General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article


iPhone 4 Siri Hack Proves Apple is Withholding Features to Sell Hardware

Posted: 30 Oct 2011 05:36 PM PDT

SiriNormally we pass on Mac or iPhone specific news, but just in case it ever comes up in a debate, 9 to 5 Mac has proven that without a doubt, Apple is indeed shafting iPhone 4 customers. It seems an enterprising young hacker by the name of Steven Smith has not only ported the Siri AI interface to the iPhone 4, but the two way communication with Apple servers is now working perfectly. 

A short video posted by Smith shows not only how well Siri works on an iPhone 4, but that performance is almost completely identical to the iPhone 4s sitting beside it. You could make the case that Siri is exclusive to the iPhone 4s as a result of it being a "beta" product, but current iPhone 4 owners might still be tempted to label this as somewhat disingenuous. 

Some have suggested that Siri is exclusive to the iPhone 4s to help improve the value perception of potential customer's, but we'll let you be the judge of that.

Click here to checkout the proof for yourself.

HP Claims That Any Plans to Kill WebOS are an “Unfounded Rumor”

Posted: 30 Oct 2011 05:02 PM PDT

CrazyWe do our best to report the truth here at Maximum PC, but sometimes companies just don't make it easy. First Microsoft tells us the Zune is dead, then alive, then dead. Then HP tells us HP us WebOS is dead, then alive, but just between us, we still think its dead. We fully admit that on Friday we wrote a piece informing everyone that WebOS development at HP was not long for this world, along with dozens of other mainstream news outlets, however HP's Vice President Todd Bradley has gone on the record to label this an "unfounded rumor".

According to Bradley, WebOS is not only alive and well, but they are looking for new ways to "utilize" the platform going forward. If HP has no plans to release phones or tablets, we have to question what if any use they will find for webOS in the future, but I guess we're going to find out. 

Hit the jump to see the interview for yourself, and fast forward to about 4:40 for the important bits.

AMD’s Overclocking Record Smashed, Still Held By the FX-8150

Posted: 30 Oct 2011 03:46 PM PDT

CPU CoolingBack in mid-September AMD turned its elite team of overclockers loose on one of its upcoming Bulldozer chips, the FX-8150, and ended up earning a Guinness World Record in the process. 8429.38 MHz was a pretty impressive feat, but as with anything in technology, it was short lived. The overclocking crown has officially been passed to Andre Yang, though luckily for AMD, he was still using the FX-8150.

According to the CPU-Z's Validation page Yang managed to crank AMD's flagship Bulldozer part up to 8461.51 MHz, using a base clock of 272.95 Mhz, and a 31x multiplier. Maintaining this clock speed wasn't easy however, and along with a heavy dose of nitrogen, Yang pumped in a punishing 1.992V to keep everything stable. I'm guessing at 2V the chip would launch into orbit.

The memory used was a single 2 GB Corsair-branded module, cranked up to 909 MHz (1818.16 Mhz DDR), with timings of 9-9-9-24T. Yang also following AMD's lead by disabling all but 2 of the FX-8150's cores to cut down on heat and allow for better stability. 

Intel fan's will no doubt chime in to remind everyone that clock speeds don't matter, but they sure are impressive!

CPU

AMD Readying Brazos 2.0 for Q1 2012

Posted: 30 Oct 2011 03:50 AM PDT

A new report at Computerbase.de (translation) suggests that a successor to the successful Brazos platform is on its way from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). They say appearances can be deceptive, but so can be names. Even though it's codenamed Brazos 2.0, there is nothing to suggest that it will be a generational leap in terms of performance. On the contrary, everything in the report points to a more subtle performance boost.

AMD is said to be readying two Brazos 2.0 chips, the E1-1200 and E2-1200, for launch in the first quarter of 2012. Both chips will contain slightly improved CPU and GPU parts as compared to the chips they will replace.

The E2-1800 will be replacing the E-450. When compared with the outgoing chip, the E2-1800 will pack slightly higher-clocked Bobcat cores (1.7GHz vs 1.6GHz). Likewise, the GPU in the new chip too will be clocked marginally higher than the E-450 (680/523 MHz vs 600/508 MHz). However, the slightly overclocked integrated Radeon core inside the E2-1800 will go by a new name, HD 7430.

The E1-1200 will be replacing the E-300. The former will have its CPU clocked at 1.4GHz and the GPU at 500MHz. Again this is a minuscule improvement over the outgoing part. The E-300 has its CPU clocked at 1.3GHz and the GPU at 488MHz.

Brazos 2.0 will bring with it a new mobile chipset called A68M, which will feature a couple of USB 2.0 ports, eight USB 2.0 ports and two SATA 6Gbps ports. The total number of ports are considerably less than the A50M. This is intended to cut down on power consumption.

ITG xpPhone Successor to Run Windows 8

Posted: 30 Oct 2011 03:37 AM PDT

When even the purpose of our own existence continues to be a mystery, Taiwan-based ITG has every right to sell a desktop OS-running phone that apparently has no clearly defined purpose. By the same token, it also has the right to come up with a successor to that pointless phone. And that's exactly what ITG plans to do.

The Taiwan-based company has announced a Windows 8-running successor to its hugely disappointing XP-running xpPhone. Where specs are concerned, the xpPhone 2 is a throwback to the days when netbooks were still a rage. It features a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor, 2GB RAM and up to 112GB of solid-state storage. It sports a 4.3-inch display, which is slightly smaller compared to the original's 4.8-inch screen.

ITG expects to begin shipping the phone as early as January. But early adopters will have to make do with Windows 7 as Windows 8 won't be out until much later in 2012.

MMO News

MMO News


MMOHut Weekly Recap #58 Oct 30 – TF2, Pangya, DCUO, & More

Posted: 30 Oct 2011 12:12 PM PDT

MMO Weekly News #58 – TF2, Pangya, DCUO & More

Weekly MMO News summary for the week ended October 30 (Oct 24 – Oct 30). A quick look and discussion for every major announcement and update during the week! This week we discussed updates from the following games: Team Fortress 2, Solstice Reborn (Secret of the Solstice / Xen Online), King of Kings 3, Pangya, Prius Online, Rusty Hearts, Forsaken World, Eligium, DC Universe Online, Brawl Busters, and Digimon Masters. Expect some interesting Halloween themed events from your favorite MMOs and MMORPGs this coming week, as just about every game will be hosting some sort of event / contest. You can view all the individual news articles mention over at the MMOHut.com News section.

MMO Updates

MMO Updates


The Anvil of Crom: A four-month F2P report card

Posted: 30 Oct 2011 10:00 AM PDT

Filed under: , , , , , ,

The Anvil of Crom angry man banner
Greetings barbaric faithful, and welcome to another installment of the Anvil of Crom. In between bouts of getting frustrated with the Isle of the Iron Statues dungeon this week (I know, I know, it's sooooo easy, and how bad can I be if I have trouble with it?!), I've been giving a fair amount of thought to Age of Conan's free-to-play experiment.

It's been nearly four months since the devs rolled out the freemium Unchained patch, and that's ample time for me to have formed a few opinions (and to have revised a few others). Join me after the cut for some discussion on what works, what doesn't, and what I hope to see going forward.

Continue reading The Anvil of Crom: A four-month F2P report card

MassivelyThe Anvil of Crom: A four-month F2P report card originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 30 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

    League of Legends Shyvana patch delivers Shaco buffs and more

    Posted: 30 Oct 2011 09:00 AM PDT

    Filed under: , , , , ,

    League of Legends Shyvana patch
    All this week, Riot Games has been releasing snippets of information on League of Legends' upcoming melee carry champion Shyvana, the half-dragon. Shyvana's sneak peek comic hinted that the champion may be able to transform into a full dragon form. When the champion's mechanic preview article went live, we got the first details on how this ability will work. Shyvana builds up stacks of a resource called Fury with each basic melee attack she lands, and once she has enough fury, she can activate her ultimate to transform into a dragon. The ability interestingly has no cooldown, so enemies fighting against Shyvana will need to be aware of how many fury stacks she has to tell when her ultimate is ready.

    In a new LoL patch preview video, Riot delves into the details of the upcoming Shyvana patch set to introduce the champion alongside a series of balance changes and gameplay tweaks. In addition to the draconic champion's arrival, players will find new champion Graves has been nerfed following feedback demonstrating that he's a little overpowered. Monkey King WuKong will be getting buffs to his offensive capabilities and his decoy ability will see a series of bug-fixes that should make it a more useful skill.

    Read on to find out how Shaco is being buffed and what's happening with Dominion, to watch the full patch preview video, and to have your say on whether this is a good patch.

    Continue reading League of Legends Shyvana patch delivers Shaco buffs and more

    MassivelyLeague of Legends Shyvana patch delivers Shaco buffs and more originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 30 Oct 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Global Chat: October 23-29, 2011

    Posted: 30 Oct 2011 08:00 AM PDT

    Filed under: , ,

    Global Chat
    Welcome to this week's Global Chat! We love hearing what you have to say at Massively, and we love it even more when we can share the best comments with all of our readers. Massively staffers will be contributing some of their favorite comments every week, so keep an eye out every Sunday for more Global Chat!

    This week's Global Chat -- just like the news and stories on Massively last week -- is a combination of the fun and the somber. Our readers had plenty to say about both, so jump past the cut and take a look!

    Continue reading Global Chat: October 23-29, 2011

    MassivelyGlobal Chat: October 23-29, 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 30 Oct 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink | Email this | Comments

      The Daily Grind: Are there lore elements you feel don't get used enough?

      Posted: 30 Oct 2011 06:00 AM PDT

      Filed under: , , ,

      I want this armor.  Preferrably in cat-ear sizes.
      Most MMOs have a pretty expansive list of lore characters and groups. It's not surprising, really -- the games cover entire continents and worlds, so there have to be a lot of different stories going at any given time. But sometimes an interesting group of villains or interesting story promises don't quite get the attention they deserve. You enjoy what's there, but it feels like a really interesting group or plot thread got dropped in favor of something else.

      Maybe you felt like the Scarlet Onslaught deserved more attention in World of Warcraft. Maybe you want more stories in Final Fantasy XIV centering around the individual nation conflicts. Perhaps you just wanted to see another series of missions in City of Heroes to wrap up some loose ends from Praetoria. Whatever the case, are there lore elements you feel don't get used as often as they deserve? Or do you think that most of the stories in your game of choice feel just the right length?

      Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

      MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Are there lore elements you feel don't get used enough? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 30 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

      Permalink | Email this | Comments

        The Mog Log: Another course

        Posted: 29 Oct 2011 06:00 PM PDT

        Filed under: , , , , ,

        The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann.
        For this week's Mog Log, I'm going to start off by making an analogy about what Final Fantasy XI needs for the future. Picture, if you will, a restaurant in which you can order any food imaginable. Sometimes the food takes a little while to get prepared, but it's always cooked just to your taste. It's expensive, and all of the chairs are broken, but it's your favorite place to eat because the virtue of getting whatever you want outweighs all the detriments.

        Now, let's say you go into that restaurant, sit on one of the broken chairs, and get on the phone to call Square-Enix and tell it to make another expansion for freaking Final Fantasy XI already. Seriously, Wings of the Goddess is practically fossilized at this point. We're on the game's eighth year of operation in North America -- midway through the ninth in Japan -- and boxed editions of WotG require a team of university archaeologists and possibly carbon dating to identify.

        I never claimed it was a great analogy.

        Continue reading The Mog Log: Another course

        MassivelyThe Mog Log: Another course originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 29 Oct 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

        Permalink | Email this | Comments

          The Tattered Notebook: My top six scares in EQII

          Posted: 29 Oct 2011 04:00 PM PDT

          Filed under: , , , , ,

          EQII Scarecrow
          Norrath is currently full of pumpkins, floating candles, and an assortment of odd and unusual masks (ever see a frog dressed as Antonia Bayle?). The Nights of the Dead is one of my favorite in-game holidays, and each year brings even more fun quests and great Halloween-themed items. But EverQuest II has its fair share of scary stuff even when Nights of the Dead is over.

          Since this week is all about frights and spooks, I present to you some of the top scares in EQII, be they zombies that jump out at you, raid mobs that turn your hair white, or death by sewing. Read on for some truly scary tales!

          Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: My top six scares in EQII

          MassivelyThe Tattered Notebook: My top six scares in EQII originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 29 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

          Permalink | Email this | Comments

            The Road to Mordor: Party planning committee, assemble!

            Posted: 29 Oct 2011 02:00 PM PDT

            Filed under: , , , , ,

            The Road to Mordor
            Considering that Fellowship of the Ring begins with a huge party -- thrown in honor of Bilbo Baggins' eleventy-first birthday -- I think it's appropriate that Lord of the Rings Online is conducive to parties. I'm not just talking about dev-designed festivals, although those are great; I'm referring to parties that the community whips up from time to time.

            Part of the appeal of LotRO to me is that it isn't just all about killing and leveling; it's also about exploring and living in this virtual Middle-earth. Life for the Free Peoples means celebrating even in the midst of oppressive evil, and it's in keeping with the spirit of the enterprise to throw a shindig now and then.

            Turbine's given us quite a few tools and resources to use when assembling a party, and I thought that today we'd take an unusual detour from the Road to Mordor and go through the steps of throwing a memorable and enjoyable soirée. Ready to cut loose? Footloose? Good! Let's tear up the dance floor!

            Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Party planning committee, assemble!

            MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: Party planning committee, assemble! originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 29 Oct 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

            Permalink | Email this | Comments

              ArenaNet unearths treasure trove of lost Guild Wars concept art

              Posted: 29 Oct 2011 12:00 PM PDT

              Filed under: , , , , , , ,

              Lost Guild Wars concept art
              ArenaNet has always taken Guild Wars concept art very seriously, edeavouring to make the in-game graphics match the concept as closely as possible. This is particularly true of Guild Wars and its upcoming sequel Guild Wars 2, both of which feature gorgeous vistas and impressive architecture. A lot of the original Guild Wars concept art has made its way to the public, where it offers us a glimpse of the visual targets for Ascalon, Kryta, Tyria and beyond.

              In a new devblog, ArenaNet's David Campbell unearths a treasure trove of previously unseen concept art for Guild Wars' Eye of the North expansion. David explains that these five postcard-style pieces were experiments by the art team to create distinctive environments using a variety of colour palettes. Among the postcards, you'll find forested areas, epic cliff-faces, enclosed valleys and even frozen tundra.

              MassivelyArenaNet unearths treasure trove of lost Guild Wars concept art originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 29 Oct 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

              Permalink | Email this | Comments

              MMORPG News

              MMORPG News


              General: Closed Beta Keys For SD Gundam Capsule Figher Online!

              Posted: 29 Oct 2011 02:00 PM PDT

              MMORPG.com has been given closed beta keys for SD Gundam: Capsule Fighter Online! This online third person shooter is faced paced and full of fun! This beta event will take place from Nov 2nd through Nov 6th - so get your key now and be ready for when the event begins!

              World of Warcraft: Pandas ARE Real - Our Story of the Week

              Posted: 29 Oct 2011 01:12 PM PDT

              The Story of the Week continues where last week's SotW left off: World of Warcraft - Mists of Pandaria. As the week progressed, our coverage of Mists continued, spurring hot and heavy discussions in our forums. Of special note, a quote from Chris Metzen sparked a particularly heated debate.

              General gaming

              General gaming


              The Greatest Mario Power-Ups of All Time

              Posted: 29 Oct 2011 08:33 AM PDT

              Feature

              The Greatest Mario Power-Ups of All Time

              The Greatest Mario Power-Ups of All Time

              An illustrated guide to our favorite powers for our favorite plumber.

              By: Jeremy Parish October 29, 2011

              When Super Mario 3D Land hits in a couple of weeks, it will be bringing with it a bunch of familiar old power-ups for Mario along with some newfangled ones as well. The world's greatest plumber has seen his share of power-up innovations over the years. Sometimes they're great, but occasionally they turn out to be pretty lame. Do you remember Metal Mario, who existed entirely to show off the Nintendo 64's reflection-mapping? Of course you don't. It sucked. We do have high hopes for Mario 3D's Boomerang Suit, but it has a lot to prove before it can triumph over the great powers and abilities that have come before it.

              We took a quick survey of the 1UP's staff's favorite Mario skills over the years and came up with the following list. Do you agree? Disagree? Our website is designed as a two-way conversation, so share your thoughts and proclaim your love for your own favorites in the comments section below. And now, as Casey Kasem used to say, on with the countdown. (You should sing each number for full effect!)

              MMOGaming News

              MMOGaming News


              SWTOR: Voidstar Warzone Trailer

              Posted:

              SWTOR: Voidstar Warzone Trailer


              BioWare released the trailer to the final Warzone that will be available at launch, the Voidstar. The Voidstar is an abandoned Imperial Battle Cruiser that disappeared during the Great War and was believed to contain the schematics to a power weapon.

              Archeage Has Released 2 New In-Game videos

              Posted:

              Archeage Has Released 2 New In-Game videos


              ArcheAge is an upcoming Fantasy MMORPG with a player driven world. Boasting rarely seen features like house building, player cities, siege warfare, naval battles and much more. Players will be given the ability to truly craft a world of their own, no server being exactly the same.

              DotA 2 Open Beta and Release Date Speculation

              Posted:

              DotA 2 Open Beta and Release Date Speculation


              If they keep revealing 3 heroes every week then all the heroes will be revealed in 16 weeks. I check out the calendar, that is February 15th of 2012.

              Original Team behind Sudden Attack: New Title S2 Free Test Comes Soon

              Posted:

              Original Team behind Sudden Attack: New Title S2 Free Test Comes Soon


              As the new MMOFPS created by the original team of Sudden Attack (the No.1 MMOFPS in Korea), Sudden Attack 2 has attracted enormous expectation. Fortunately, after a long waiting, its Korean publisher CJ E&M has just announced that the free test of Sudden Attack 2 is about to kick off soon.

              Total Pageviews

              statcounter

              View My Stats