General Gaming Article |
- No BS Podcast #179: We Move Away From the Mic to Speak (Sorry)
- Comcast "AnyPlay" In-Home TV Streaming Details Leaked
- uTorrent Adds Support for Syncing to Devices
- Amazon Holding Event September 28, Is the Tablet Coming?
- Dish Network's $10/Month Blockbuster Movie Pass Bats Eyes at Netflix Customers
- Super Talent Launches Password Protected USB 3.0 Flash Drive
- DIYer Creates Real-Life Oblivion Tome Containing Text From Every Book In The Game
- Cool Site of the Week: YourNextFilm
- Diablo 3 Delayed Until 2012
- Microsoft Responds To Windows 8/Linux Secure Boot Concerns, Fails To Alleviate Said Concerns
| No BS Podcast #179: We Move Away From the Mic to Speak (Sorry) Posted: 23 Sep 2011 03:46 PM PDT
Surprise podcast! Nathan, Alex, Alan, Amber, and Gordon gather in the podcast pod to discuss the Qwiksterization of NetFlix, the de-Apothekering of HP, the UI updates of Facebook, the why-don't-we-have-access-to-the-Diablo-III-closed-beta of Diablo III, and people who don't have anything nice to say. All this and more in Episode 179 of the No BS Podcast! Plus, we take a few questions and topic suggestions from the peanut gallery, and Gordon's Rant of the Week! A note: We noticed in editing that our mics seemed to cut out intermittently. Sorry about the audio issues; we're trying to figure out what happened. Do you have a tech question? A comment? A tale of technological triumph? Just need to get something off your chest? A secret to share? Email us at maximumpcpodcast@gmail.com or call our 24-hour No BS Podcast hotline at 877.404.1337 x1337--operators are not standing by. Subscribe: http://feeds.feedburner.com/maximumpc/1337
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| Comcast "AnyPlay" In-Home TV Streaming Details Leaked Posted: 23 Sep 2011 03:20 PM PDT
Comcast plans to make most channels available to the user for streaming, but some content will be missing. For instance, on-demand and pay-per-view content won't be available through the AnyPlay service. Comcast's document did not make mention of any additional cost for AnyPlay, but it is possible a small additional charge could be included for the special box. AnyPlay is expected to roll out in test markets soon, then move national some time after that. Would you make use of this service? Would you pay extra for it? |
| uTorrent Adds Support for Syncing to Devices Posted: 23 Sep 2011 03:05 PM PDT
The files will sync over a local Wi-Fi network, but won't be converted to device-specific formats. That is a feature currently in development, but is expected to be a premium feature for the paid uTorrent Plus. Although, we wouldn't be surprised if some users pirated it. The alpha is Windows-only right now, and it is very alpha. A final version is expected in a few months. In the meantime, you can try out the preview build here. |
| Amazon Holding Event September 28, Is the Tablet Coming? Posted: 23 Sep 2011 02:51 PM PDT
The invitations themselves are totally minimalist, giving no indication what the event could be for. But really, no one is fooled. Rumors have been hot and heavy for months that Amazon was on the verge of pushing out a new Android-based tablet device. Many have pegged it as a 7-inch device that will cost no more than $250. We've also been hearing about an October ship date, so the timing of this event matches up well. Do you think Amazon will drop a tablet on us, or are we in for some surprise Kindle reader action? |
| Dish Network's $10/Month Blockbuster Movie Pass Bats Eyes at Netflix Customers Posted: 23 Sep 2011 02:32 PM PDT
Let's start with angry Netflix customer. He's a good catch, has disposable income, and loves movies. His relationship with Netflix is best described as "complicated." You see, they've been dating for years, but have been growing apart in recent months. They used to spend evenings and weekends watching DVDs, but now all Netflix wants to do is stream with friends. Angry Netflix customer is okay with that, except Netflix is having a tough time hanging onto its friends, like Starz and Showtime. The relationship feels stagnant, communication isn't where it should be, and angry Netflix customer is willing to see others.
Now let's get to know Blockbuster Movie Pass. She's new in town and just wants to have fun without all the crazy drama. She's a fairly cheap date and into all kinds of things. For $10/month, she'll play the one DVD-by-mail game ($15 for two, $20 for three DVDs), including Blu-ray titles at no extra charge. She knows how to stream (more than 3,000 movies to the TV, 4,000 to the PC, and hundreds of on-demand TV shows). Blockbuster Movie Pass is into videogames and has access to more than 3,000 Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Wii games by mail. She doesn't care if you exchange an unlimited number of DVDs and games at participating Blockbuster stores, and she's down to watch more than 20 premium entertainment movie channels from MGM, Epix, Sony, and others. There's another side to Blockbuster Movie Pass, one that could kill this relationship before it even gets started. She's a daddy's girl and won't go anywhere without Dish Network, at least not for the time being. If you want to play with Blockbuster Move Pass, you have to hang out with Dish Network, too. That could get awkward if you're friends with DirecTV or local cable. The good news is from October 1 through January 31, 2012, Dish Network will pay for your dates with Blockbuster Movie Pass for three months if you're new to Dish. After that you're on your own, but still have to welcome both into your home. So how about it angry Netflix customer, does Blockbuster Movie Pass tickle your fancy? If not, there are still plenty of other fish in the sea, and we know of at least a dozen. |
| Super Talent Launches Password Protected USB 3.0 Flash Drive Posted: 23 Sep 2011 01:38 PM PDT
There's no software to install when using the DataGuardian. An application stored in the drive's firmware launches automatically when you plug it in, at which point you enter in your password and enjoy unfettered access to your data. Once you yank the DataGuardian out of the USB port, the drive is once again secure. On the performance side, Super Talent says the DataGuardian is capable of up to 85MB/s read and up to 40MB/s write speeds via USB 3.0. If you pop it into a USB 2.0 port, it will shuttle files back and forth at up to 37MB/s (read) and up to 27MB/s (write). The DataGuardian will begin shipping on October 17, 2011. It will cost $24 for the 8GB version, with 16GB and 32GB capacities also available. Image Credit: Super Talent |
| DIYer Creates Real-Life Oblivion Tome Containing Text From Every Book In The Game Posted: 23 Sep 2011 11:22 AM PDT
Reddit user notadoctoreither – interesting name, that – printed out all of the books in the game on high-quality paper, then finished the deal by encasing the wordy goodness in a spiffy leather binding. The results are abso-freakin'-lutely amazing. Notadoctoreither says the project took him about a month and set him back $130, which isn't too bad for all he got. Check out a heaping plateful of pics over at Gamefront.net, or if this sounds like the kind of project you'd like to wrap your grubby Eleven-gloved paws on, head over to Megaupload, where notadoctoreither has conveniently left a .zip file of all the books in Oblivion along with the fonts used in his real-world tome.
While we're on the topic, what where your favorite Oblivion tomes? We're partial to "Palla" and "The Lusty Argonian Maid," even if they were carried over from Morrowind. |
| Cool Site of the Week: YourNextFilm Posted: 23 Sep 2011 11:15 AM PDT
YourNextFilm forgoes using categories like actors, genre or director to classify the films featured on the site. Instead, by entering the name of a film that they've enjoyed, users will be presented with a number of suggested titles that other visitors to the site feel would compliment the film. Once you find a movie that interest you, click on it, and you'll have access to a full synopsis of the film, user reviews, and the ability to purchase the DVD via Amazon.
There's even an option to save your searches for use later on: Just in case you stumble across more movies or TV shows than you can handle at one time. Be sure to check back with us every Friday for another edition of Maximum PC's Cool Site of the Week.
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| Posted: 23 Sep 2011 10:34 AM PDT
"With every game we make, the temptation is always very strong to launch as soon as possible. However, we didn't put so many years of work into Diablo III to release a game that was almost ready," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment, said in the company's press release. To be fair, Blizzard had never firmly committed to a 2011 release date. The company has long said that it will release Diablo 3 only when it was ready – but they hoped it would be ready in 2011. They've extended two olive branches to help ease the pain, though; the time frame for the beta test will be prolonged to allow gamers more Barbarian time, and anybody who had previously signed up for the Diableard challenge are formally released from the bond and now free to shave their faces at their leisure. |
| Microsoft Responds To Windows 8/Linux Secure Boot Concerns, Fails To Alleviate Said Concerns Posted: 23 Sep 2011 10:12 AM PDT At first glance, Microsoft's decision to go with UEFI instead of BIOS seemed like a decent security-minded step. Microsoft plans on requiring that all PCs shipping with Windows 8 implement the secure boot option included in recent UEFI specifications. That's good, right? It stops malware from playing around with the boot path and disabling antivirus programs! The smiles faded into looks of concern when it was pointed out that a PC with OEM and Microsoft secure boot keys couldn't launch Linux distros. The 'Net raged, and yesterday, Microsoft responded to the allegation.
"The security that UEFI has to offer with secure boot means that most customers will have their systems protected against boot loader attacks," Tony Mangefeste of the Ecosystem team wrote on the Building Windows 8 blog. "For the enthusiast who wants to run older operating systems, the option is there to allow you to make that decision." Mangefeste then pointed out that the Samsung slate given to developers at BUILD included an option to disable secure boot, and was even kind enough to provide a screen shot of the feature (which we, in turn, kindly show you above). It's not all roses, though; in the end, Microsoft has no say in whether or not manufacturers have to allow the option to disable secure boot, because UEFI is not actually part of Windows 8. "OEMs are free to choose how to enable this support and can further customize the parameters as described above in an effort to deliver unique value propositions to their customers," Mangefeste writes. In the short term, we'd expect pretty much every OEM to include the option to disable secure boot, just in case users want to, say, dual-boot with a legal version of Windows 7 that they already own. But will that last forever? Slashdot forum-goer "Hatta" provides a chilling prophecy of the future. "Today you can throw Linux on any old hardware, and do something useful with it. 5-10 years from now, you'll have to specifically hunt down unlocked hardware. This has a rather drastic effect on the utility of Linux, which is Microsoft's intention." What do you think of the whole fiasco? Is the problem real, or is it typical Internet overreaction? |
A leaked user guide has outed Comcast's upcoming 
The most used BitTorrent client in the world is uTorrent, and its developers have just rolled an impressive new feature out in the most recent alpha. This version of the program has 
Amazon has just sent out the invites we've all been waiting for. Wednesday September 28, Amazon will be holding a 
Angry Netflix customer, meet Dish Network's Blockbuster Movie Pass. Blockbuster Movie Pass, meet angry Netflix customer. Now that you've both been introduced, let's sit and talk for a moment and see if this is a relationship worth pursuing, shall we? Whoa there angry Netflix customer, put your credit card away, let's get to know each other first.
Super Talent has come up with a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 thumb drive the company claims is fast, secure, and malware resistant. The new USB 3.0 DataGuardian is fast because, well, it's built to take advantage of USB 3.0; it's secure because it requires a password to access data stored on the device; and it's supposedly impervious to all (not some) auto-run malware attacks.
While we're gearing up for the dragon-slaying awesome that is said to permeate The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, it never hurts to take a peek back at the past. Part of Oblivion's allure lies in its massive game world, a world made even larger by the utterly insane number of well-written books scattered around the land. Even more insane, one enterprising DIYer gathered all of those documents and created a real-life tome comprised of every book Oblivion offers.
Picking the films for a movie night is much like making an awesome playlist (or for our readers of a certain age, a mix-tape). Unless you plan on whiling away the hours watching all of the films in a single franchise, care, thought and a sense of balance must be brought into the movie selection process. One feature-length misstep and what could have been a runaway train of time well wasted can be turned into a bogged down truck full of Howard the Duck. No one needs that sort of pain. If you're serious about your movie watching, but have a hard time picking a flick, we recommend giving 
The launch of 
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