General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article


MacBook User Finds Windows 10 "Unequivocally" Faster than OS X

Posted: 15 May 2015 09:30 AM PDT

MacBookBragging rights

Comparing Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system to Apple's OS X falls into the apples and oranges category, right? You could make that argument, though in terms of speed and performance, one need only install Windows 10 on a MacBook using Boot Camp and run cross-platform benchmarks in order to reach some conclusions. That's exactly what a Computer Science student at Tufts University in Medford-Somerville, Massachusetts did, which led him to conclude that Windows 10 is faster than OS X.

His name is Alex King and in his latest blog post titled "Testing the 12-inch MacBook's Performance with Windows 10," he details his experience upgrading Windows 8.1 to the Windows 10 Insider Preview on his 2015 MacBook. He had previously given Windows 10 a whirl a month ago through virtualization, though at the time, he wasn't sure he wanted to commit to using the OS full time.

One of the first things King did after installing Windows 10 was to increase desktop scaling to 150 percent, as the new MacBook boasts a 2304x1440 (16:10) resolution. After adjusting the resolution, he begain playing around with Windows 10.

"Here's the real kicker: it's fast. It's smooth. It renders at 60FPS unless you have a lot going on," King said in his blog post. "It's unequivocally better than performance on OS X, further leading me to believe that Apple really needs to overhaul how animations are done. Even when I turn Transparency off in OS X, Mission Control isn't completely smooth. Here, even after some Aero Glass transparency has been added in, everything is smooth. It's remarkable, and it makes me believe in the 12-inch MacBook more than ever before."

That's high praise from a MacBook user. Incidentally, King also had good things to say about Microsoft Edge, the new browser formerly known as Project Spartan. While he noted it was still "rough around the edges," he still came away with the impression that it's an "absolute champion" at this early stage.

"Maybe it's ironic that in some regards, the new MacBook runs Windows 10 (a prerelease version, at that) better than it runs OS X. But it's a testament to two things: Apple's fantastic MacBook hardware, which is forward-thinking yet surprisingly agile; and Microsoft's excellent Windows software, which entices and excites with its beautiful interface, useful new features, and rock-solid UI transitions," King added.

Either way, it bodes well for Windows 10, which is due to release in final form sometime this summer.

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Lenovo May Be Eyeing MSI's Gaming Laptop Division

Posted: 15 May 2015 09:02 AM PDT

MSI GT72Buying gaming street cred

MSI has built up quite a stable of gaming laptops, many of which offer a decent bang-for-buck. They've gotten the attention of mobile gamers, and apparently Lenovo is paying attention as well. That's assuming the latest rumor is true -- word on the web is that Lenovo wants to buy MSI's gaming notebook business. It wouldn't be a bad acquisition for Lenovo, but would MSI be interested in such a deal?

According to Digitimes, MSI has denied the reports, though sources from within the supply chain industry hold firm that Lenovo is at least interested in the idea of owning MSI's gaming laptop division. The motivation for Lenovo would be to fasttrack its way to competing in the gaming notebook sector, a business segment that the Chinese OEM is only marginally participating in at the moment.

Not only is Lenovo supposedly interested, Digitimes' sources say there's an offer on the table that hasn't yet been turned down. Both sides are said to be in the negotiating phase.

The gaming laptop market is fairly competitive with options from Acer, Asus, Toshiba, MSI, and others. It's seen as a growing sector, so it's easy to see why Lenovo would be interested in joining the fray. At present, the best Lenovo has to offer is its Y Series of gaming laptops, all of which are based on Nvidia's last generation GTX 800M Series, save for the Y40-80 (Radeon R9 M275).

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Hacking United Airlines Could Net You 1 Million Award Miles

Posted: 15 May 2015 08:30 AM PDT

United AirlinesBug bounty program pays out frequent flier miles

United Airlines is inviting security researchers and anyone else to participate in a bug bounty program for a chance to claim up to 1 million award miles, depending on what kind(s) of vulnerabilities you discover. However, it's important to note that United Airlines is looking for specific bug submissions related to its website -- hacking its planes or hitting the company with a denial of service (DoS) attack are both on the list of no-nos.

Same goes for brute force attacks; code injection on live systems; the compromise or testing of MileagePlus accounts that are not your own; any testing on aircraft or aircraft systems such as inflight entertainment or inflight Wi-Fi; any threats, attempts at coercion, or extortion of United employees, Star Alliance member airline employees, other partner airline employees, or customers; physical attacks against the same groups just mentioned; and vulnerability scans or automated scans on United servers.

Attempting any of those will, at minimum, disqualify you from the bug bounty program, but could also lead to criminal charges, United warns. So, what does that leave?

Remote code execution is at the top of United's list and is the only type of vulnerability that carries a 1 million award mile bounty. Authentication bypass, brute force attacks, potential for personally identifiable information (PII) disclosure, and timing attacks are all potentially worth 250,000 award miles, while cross-site scripting, cross-site request forgery, and third-party issues that affect United could net you 50,000 award miles each.

If you want to particpate in United's bug bounty program, you can find more details here.

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MMORPG News

MMORPG News


Guild Wars 2: Jon Peters on the Reaper Elite Spec

Posted: 15 May 2015 05:33 AM PDT

Jon Peters on the Reaper Elite Spec

Yesterday the Reaper was announced as the Necromancer's Elite Specialization in Guild Wars 2's upcoming Heart of Thorns expansion. We pestered ArenaNet's own Jon Peters for a little more detail on the spec, and this is what we managed to choke out of him.

Shadowrun Chronicles: Not the MMO We Were Expecting, But Still Fun

Posted: 14 May 2015 04:43 PM PDT

Not the MMO We Were Expecting, But Still Fun

The campaign exceeded its $500,000 goal, but, unfortunately, was delayed for quite a bit longer than anticipated until last week finally saw the release of the newly christened Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown. Thanks to years of feedback from hardcore Shadowrun players who backed the game, Shadowrun Chronicles evolved into something that is a bit different from the original Shadowrun Online idea.

Umbra: KickStarter Launches to Secure Funding

Posted: 15 May 2015 06:09 AM PDT

KickStarter Launches to Secure Funding

SolarFall Games has announced that a Kickstarter project has officially begun for Umbra, its open world, free progression action RPG. SolarFall hopes to secure nearly a quarter of a million dollars to complete development.

Gloria Victis: Port to Unity 5 Nears Completion

Posted: 15 May 2015 06:00 AM PDT

Port to Unity 5 Nears Completion

The Gloria Victis team has sent word that the port to Unity 5 is nearing completion and will be ready for release soon. Graphics show marked improvement as well as steady increases in FPS, better lighting effects, high quality textures and much more.

Divinity: Original Sin: Enhanced Edition Announced, Free to Current Owners

Posted: 15 May 2015 05:52 AM PDT

Enhanced Edition Announced, Free to Current Owners

Larian Studios has announced that a completely overhauled and remastered version of Divinity: Original Sin will be coming out soon and will be a no-cost addition to the game for players who already own the game. The enhanced edition will include controller support, split screen coop, and reimagined story with a brand new ending and more.

Warframe: Join Bill Tonight with Warframe's Rebecca Ford!

Posted: 14 May 2015 08:25 AM PDT

Join Bill Tonight with Warframe

The Den of Kubrow and its many many puppies are in full swing with Warframe. Tonight, our own Bill Murphy will play and chat with Digital Extremes' Community Manager (and voice of the Lotus) Rebecca Ford. Join them both as they check out the new content, talk about the present and future of Warframe, and give away some codes to redeem in the Warframe store as well!

Diablo 3: Cowpocalypse MOOving Into the Game World

Posted: 14 May 2015 02:41 PM PDT

Cowpocalypse MOOving Into the Game World

While Blizzard is moovelous at debunking the constant moomurs of a SECRET COW LEVEL, it appears that the bovine denizens of Khanduras beg to differ. From May 15th through May 21st, players are encouraged to moove into the game to try to discover whether this is udder nonsense or if there is something to these moovelous rumoors.

Heroes of the Storm: World Championships to Take Place at Blizzcon 2015

Posted: 14 May 2015 02:34 PM PDT

World Championships to Take Place at Blizzcon 2015

Blizzard has announced that the inaugural Heroes of the Storm World Championships will take place in Anaheim, California during Blizzcon 2015. Teams from around the world will be brought in to try their hand at grabbing a piece of the $1.2 million cash and prize pool.

Royal Quest: A World of Magic, Technology & Alchemy Arrives on Arc

Posted: 14 May 2015 02:20 PM PDT

A World of Magic, Technology & Alchemy Arrives on Arc

Royal Quest, the debut MMO from 1C Company and Katauri Interactive, has officially reached its release date on Perfect World's Arc platform. In Royal Quest, players battle in the world of Aura that is filled with magic, technology and alchemy.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: A Night to Remember - The Best Trailer Yet

Posted: 14 May 2015 01:46 PM PDT

A Night to Remember - The Best Trailer Yet

CD Projekt Red has unveiled a new cinematic trailer for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt called "A Night to Remember". The trailer shows Geralt at his best doing the one thing he knows better than any other -- hunting. Check it out for some explosive action and gorgeous cinematics to get you excited for May 19th!

Black Desert: First Russian Closed Beta Event Coming This Month

Posted: 14 May 2015 01:15 PM PDT

First Russian Closed Beta Event Coming This Month

GameNet has announced that the first closed beta test for Black Desert Online in Russia will take place from May 28th to May 31st. Players can gain access to the CBT through a series of events, give aways and contests promoted by GameNet and will be the only players to try out some of the new content being specifically designed for the Russian community, most notably in PvP and leveling.

Crowfall: The Combat Combo Chains That Bind You

Posted: 12 May 2015 08:12 PM PDT

The Combat Combo Chains That Bind You

The Crowfall Combat Strike team has assembled in the Crow's Nest, a tactical team aimed at developing the next level of combo and action-based combat. Taking a mixture of the DCUO and TERA combat models as their North Star, Crowfall has found the starting point in designing their unique combat personality.

Overwatch: Mercy in Action in New Gameplay Video

Posted: 14 May 2015 12:37 PM PDT

Mercy in Action in New Gameplay Video

The latest in a series of gameplay videos designed to show off the heroes coming in Overwatch centers on Mercy, a healer extraordinaire. The unedited footage gives players an inside look at her fantastic powers. Check it out!

Destiny: House of Wolves Launch Trailer Unleashed

Posted: 14 May 2015 12:33 PM PDT

House of Wolves Launch Trailer Unleashed

Bungie has sent out the official launch trailer for Destiny: House of Wolves. The expansion will bring a new zone, new content, adventures and more to the game when it launches on Tuesday, May 19th.

Neverwinter: Lead Designer Scott Shicoff Talks Elemental Evil Changes

Posted: 14 May 2015 12:18 PM PDT

Lead Designer Scott Shicoff Talks Elemental Evil Changes

Neverwinter Lead Designer Scott Shicoff has penned a forward look at changes coming to the Elemental Evil module that caused an uproar with the community when it was released. Not long after, Shicoff apologized to the player base and promised that the game would be fixed. Making good on that promise, Shicoff wrote

Warframe: Welcome to the Den of Kubrow Bonus Weeks

Posted: 12 May 2015 08:08 PM PDT

Welcome to the Den of Kubrow Bonus Weeks

There are few things more satisfying than watching the small, innocent puppy you raised from birth grow into the strong and confident Grineer killing machine it was born to be.

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