General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article

Dream Machine Retrospective: Editors and Contributors Look Back

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 04:32 PM PDT

Every year when we're building the new Dream Machine, it's hard not to feel a little nostalgic. We've built 15 of them in the past, after all, and each one was an experience (read: harrowing ordeal) all its own. We thought we'd tap into a little bit of that nostalgia, and bring you a Dream Machine retrospective. We asked current and former MaximumPC editors to tell us about their thoughts on the Dream Machine, and their experiences putting them together. Read on for their thoughts!

  Senior Editor Gordon Mah Ung:

The Dream Machine is simply the celebration of Pure PC Power. It's about wanting the best, the fastest and the dreamiest PC possible. It's about people who aren't willing to accept mediocre performance or thumb twiddling while waiting for a render or encode to finish. It's about people who don't look at their computing experience as a toaster. It's about their personal computer and it's going to be fast too, dammit.

Which was the hardest?

I've been involved both peripherally (I picked the case for the very first Maximum PC Dream Machine) and as chief architect and gate keeper over the majority of the Dream Machine builds. You want to know which was the hardest? They all were. Every single damned one of them.

Not only are you trying to wheedle new hardware from vendors, you're also trying to Q&A driver issues, deal with hardware that's often never been seen outside a lab before and hell, it has to work and be stable and run a full OS and benchmark suite without imploding. Sometimes for fun, hardware vendor A doesn't like hardware vendor B so you're caught in the pissing match between the two without a rain coat.

 And then there's trying to get everyone happy on the staff with the hardware which isn't always going to happen. Did I mention that there's also a punishing production schedule that goes into producing a national magazine and the numerous silly deadlines and hurdles that have to be jumped? Oh, right, we need you to photograph the entire machine build on this date, but the day after, we need to shoot all of the individual components. So build it and then take it apart the day after. Oh, and we also need all of the benchmarks by this date so make sure you put it back together after a half dozen people have pawed its delicate electronic private parts, overclock it and benchmark it or, well, we print frakking blank pages for the readers.

And then there's keeping the Editor In Chief's happy. Good luck on that one. Sometimes it's "Hey, for fun, let's build three of them!" or "Hey, for fun, let's make it out of Lego's and gummy bears!" Here's the secret to the dealing with that: Editor –In-Chief's are like Starship captains who are like children: they want everything and they want it their way. The secret is to give them only what they need, not what they want.

In the end, when the issue is put away and the machine is chewing through benchmarks like Joey Chestnut at an eating contest, you marvel at just how cool the Dream Machine turned out to be and then slack off for another 11 months.

Online Managing Editor Alex Castle: 

I think the Dream Machine is the computer that's at the absolute apex of what's currently on the market. There's been some debate over the years about how much is too much, when it comes to cost. I think that as long as a hardware upgrade serves a purpose (that is, you can see some measurable improvement in meaningful statistics) then it's worth doing for the Dream Machine. Sure, sometimes that means you end up with a machine that costs as much as a new car, but price doesn't really matter when your number one concern is building the best computer that can possibility be built right now.

My favorite Dream Machine was last year's ridiculous beast of a computer. I think that thrumming, power-packed rig perfectly represents everything that the Dream Machine is about. Also, I've got a soft spot for custom water cooling loops. Self-contained water cooling systems are fine, but nothing says "PC Enthusiast" like a fully custom system of tubes piping liquid coolant to every part of your machine.

Editorial Director Jon Phillips:

The Dream Machine, by definition, is the most most superlative, decked-out physical expression of pure PC power — and "pure PC power," by the way, was the motto of boot magazine, which spec'd out the very first Dream Machine in 1996. With few exceptions, a Dream Machine should not only include the highest-performing assemblage of parts available at the time of spec'ing, it should also include a few surprise elements, like, say, a CPU engineering sample released to us early by Intel or AMD. Or a special case or cooling design. Or a new memory or bus interface that we're introducing to an unsuspecting public.

All that, plus a Dream Machine must necessarily be an exercise in compromise. Because rarely do all the best PC parts work together in perfect agreement and harmony. Over the years, we've adjusted some the criteria I describe above, but by and large, the Dream Machine is about using the shared knowledge of the staff to build the most audaciously configured, fastest-performing personal computer an enthusiast and could build and accessorize with his own two hands. Bank account notwithstanding of course!

Our most memorable Dream Machine projects? I would have to say Dream Machine 2001, when Gordon and crew built not one, but three Dream Machines — the ultimate gaming rig, the ultimate content-creation box, and the ultimate do-everything rig. Our ambition levels had never been higher, nor have we attempted three machines since then. Beyond that, I would say every year's race to get engineering samples and secret, unreleased parts is what I find most memorable. Ever since 1996, our editors have worked so f'ing hard to surprise people, and to redefine the meaning of what's possible. The Dream Machine pulls all of us together — editors, readers, and even the industry.

Senior Associate Editor Nathan Edwards:  

It's our time to go balls-to-the-wall, and the gender-neutral equivalent. Some years it's the fastest machine money can buy. Other years it's the fastest machine money can buy, with a ridiculous twist, like chrome plating. Occasionally it's a reasonable (but still uber-fast) PC with some luxury perks, like a nice paint job.

My favorite Dream Machine (of the five I've been involved with) has been the 2010 Dream Machine. We just went nuts. The fortuitous timing of the EVGA SR2 Classified dual-Xeon board certainly helped, but that was the year we went more-is-more with a machine that had two hexacore processors, two 240GB SSDs, two 2TB hard drives, 24GB of RAM, two power supplies, three GTX 480s, and full water cooling. It was also a foot and a half long, high, and deep. Man.

That one was also the most complex to assemble. Mostly because the case came flatpacked, but also the watercooling loop, which we had Jeremy from Danger Den do for us. Because he's the Jedi Master.

Deputy Editor Katherine Stevenson:

This year marks the 12th Dream Machine I've been involved with, and the experience is consistently a mixture of nervousness, excitement, and dread. Nervousness because we never know whether the parts we're lusting after will be available on time; excitement because it's always fun to challenge ourselves with a no-holds-barred build that tops the previous year's; and dread because everything has to come together just right, or else. Some builds have certainly been more cutting-edge than others, and some have gone more smoothly, but I'm happy to say we've never had a DM just plain not work out.

Former Editor in Chief Will Smith:

 

My favorite Dream Machines were 2006 and 2008. The 2008 machine used HP's badass Blackbird case, but that wasn't awesome enough for us, so we had the whole thing chromed. The end result remains stunning and utterly unique. More importantly, the machine packs 8 cores in two Skulltrail sockets--Skulltrail ended up being an evolutionary dead end, but I still can't get an octo-core CPU, in 2011.

The 2006 machine, with the orange racing paint job is another favorite. The Silverstone case we used that year was gorgeous, the incredible paint job complemented the chassis and just made the whole thing look more awesome. The machine sported a Core 2 Extreme 6800, which was a top-class CPU for a long time.

I think the most challenging Dream Machine for me was either 2001, when we built three distinct machines instead of the customary one, or 2008 when we were packing a workstation motherboard in the relatively tight confines of the Blackbird 002 case. The upshot on Dream Machine is that they're all challenging--even the relatively easy years (like the budget burner we built in 2009) presented unique challenges. It isn't ever easy to build a one-off, world-class PC, even without a budget.

 

Former Technical Editor Sean Cleveland:

The Dream Machine has always been about pushing boundaries to find the fastest hardware regardless of the price. As such, this posed challenges because the hardware we wanted was often preproduction quality and the drivers were never fully baked. Both of these factors affected system stability under our gauntlet of benchmarks. But when it was done, it was always a beast of a system! We editors drooled over the parts, which were often returned to the manufacturer because of their rarity and demand.

With the 1997 Dream Machine, we pushed hard to get a 300MHz Pentium II into the system without breaking our NDA with Intel. Poor Andrew was on the phone with them daily, but he ultimately prevailed by securing a 266MHz chip, which we then overclocked to 300MHz for benchmarking. This was all done at the last minute. I vaguely recall getting buffered memory (2 x 32MB), which didn't mechanically fit into the RAM slots. Brad was beside himself, so he notched the memory using a pocket knife to make it fit in the slots. That was a fun night.

 

Not enough Dream Machine for you? Check out our Old School Monday look at the first Maximum PC Dream Machine, and our gallery on the 9 Components That Didn't Make the Dream Machine.

Spotify Officially Coming to the US

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 02:51 PM PDT

spotifyAt long last, after months of rumor and innuendo, Spotify is finally coming to the US. The music streaming service has been a huge hit in Europe for the last few years, but US audiences have had to make do with services like Pandora and Rdio. Well, it looks like the licensing deals are in place, and you can sign up for an invite right now.

It is unclear just how long you're going to be waiting on that invite, though. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek did not give any specific timetable for getting Spotify rolled out. Spotify has relied on a freemium model in Europe. Users are able to stream free music with ads on computers, but can pay for ad-free streams on PCs as well as mobile devices. 

Spotify is likely going to come at the US market hard and fast, having just competed a $100 million round of funding. We can only hope that means the free music streams will be ours soon. You can sign up for an invite right here. Are you still excited for Spotify, or are the existing alternatives good enough?

Facebook Announces Updated Chat, Video Calls with Skype

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 02:27 PM PDT

fbToday was Facebook's big announcement, and for some it was big indeed. Facebook has announced multiple changes to the way chat works on the site. There is a new chat interface, support for group messaging, and video chat with Skype built right in.

There is a new sidebar that shows you the contacts you chat with most often. This UI will adjust itself as you resize your browser window, so it stays out of the way. When you are chatting, you can create a group chat by clicking the Add Friends button. The real news in Facebook's revamp is video chat. In the chat window, just press the video call button to initiate the call. 

To use the video calling feature, both parties have to install a plug-in, but no Skype account is needed. Unfortunately, the video calls are only one-on-one affairs. No group video chat like in Google+ Hangouts. The new functionality should roll out to all users in the coming weeks.

Google+: Dissecting Google’s Answer to Facebook

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 12:04 PM PDT

Google+ is officially on the market, and it's being released in small doses in the form of invites. Much like how Gmail was initially spread in beta, the invite only model creates a sense of exclusivity and belonging. Facebook also used this method to market their network to college students, and eventually became part of the global definition of social media. Whether Google+ mirrors this success is anyone's guess, but until that time it is time to get to know the features.

Like all new programs and applications there is a learning period that dictates whether or not users will generally adopt them. For example Quora was built to appeal to techies. It's not necessarily the most visually appealing system, but there is a plethora of great information on it. Currently Google+ has some informative YouTube videos and basic notification windows to help you learn their process, but the best way to learn how to use it is to adjust to its intuitive presentation.

Stream

The first thing you will see when going to Google+ is your stream. If you are on Facebook, this is known as your News Feed, and on Twitter it is your timeline. Here you will see updates from people you have in your circles, and in real-time.

The status update section allows you to select what circles you want to share content with, make it publicly available, or extend it to your friend's friends (extended circles). Currently status updates can come in the form of text, photos (albums, single images, or from your mobile), videos (upload, from YouTube, or from your mobile), a link with some added meta text, and geotags.

Items that you post to your stream can be edited whenever you want. In comparison, Facebook currently allows for a few seconds when you post a comment, and LinkedIn provides 15 minutes to edit posts. To further your privacy settings you can also select what items can be shared publicly. That means if you select a particular circle to share content with, they will be unable to reshare it unless they save it separately. You can also disable comments on an item as well.

This portion of Google's social network copies Facebook's visual look, but you can follow people like you do on Twitter and they will appear in your stream. It would appear that active conversations also appear at the top of your stream. The Stream improves upon several Facebook security issues that people complain about. Where as Facebook allows you to hide a post in your news feed, you can mute a post on your Google+ Stream. Similar to Tumblr another user can add a comment to your original post when selecting the share button.

Circles

Google+ Circles act like any other list (but with fancy drag and drop options) where you differentiate between who you would like to see certain things you post online. Diaspora was doing great things in this arena, but it would appear their Alpha status is going to continue for quite a while. Even though Facebook has friends groups and specific privacy settings much like Circles, the issue comes down to the user. Privacy functionality is there, but unless it is easy enough to use and is clearly defined, a person will ignore it. A regular user will likely continue to just upload items based on the networks default settings out of pure laziness. If a social network really wants to protect their members they should attempt to create an algorithm that suggests circles or lists based on keywords.

Photos

So you're a photo junkie? It would appear Google+ has trumped every other social media site with their photo system in several ways. Facebook just released their facial recognition feature that identifies faces based on common characteristics, and Google tames the process down by locating faces.

The most important feature is in the details. Once you select a photo click the Actions drop-down menu, and select Photo details. This will flip the image around and bring up the light levels, camera used, exposure, aperture and other details. That means all you folks out there who like to blow your contrast out to hide physical features will now be clearly exposed. In addition to gaining information on the photo, you can currently select six different filters to alter the images appearance.

+1 Button

Google released +1 in an attempt to connect your Google activity to websites in a way akin to Facebook's "Like" button. With the integration of Google+, +1 now acts the same way. Google +1 selections from your friends will likely be a factor in your search results as well. Currently if you are signed into Twitter, Google will show search results for items that your followers/friends have previously shared.

Hangouts

One of the more interesting new features of Google+ is the new collaboration tool that pulls together Gchat attributes within a social setting. From your Google+ homepage you can start a hangout by selecting the green "Start a hangout" button on the right side navigation. From here you can select what Circles you want to join the hangout, and your webcam and microphone will activate.

You can use this tool like a chatroom with cameras, to collaborating on a document, or even watch a YouTube video in real-time together (sort of odd, though Netflix would be a nice option). As people join the hangout you can also invite specific people that are not listed in the Circle. By default the person who is talking or moving will appear in the center of the hangout. If there is one feature that will particularly make Google+ effective, this is it. Once they integrate Google Docs into the Hangout feature it will become invaluable.

The Black Bar

Google's Black Bar (clearly I don't have any official name here) becomes part navigation, part notification when you are signed in. The Black Bar now follows you to any other Google product like Google Docs or the Calendar, and allows you to receive notifications and update your status.

Sparks

Google Sparks appear to be their informal way of sharing content that may interest you. Essentially Google+ Sparks are like RSS feeds that draw content based on your keyword of interest. Because there are no formal groups, Sparks allows you to draw in content that interests you and share it with particular circles. At this point you can discuss or comment on the item.

Closing Comments

Google+ combines other standalone features such as Gchat, the Picasa photo sharing service and Google Voice, but the beta service seems to lack integration with other Google services that should otherwise be a no-brainer, including Gmail, Reader, Docs, Apps, and Calendar. At this stage, you don't even get notifications in Google+ when new emails arrive, nor can you easily recommend webpages to your Google+ 'Circles'.

Another thing conspicuously missing from the first release of Google+ is an Application Programming Interface or API. This is a must for Google+ to succeed, and developers everywhere are already loudly clamouring for one.

Perhaps Google is waiting for users to demand such integration. It will be interesting to see how Google pulls together its various offerings – and if such a broad Internet land grab will be permitted by regulators in various jurisdictions.

The EU is already concerned about Google owning the search market. If it succeeds with Google+ to the point that rivals are squeezed out, there may be an anticompetitive practices investigation either in Europe or the US.

Google will need to be vigilant here if it wants Google+ to succeed and not to become another unfinished project like Wave and Buzz.

What do you think of Google's latest attempt at creating a competitive social network? Does it have what it takes to survive? Is there any specific feature that it lacks? Sound off in the comments below!

tb 
TechnoBuffalo.com is a technology site created by a team of professional writers that are self-proclaimed tech-enthusiasts. Their articles cover a breadth of technology-related issues and topics from the everyday uses to the business side of the industry.

Microsoft To Pay The University Of Nebraska To Switch To Office 365

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 11:15 AM PDT

If you can't beat 'em, bribe 'em. That seems to be the angle Microsoft's taking with Office 365, its cloud-based answer to Google Docs. Usually, when an organization wants to adopt new software on a large scale, it's required to pay for stuff like licensing fees and support. Microsoft's turned that model on its head. In a move to drum up more Office 365 support, it's actually giving the University of Nebraska $250,000 in incentives to transition over to the service.

The university formerly relied on IBM's Lotus Notes, but they thought the 15 year old software was starting to show its age, so the school began shopping around for alternatives. Both Google and IBM courted the university before Microsoft dropped its bank-breaking offer. Channelnomics, citing an InformationWeek report, said that incentives "cover the costs of consulting and integration services for migrating from the legacy Lotus Notes to Office 365 for email and calendar." BetaNews says the figure also includes the cost of purchasing the new software.

Microsoft offered the money via its somewhat shadowy and rarely talked about Business Incentive Funds program, which was created to sweeten the Microsoft pot for key accounts. Microsoft's obviously hoping that the renewals down the road surpass the cost of the incentives and set-up costs. The University of Nebraska expects the switch to save them around $500,000 a year and expects to roll out Office 365 within the next year and a half.

Image Credit: technewstube.com

Windows Phone 7 App of the Week: Congress

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 11:01 AM PDT

Smart phones perform many roles in modern life, but political tool doesn't generally appear at the top of our lists. Fourth of July week is a great time to feature a politically driven app such as Congress by Sunlight Labs.

Congress for Windows Phone provides you quick access to news and contact information for members of Congress. The app uses your location to determine who your representatives are, but can also be used to find legislators from other districts. Sunlight uses the Yahoo! News API to grab relevant news and video for the representative you are viewing. Congress also integrates with the legislator's Twitter accounts when available, giving you news and opinions straight from the horse's mouth.

   

The best part about Congress is that it enables you to not only stay informed about what your legislators have been doing, but to get involved yourself. Many people forget that calling your congressman/woman can be an effective way for you to make a difference in your local community.

Sunlight Labs is part of the Sunlight Foundation, an organization dedicated to making government more open and transparent through the use of technology. Many of their endeavors, including Congress, are open source projects driven by a community of developers.

   

Congress is also available in Android and iOS flavors. Be sure to check back next week for another Windows Phone 7 App of the Week!

XFX Launches The WarPad For Gamers Who Want More Pad

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 10:32 AM PDT

Video may have killed the radio star, but rumors of optical mice killing the mouse pad are greatly exaggerated. Sure, you might be able to get by dragging your laser mouse directly over your desktop if all you're doing is surfing the Web and checking your email, but that just won't cut it during hardcore gaming sessions. Today, XFX introduced the WarPad, designed specifically for the one subset of computer users who still swear by mouse pads – gamers. The WarPad includes several features to designed to keep you comfortable while popping heads in Team Fortress 2 for 10 hours straight.

One major hazard during any gaming session is the risk of cutting or rubbing your wrists on the edge of your desk. You have to keep moving standard mouse pads back to the edge of the table, but the WarPad features a padded, wrap-around "Edgeless Support System" that clamps the mouse pad to the desk and removes the possibility of wearing down your skin on any harsh edges. After it's clamped, you can slide the WarPad back and forth across your desk if you need to make room for, say, a racing wheel accessory.

If size matters, the WarPad is king of the hill. It's absolutely massive at 16.97 inches by 13.98 inches, so you won't have to worry about falling off the pad during intense Crysis 2 firefights. XFX even double-stuffed the WarPad's cushion so that your arm won't become fatigued in the middle of a gaming marathon. Edit: The WarPad checks in at 6mm, or just under a quarter of an inch, thick.

At $55, the price of the WarPad may make you stop and grab your chest, but if you're a hardcore gamer who hates wrestling with standard mouse pads, it might be money well spent.

Hackers Target NATO In The Name Of #AntiSec

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 10:24 AM PDT

Another day, another hacking story. If you thought the recent disbanding of LulzSec meant an end to the daily exploit updates, you thought wrong; plenty of other groups are wrangling for Lulzsec's crown as king of the headache-causing chuckleheads. Today's facepalm-inducing report involves a group called Inj3ct0r Team, who claim to have sneaked into a backup NATO server while waving the flag of Operation AntiSec, an anti-security movement popularized by LulzSec and Anonymous.

Inj3ct0r Team backed up its boast by posting a 50 MB backup of 2646 files from "NATO Tomcat 5.5 Servlet Backup" on the MediaFile file hosting website, ComputerWorld reports. IT News Australia says that the group claims to have compromised the server using a private zero day exploit to gain access. NATO hasn't issued any comments, and Inj3ct0r Team's claims of server pwnage have yet to be officially confirmed.

Digging around inside the files reveals a boastful text document created July 3rd. "NATO lamers! I've been watching you day and night since then! W00t! Your Machines rooted! Servers restored to default! what else! F**k you and your crimes! and soon enough all your stupid ideas will be published on WikiLeaks!"

Sigh. At least Sabu and the other LulzSec folks kept things amusing while they kicked us in the collective junk. Inj3ct0r Team's 1337 name and  less-than-graceful message signals a return to the days of getting raked over the coals by groups who sound like they earned their trash-talking chops while griefing teammates on Xbox Live. Yay!

Gigabyte's G1.Sniper 2 Motherboard Nearly Official

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 09:37 AM PDT

Gigabyte still hasn't officially launched its G1.Sniper 2 motherboard that was showcased back at the Computex tradeshow in Taiwan, nor has the company announced pricing information or even put up a product page. But what Gigabyte did so is post several sexy snapshots of one of the hottest looking boards we've ever seen on the company's Facebook page for its motherboard division.

The G1.Sniper 2 is based on Intel's Z68 chipset and comes equipped with a Killer NIC E2100. It also has an X-Fi audio chip with dedicated memory, a powered eSATA/USB combo port on the rear panel, pin headers for two front USB 3.0 ports and six USB 2.0 ports, two PCI Express x16 slots, a pair of PCI-E x1 slots, two standard PCI slots, seven SATA ports (four of them SATA 6Gbps), HDMI, OC button, and other goodies.

What really steals the show is the color scheme and ammo clip-shaped heatsink. The G1.Sniper 2's design is a marked departure from Gigabyte's penchant for pastel colors and is much more aggressive looking than previous Gigabyte boards.

Image Credit: Gigabyte

Google: No Private Google+ Profiles for You!

Posted: 06 Jul 2011 09:19 AM PDT

Privacy advocates have held Facebook's feet to the fire on several occasions over various privacy issues that have crept up since its inception, and if Google's to truly become a Facebook killer, the sultan of search would be wise not to follow in Zuckerberg's footsteps. It's interesting, then, that Google has decided to ban private Google+ profiles, requiring users to make their profiles public or face account deletion.

"The purpose of Google Profiles is to enable you to manage your online identity. Today, nearly all Google Profiles are public. We believe that using Google Profiles to help people find and connect with you online is how the product is best used. Private profiles don't allow this, so we have decided to require all profiles to be public," Google states in a Google+ help article.

Google points out that your full name and gender are the only required information that will be displayed on your profile and you're free to edit or remove any other information you want to keep private.

Google+ users have until July 31, 2011 to make their profiles public or voluntarily delete them. After that date, "all private profiles will be deleted" for you.
Posted by Shri Krishna

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