General Gaming Article |
- Google Chrome: Optimization Guide
- Daily Deals: Dell Desktop with Free $200 Gift Card for $379 and More
- Super Skyrim Bros. Mod is Elder Scrolls on Mushrooms
- BenQ Quietly Rolls Out XL2411T Monitor for Gamers
- This week's hottest reviews on TechRadar
- Smartphone Toxicity Study Reveals iPhone 5 is Less Toxic than Galaxy S III
| Google Chrome: Optimization Guide Posted: 05 Oct 2012 01:10 PM PDT Get the most out of Google ChromeLet's face it, the light-and-fast Google Chrome browser is the only way to surf the web—no question. But whether you're new to the browser or an old veteran, we've got some tricks to improve your mileage. Our Google Chrome Optimization Guide will show you which Google Chrome extensions to download and ways to tweak settings you didn't even know were there. Take a ShortcutBefore we dive in to Chrome's many hidden gems, let's start with some basics (run before you walk, as they say). Just like in Windows, shortcuts can save you a ton of time in Chrome, as well as having to constantly reach for the mouse to perform menial tasks such as opening new tabs. Memorize these handy shortcuts and you'll be well on your way to mastering Chrome:
These are just some of the many, many Window keyboard, Google Chrome feature, address bar, webpage, and text shortcuts available in Chrome. If you spend a few minutes each day learning a couple of new shortcuts, it won't be long until you've committed them all to memory. Now, onto the fun stuff... Enable Chrome's Gold Icon |
| Daily Deals: Dell Desktop with Free $200 Gift Card for $379 and More Posted: 05 Oct 2012 10:59 AM PDT
Top Deal Today's top deal from LogicBuy is the Dell Optiplex 390 on sale for $379 (normally $664) that comes with a free $200 Dell e-giftcard. The desktop features include a G630 Pentium Dual Core 2.7GHz processor, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, and a 250GB hard drive. While it's certainly not the most powerful PC out there, the Dell gift card really sweetens the deal. Furthermore, the Optiplex 390 could serve as a solid secondary/network computer. Hardware & Peripherals: Samsung 830 Series 128GB SATA III 6GB/s SSD for $80 with free shipping (normally $130). EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 2GB video card for $115 with shipping (normally $170). Logitech Revue with Google TV (refurbished) for $80 (normally $100 - use coupon code: KNN67639). Logitech Z906 5.1-channel 3D Surround Sound THX-certified Speaker System for $340 with free shipping (normally $400 - use 15% coupon code: 7BRL7?2ZDK?H4G). |
| Super Skyrim Bros. Mod is Elder Scrolls on Mushrooms Posted: 05 Oct 2012 10:48 AM PDT
"The mod adds an entirely new Kingdom (mini game) to play in the world of Skyrim," the mod's developers state. "This mod will not affect the look of your Skyrim game at all! All the new objects have been placed in a brand new world space. You will not see any Super Skyrim Bros. objects such as Brick Blocks, Question Blocks, or Super Skyrim Bros. enemies in any Skyrim locations. You will be able to keep an immersive experience while playing this mini game." There's no eating mushrooms in the Super Skyrim Bros. mod, though take a minute-and-a-half to watch the above clip and you'll wonder if you already have. PCGamer.com, our sister site, recommends that your character be at least level 20 before jumping into this funky alternative universe. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook
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| BenQ Quietly Rolls Out XL2411T Monitor for Gamers Posted: 05 Oct 2012 09:05 AM PDT
As the model number suggests, it's a 24-inch panel with a Full HD 1080p (1920x1080) screen resolution. Other vitals include 350 cd/m2 brightness, 1,000:1 native contrast ratio (12,000,000:1 dynamic), 5ms response time (1ms GTG), and 72 percent of the color gamut on the TN screen. The LED-backlit panel also boasts a 120Hz refresh rate for 3D gaming, but perhaps the most interesting feature is BenQ's proprietary FPS Mode. "The FPS Mode was co-developed with gaming legends to let you tap into the fundamental insights of pro gamers and view the game how a gaming legend would see it. This out-of-the-box preset automatically adjusts your monitor calibrations to provide you with optimal brightness, contrast, sharpness and color tint," BenQ says. "Being able to spot your enemies and track their move carefully in every situation put you at an advantage over your opponents. There are two variations to this special mode: the FPS1 mode is designed to configure and optimize the display for Counter-Strike 1.6 and the FPS2 mode for Counter-Strike Source as recommended by BenQ."
Whether or not it's a gimmicky add-on is something we won't be able to determine until when/if we get a chance to play with one in person. One thing that's definitely not a gimmick, however, is the panel's ability to rotate into portrait mode, a feature that may not be all that useful for gaming but can be a boon for power surfing and certain productivity chores. No word yet on much the XL2411T will cost or when it will be available. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook
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| This week's hottest reviews on TechRadar Posted: 05 Oct 2012 07:05 AM PDT Is time speeding up? How can there by only 79 days until Christmas? Is it really now more than a year since Steve Jobs passed away? Is the Samsung Galaxy S4 out yet? It's hard to believe how fast the world of tech spins on its axis. We've reached the quietest time of the tech year and yet we've still got a steady stream of awesome gear coming through our doors. So allow us to walk you through some of the week's highlights and link you to all the other reviews we've published in the last seven days. After a lengthy absence from the TV market, the 46-inch Philips 46PFL8007 marks a very strong return to the UK TV market for Philips. It's a truly high-end model with a super-slender design, Edge LED lighting and local dimming technology that also benefits from the brand's highest level of picture processing, Perfect Pixel HD. Philips sensibly enables you to adjust almost every facet of this processing, as well as providing enough colour, gamma and white balance management options to earn the endorsement of the independent ISF calibration group. It's also equipped with active 3D technology (two glasses are included), and best of all, it's the only LCD TV we've seen this year able to produce pictures good enough to give the all-conquering Sony HX853 models a run for their money. It remains to be seen if YouView does sweep away Freeview+HD boxes, but over-priced, so-called smart boxes such as this one will struggle to stem that tide. You could make a case for its thoroughly disappointing Play app being a mere extra feature, and therefore beyond much criticism, but apps like this do offer a genuine reason to buy, so its failure in our test is decisive. Not so the excellent Photo app, and picture quality is beyond reproach, but there are just a few too many niggles for us to be comfortable living with it. And while it will do a reasonable job in most living rooms, the lack of Wi-Fi and a third tuner make the VW11FVRHD50 appear far from mighty – though it's the high price that takes it down a full mark. The Sony Xperia T is a very, very good phone. Everything about it is slick and well-executed and the performance is certainly what we expect from a £400 device. However, the Sony Xperia S was a very, very good phone. When a new model comes out, we look for it to improve upon the previous one and unfortunately, hand on heart; this doesn't improve on the last generation of smartphones as much as it should. Admittedly, it's not about simply ramming higher specs into a thinner and lighter phone – we've moved past that now. But it should be about offering a fresh experience with new features and offering us a die hard reason to shell out for an upgrade. Smart TVs for a second room are rare, and this 26-inch effort from Sony canters to victory by sporting a good array of apps and a great all-round picture that's helped by its 'kind to YouTube rubbish' HD-ready resolution. If Sony hadn't skimped on sound and build quality it could have been on to a real winner, but we'd still recommend the Sony KDL-26EX553 as one of the most capable 'second screens' around. The Linksys EA4500 isn't like a normal router. It's more like a glimpse at the future of networking. The specification list includes dual-band Wireless-N, DLNA certification and support for gigabit Ethernet - although the imminent ratification of 802.11ac does cast a shadow over the EA4500. And this week's other reviews... Cameras Fujifilm FinePix F770 EXR review Canon PowerShot A4000 IS review Lomography Fisheye No 2 review Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W690 review Digital TV recorders Disk Drives Transcend StoreJet 35T3 review Games consoles Gaming accessories Duo Gamer iOS Controller review GPS TomTom iOS Hands Free Car Kit review TomTom Hands Free Car Kit for Android review Graphics Cards Sapphire Vapor-X HD 7970 GHz review Headsets Sony Pulse Wireless Headset: Elite Edition review Laptops Samsung Series 3 NP355V5C review Mobile phones Apple iPhone 5 (Verizon) review Apple iPhone 5 (Sprint) review Hands on: BlackBerry 10 review Modem routers TP-Link TL-WR702N Wireless N Nano Router review Monitors Samsung Series 9 S27B970D review Motherboards Projectors Routers Speakers Storage OCZ Vertex 4 512GB RAID0 review Tablet accessories Tablets Hands on: Dell Latitude 10 review Hands on: Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 review Televisions |
| Smartphone Toxicity Study Reveals iPhone 5 is Less Toxic than Galaxy S III Posted: 05 Oct 2012 06:57 AM PDT
"Why does it matter? Toxic chemicals don't disappear when you throw your phone away. Though electronics recycling is up in general in the US, cell phone recycling rates lag behind," iFixIt explains. "Each year, Americans discard 130 million cell phones, of which only 8 percent are recycled properly. When phones are not recycled, they often end up in landfills or incinerators, which can release heavy metals into groundwater and air, respectively." According to iFixIt, some states have enacted bans on dumping electronics in landfills and incinerators, but 32 states still don't. The result is that the groundwater underneath ends up contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls, which iFixIt says are linked to liver, thyroid, and immune diseases. "Even sending a phone to an electronics recycler will not always keep it from polluting the environment," iFixIt adds. "Some 'recyclers' actually ship used electronics overseas to places such as Ghana, China, and India. In the best cases, these electronics are refurbished or repaired, used, and eventually dumped (usually in landfills without expensive liners to protect groundwater). Unfortunately, formal recycling practices in developing countries are currently minimal at best, where they exist at all." So that's iFixIt's motivation in a nutshel. As to the method, HealthyStuff.org submitted the components of three dozen smartphones to X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Phones were then rated on a scale of 1-5, with lower scores representing lower levels of toxicity.
The least toxic of the 36 devices examined turned out to be the Motorola Citrus, followed by the iPhone 4S, LG Remarq, Samsung Captivate, iPhone 5, and Samsung Evergreen. A little bit higher up on the chart is Samsung's Galaxy S III, though it isn't terribly far behind the iPhone 5. Make of all this what you will, but if you ever wondered how "toxic" your smartphone is, there you go. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook
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In a roundabout sort of way, Super Mario finally made the jump to PC, albeit in an unofficial and oddly entertaining capacity. We're talking about the 
It's a bit unusual for a company to release a product without a bunch of fanfare, or at the very least a press release pimping the product's highlights, and that's especially true for gear aimed at gamers. Be that as it may, BenQ has quietly slipped a new gaming oriented monitor into its product lineup, the 
You probably never considered the chemical composition of your smartphone, but it's a topic 
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