General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article

Amazon Announces HTML5-Based Kindle Format 8

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 02:46 PM PDT

fireAmazon has made small tweaks to its Kindle e-book format over the years, but now the retailer has surprised the industry again by announcing a new HTML5 version of the Kindle format called Format 8. This approach leverages a toolset that already has wide support and allows a richer experience -- perfect for magazines and comics.

The new HTML5 Kindle format will essentially make books into webpages, with robust handling of images, fonts, and other adaptable content. Amazon has a full list of supported HTML tags, but video and audio tags are not among them, for now at least. So all this is great for the Fire, but what about eInk Kindles? Amazon says that the most recent generation of devices will gain access to Format 8 in the coming months. The Kindle publishing tool will make a copy in the old format for use on legacy devices. Tablets and PC clients will also have access to the HTML5 format. 

Some pundits expected that Amazon was planning a move to the open EPUB format, but this new format likely puts to rest that idea. Do you think the Kindle platform will benefit from Format 8?

Android 4.0 Includes Stylus Support

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 02:26 PM PDT

htcOne of the less reported features in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is going to be big for a certain subgroup of users. The new OS will support stylus input at the system level with features like pressure sensitivity, hover tracking, and detection of pen versus finger touch events. This should streamline implementation of this feature for OEMs, which seem to be chomping at the bit to roll it out.

Devices like the HTC Flyer and Samsung Galaxy Note both have the ability to use stylus input, but both are based on capacitive technologies and OEM modifications to Android. The Google API demos in the Android SDK even contains a TouchPaint app that can be used to test stylus input. Of course, all this is contingent on having the necessary hardware in a device. 

Both Samsung and HTC have been hoping other companies would adopt their stylus technology and internal APIs, but that's starting to look less likely. Although, with the HTC Scribe stylus running as much as $80, that didn't seem likely anyway.

Sprint Dropping Unlimited Tethering Data in November

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 02:12 PM PDT

4gIt looks like mobile broadband use is about to get a bit more pricey on what used to be the last bastion of unlimited data, Sprint. The carrier has confirmed rumors that it plans to move away from truly unlimited 4G data for its Wi-Fi hotspot and tethering plans. Most users will be subject to a 5GB cap starting in November. 

Unlike other carriers that have moved to tiered data, Sprint seems to be applying the new policy to existing and new customers alike. There will no longer be the separation of 3G and 4G data for mobile broadband cards, but users will get tiers of 3, 5, or 10GB total usage depending on how much 3G data their plan previously included (WiMAX was previously unlimited). 

Sprint has opted not to do overages in chunks like AT&T does, but rather to charge per megabyte. On-network overages will be billed at $0.05 per MB, and roaming will be $0.25 per MB. Sprint users feel free to rage down below.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus Wi-Fi Lands November 13th for $400

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 01:48 PM PDT

Samsung today officially announced the upcoming availability of its Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus tablet featuring the Peel Smart Remote TV appliation. The 7-inch slate will hit retailers on November 13th for $400, four days before Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet starts shipping. Those who want to get a jump start can put their pre-orders in beginning October 23rd.

The Peel Smart Remote TV application will allow users to instantly find and watch TV shows and discover new shows based on their preferences, all with the tap of a screen, Samsung says. It will display personalized programming recommendations in a content-driven GUI, negating the need to scroll through traditional channel-listing grids.

As for the hardware, the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus measures 9.96mm thin and weighs 345g. It has a 7-inch LCD display with a 1024x600 resolution, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 3MP rear-facing camera capable of recording in 720p, 2MP front-facing camera, and Android 3.2 (Honeycomb).

Pricing is for the 16GB Wi-Fi version. Samsung didn't mention when it plans to ship a 32GB model or for how much (likely $500 if we had to guess).

Image Credit: Samsung

16 Memorable OSes and UIs From the Big Screen

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 01:45 PM PDT

Hollywood has a way with computer tech that makes an impression, whether we laugh out loud or cry with envy.

Hollywood has always had a way with the OSes and UIs it shows on the big screen. Sometimes they're so far-fetched, all you can do is laugh, other times they're eerily accurate portrayals of future technology, and then there are the few that just make you jealous with envy. Here are a few of our favorites that Hollywood has given use, but give us some slack on what constitutes an OS or UI...Hollywood isn't always clear about that. Be sure to add your own in the comments, too.

 

ECS X79R-AX Black Extreme and Deluxe Photo Gallery

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 01:26 PM PDT

We've seen a whole lot of teaser shots of soon-to-be-released motherboards built around Intel's X79 (Sandy Bridge-E) platform this week, culminating earlier today in EVGA's dual-socket Super Record 3 (SR3) mainboard. How do you follow something like that? You don't, really -- it's kind of like that scene in Great Balls of Fire! where Jerry Lee Lewis (played by Dennis Quaid) finished his crowd pleasing set by lighting his piano on fire and quipping to Chuck Berry, "Follow that, killer!" But just as Chuck Berry is a legend in his own right, ECS wants to remind everyone that it too knows a thing or two about motherboards.

ECS shared a handful of photos of its upcoming X79-AX Black Extreme and Deluxe motherboards, and while these aren't dual-socket boards, ECS figured it would hire a model to get people's attention instead (note that the model and motherboard are not to scale, though that would be pretty awesome if they were).

Both boards have a pair of DDR3 DIMM slots on each side of the CPU socket. You can also spot onboard power and reset buttons (Extreme), PCI-Express 3.0 ports, USB 3.0, and some other goodies.

Check out our photo gallery below.

Image Credit: ECS

Cool Site of the Week: Encyclopedia of Life

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 11:27 AM PDT

eolAs of 2010, scientists have managed to find and catalog 1.7 million different species of life. Sounds like a lot, right? Not when you consider that the very same lab geeks feel it's possible that there may still be another five million species out there that we haven't stumbled across yet. Before depriving anymore of those lifeforms of their habitats for the sake of a new strip mall or a few rolls of toilet paper, maybe we'd do well to get to know them a little bit better (you know, just in case the planet finally decides to rise up and rebel against us). To this end, we're declaring Encyclopedia of Life our Cool Site of the Week.

 Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) provides visitors with a wealth of information concerning the diverse biological treasures our planet has to offer. At last count, EOL had cataloged over 750,000 different lifeforms with 448,007 images. Information on the site is gathered from experts, educators, museums, and citizen scientists who all share one thing in common: a passion for the stunning variety of life our planet has to offer. EOL's database is designed to be useable by both laymen and experts, so searching for 'Black Bear' or 'Urus Americanus' will bring you to the same page on the site.

Not looking for something dangerous and furry? No problem: EOL has you covered, as its database contains entries on every form of life under the sun. Need to know a few factoids about Brittle Waternymph or a tidbit concerning Actinopterygians? Simply type and ye shall receive. 

Be sure to check in every Friday for another edition of Maximum PC's Cool Site of the Week.

 

 

Google Engineer Says Company Will Release Ice Cream Sandwich Source Code

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 10:49 AM PDT

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a delicious Ice Cream Sandwich? Not even smarmy owls know the answer to that question – yet. Android developers will have a leg up on Tootsie Pop-packing birds sometime soon, as a Google engineer has confirmed that the ICS code will be released once users are able to wrap their hands around Ice Cream Sandwich-enabled phones and tablets.

"We plan to release the source for the recently-announced Ice Cream Sandwich soon, once it's available on devices," Android engineer Dan Morrill wrote on the "Android Building" Google group. That sound you hear? An exasperated sigh of relief from the open source community. Earlier this year, Google refused to release the source code for the tablet-optimized Honeycomb version of Android over fears that clueless developers would shove it onto phones, too.  Some were worried that it was the start of a new, proprietary trend for Android, but the release of the Ice Cream Sandwich source code (which was written for both tablets and smartphones) should lay those doubts to rest.

The recently unveiled ICS-packing Samsung Galaxy Nexus should hit the streets in November.

Microsoft Giving Windows Phones To Tech Gurus With Klout

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 10:27 AM PDT

Are you a mover and a shaker? What's that, you're not sure? If you were on Klout, there wouldn't be any doubt in your mind. The service keeps track of your activity across the social networks and assigns you a numerical score that lets you know, basically, whether you're hot or you're not. If you've got Klout, you might get a Mango-packing Windows Phone, too; Microsoft's giving away 500 of the devices – along with passes to VIP launch parties – through the Klout Perks rewards program.

The barrier to entry is nothing to sneeze at, though. You'll need to be 21 years old and have a Klout tech score of a whopping 55 or higher. You can see if you qualify by clicking this link. The first VIP party will take place in New York, and then move around the country to Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

"Top influencers are trusted by their audience to share their real opinions and more and more brands are recognizing this power," the Klout blog post announcing the deal crows. "Klout Perks is quickly becoming the best way to launch new products."

What do you guys think of this social movers and shakers-focused marketing technique?

Report: Don't Expect Ivy Bridge Before March

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 10:08 AM PDT

Intel's spiffy Sandy Bridge processors haven't even been available for a year yet, and already their doomsday clock is ticking. Ivy Bridge, the slimmer, trimmer 22nm next generation version of Intel's 32nm Sandy Bridge processors, are barreling down fast. So fast, in fact, that you can already pick up motherboards built to accommodate Ivy Bridge's PCIe 3.0 support. But when is Ivy Bridge actually going to hit? Intel will only say "Early 2012," but one source claims to know a more specific time frame.

DigiTimes (and its as-always anonymous sources) says that we can expect to see Ivy Bridge hit the streets by March at earliest. No January CES-timed launches this time around, folks. If the report is true, the inclusion of Intel's energy efficient tri-gate transistor technology has paid off: the same sources report that quad-core Ivy Bridge processors will use just 45W, 65W and 77W of thermal design power. Smaller dual-core processors, on the other hand, will allegedly run at 35W and 55W.
Posted by Shri Krishna

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