax 500W (EPM500AWT)
  • Platimax 600W (EPM600AWT)
  • Platimax 750W (EPM750AWT)
  • Platimax 850W (EPM850EWT)
  • Platimax 1000W (EPM1000EWT)
  • Platimax 1200W (EPM1200EWT)
  • Platimax 1500W (EPM1500EGT)
• Enermax Revolution87+ Series
  • Revolution87+ 550W (ERV550AWT-G)
  • Revolution87+ 650W (ERV650AWT-G)
  • Revolution87+ 750W (ERV750AWT-G)
  • Revolution87+ 850W (ERV850EWT-G)
  • Revolution87+ 1000W (ERV1000EWT-G)
• Enermax MaxRevo Series
  • MaxRevo 1200W (EMR1200EWT)
  • MaxRevo 1350W (EMR1350EWT)
  • MaxRevo 1500W (EMR1500EGT)
• Enermax Triathlor Series
  • Triathlor 385W (ETA385AWT)
  • Triathlor 450W (ETA450AWT)
  • Triathlor 550W (ETA550AWT)
• Enermax Revolution85+ Series
  • Revolution85+ 850W (ERV850EWT)
  • Revolution85+ 920W (ERV920EWT)
  • Revolution85+ 950W (ERV950EWT)
  • Revolution85+ 1020W (ERV1020EWT)
  • Revolution85+ 1050W (ERV1050EWT)
  • Revolution85+ 1250W (ERV1250EGT)
• Enermax Modu87+ Series
  • Modu87+ 500W (EMG500AWT)
  • Modu87+ 600W (EMG600AWT)
  • Modu87+ 700W (EMG700AWT)
  • Modu87+ 800W (EMG800EWT)
  • Modu87+ 900W (EMG900EWT)
• Enermax Pro87+ Series
  • Pro87+ 500W (EPG500AWT)
  • Pro87+ 600W (EPG600AWT)

The list includes power supplies from a number of series over the past few years that range from 500W to 1250W. I'm sure between now and the launch of Haswell in the first week of June that other PSU manufacturers will be announcing which models are compatible and which are not. Stay tuned to PC Perspective as more information becomes available!

Podcast #249 - Corsair 350D, Frame Rating in 4K, the Oculus Rift and more!

Subject: General Tech | May 2, 2013 - 02:59 PM | Ken Addison
Tagged: podcast, video, Indiegogo, corair, obsidian, 350d, mATX, frame rating, 4k, titan, 7990, 690, Oculus, rift, VR, 3d, amd, amd fx, vishera, hUMA, hsa

PC Perspective Podcast #249 - 05/02/2013

Join us this week as we discuss the Corsair 350D, Frame Rating in 4K, the Oculus Rift 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: Josh Walrath, Allyn Malventano, Scott Michaud and Morry Teitelman

Program length: 1:04:02

1. Week in Review:
   1. 0:05:00 Corsair Obsidian 350D Case
   2. 0:10:30 AMD Details hUMA for HSA
   3. 0:25:00 Frame Rating testing at 4K resolutions
2. 0:30:00 This week we thank you for IGG support!
3. News items of interest:
   1. 0:33:15 Read our Heart of the Swarm review
   2. 0:38:30 Oculus Rift hands on testing
   3. 0:44:00 AMD Refreshes FX CPUs
   4. 0:46:00 Gigabyte shows new audio setup for Z87 boards
   5. 0:49:45 Potential power supply issues for Haswell
4. Hardware/Software Picks of the Week:
   1. Ryan: Windows Movie Maker lets you record webcam videos!
   2. Jeremy: anti-pick - hotels that don't offer a RJ45 jack in the rooms!
   3. Josh: Just plain cheap. And Fun!
   4. Allyn: Ventev USB charging stuff (home / auto)
   5. Scott: 120Hz monitors... meh on 3D Vision.
   6. Morry: Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon
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

Deal for May 2nd - Samsung Galaxy S4 [AT&T] @ $168

Subject: General Tech | May 2, 2013 - 01:23 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: deals

Are you in the same boat as Howard Hughes and can't stand the thought of touching anything?  Samsung's new Galaxy S4 is right up your alley then, as you don't even have to touch the screen to use the phone, simply gesturing near the screen works just as well as touching it.  Not only that but you can benefit from the long list of new features integrated with the new Galaxy, for less than you would otherwise pay.

Samsung Galaxy S4 [AT&T]
Amazon now offers for the Samsung Galaxy S4 Smartphone for AT&T starting at just $168 with free shipping (2-4 weeks).  Requires new or upgrading two year contract.  Available in White Frost (pictured) and Black Myst.  You save about $32 off the retail price.

Corsair Clarifies Upcoming Investment Deal With Francisco Partners

Subject: General Tech | May 2, 2013 - 01:04 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: private equity, investments, corsair

Corsair recently reached out to the technology community to clarify the news of a new investor interested in the company. It turns out that Corsair is in talks with a private equity firm called Francisco Partners. The PC peripherals company wants to expand by making strategic acquisitions of smaller companies in the gaming and audio industry. In order to do that, Corsair needs cash, and without going public, one way to get that is to go with a private equity firm.

Although it will not be official for a couple of weeks, according to Corsair, Francisco Partners will invest as much as $75 million in Corsair and become a shareholder in the privately-held company. The deal is simply a monetary one, with Francisco Partners providing needed cash in exchange for a share of the company. No management changes are planned, and the new investor will not become the majority shareholder according to Corsair.

Corsair recently acquired both gaming peripheral company Raptor Gaming and Simple Audio, a company that provides multi-room streaming audio solutions. Corsair plans to further aggressively pursue the gaming and music/audio markets in addition to its existing case, power supply, fan, and other PC peripheral lineups aimed at enthusiasts. I'm excited to see where Corsair goes from here as it grows and diversifies its business and product lines.

Microsoft Rumored To Be Working On Cloud-Based "Mohoro" Windows Desktop Service

Subject: General Tech | May 2, 2013 - 05:07 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: windows, thin client, remote desktop, mohoro, microsoft, cloud computing, azure

Microsoft may be working on its own cloud-based desktop service according to sources speaking with ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley. The rumored service codenamed “Mohoro” would build the Windows desktop SaaS (Software as a Service) solution on top of the company’s Windows Azure cloud computing platform. With Mohoro, Microsoft would provide Azure virtual machines running the Windows operating system. Users would then be able to remote into the desktop on any Internet connected computer or mobile device (with remote desktop support) and get access to their own desktop and applications.

The Windows desktop... coming soon to a cloud near you?

Windows Azure users can already run virtual machines with Linux or Windows OSes, but in the case of Windows Microsoft only allows server versions to be run. Incensing restrictions prevent users from loading consumer operating systems such as Windows XP, 7 or 8 onto the virtual machines. The rumored Mohoro service would apparently relax the licensing restrictions and allow businesses or consumers to deploy client operating systems running on the Azure VMs. It would basically take the need for enterprises to run their own hardware and move it to “the cloud” behind a Microsoft-run subscription service.

It is an interesting idea that I could see universities and businesses looking into. The Azure platform is actually pretty good, from what little testing I've done on it. However, I think that for many consumers a local install is preferable. Although syncing applications and files can be a pain if you have multiple machines, you retain control of your data and are not bound to needing an always-on Internet connection to access that data and run applications. Further, latency issues and bandwidth caps with home Internet connections make a paid-for Azure desktop less appealing to home users. I think Microsoft would have a hard-enough time selling users a subsciption for a local/traditional Windows installation, much less a subscription for an OS requiring an always-on Internet connection to use their computer.

Would you use an Azure-powered desktop as your main OS?

EFF Report Outlines Which Companies Stand Up For Users' Data Privacy Rights

Subject: General Tech | May 2, 2013 - 02:01 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: Privacy, eff, data privacy, consumer rights

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) released its annual Who Has Your Back report, which highlights Internet companies that (do or do not) defend user’s online privacy rights. The EFF looks at the policies and actions of several major Internet companies, including ISPs, cloud storage, email, and social networks (among others). The companies are graded on various criteria such as whether the companies require a subpoena or warrant before releasing information, lobby congress for stricter data privacy laws, and defend their users’ privacy rights in court.

This year, the EFF found some surprising results. Google is no longer the leader of the pack due to no longer providing transparent data requests to users on the same level that it did in the past. Twitter and ISP Sonic.net are actually the top ranked companies. In a less surprising twist, Verizon is actually the worst company of the bunch along with MySpace with failing grades in each category! And that is just the tip of the spear, with companies like Apple and AT&T being worse than I thought and Foursquare and WordPress doing better than I expected.

Data privacy is of supreme importance, and i hope that these EFF reports prod all companies to do better (and note the companies that are doing right by their users). It is definitely worth a read. You can find the full report in PDF form here.

Do you use any of these services, and are you happy with their data privacy efforts?

A Duke Nukem obsession like no other

Subject: General Tech | May 1, 2013 - 03:03 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: gaming, mod, duke nukem, obsessive

You might think you expressed your disappointment about the pile of garbage that was Duke Nukem Forever by posting scathing reviews online, but you have nothing on these modders who attempted to create the Duke we were all promised by modding Duke Nukem 3D.  If you still have the DN3D kicking around, or at least the DUKE3D.GRP file you can head to ModDB and download a 30MB mod which will expand Las Vegas far beyond the original game. Don't expect miracles, they can only reuse existing assets but they certainly impressed Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN who posted a trailer-ish movie of the mod in action.

"A group of modders have been busily attempting to rewrite history – by recreating the game that 2001 trailer suggested in good old Duke Nukem 3D. Given they suffered a degree of 3D Realms-esque hubris in their struggle to finish the thing, are these the first Method Developers?"

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Gaming

• Hurrah! – Defense Grid 2 Funded By Secret Investor @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• New GTA V trailer details the lives of the three protagonists @ HEXUS
• Impressions: Neverwinter @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN
• BioShock Infinite PC @ eTeknix
• Chapter & Verse Of Space Hulk @ Rock, PAper, ShHOTGUN
• God of War: Ascension PlayStation 3 @ eTeknix
• Injustice: Gods Among Us Xbox 360 @ Tweaktown