General Gaming Article |
- Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet Leaked Ahead of Launch
- Beijing Rolling Out Free Wi-Fi, Just Enter Your Phone Number
- HTC Rezound Announced: 720p Screen, Beats Audio, Coming To Verizon November 14
- PC Prescriptions: 21 Free Apps to Keep Your PC Healthy
- Google Tweaks Search Algorithm for Fresher Results
- Browser Extension of the Week: Web of Trust
- Intel Shows Off Sandy Bridge-E Compatible DX79SI Extreme Series Motherboard
- Windows Phone 7 App of the Week: Facebook
- Quad-Core Commodore 64 Replica Rolls Into View
- Rosewill Goes Big with Blackhawk Ultra Computer Case
| Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet Leaked Ahead of Launch Posted: 03 Nov 2011 03:03 PM PDT
The new device will have a 7-inch IPS LCD at 1024x600, just like the Fire. There will be a dual-core OMAP4 processor inside, which is also what we will see in the Fire. Things diverge a bit from there. The Nook will pack 16GB of storage on board; twice as much as Amazon put in the Fire. There is also 1GB of RAM in the Nook. The fire has just 512MB. Barnes and Noble hopes that these difference will persuade consumers to pass on the Fire, and spend a bit more for the Nook Tablet. While the Fire will leverage the Amazon cloud, the Nook will offer more storage and support for a variety of file formats including ePUB, PDF, XLS, DOC, PPT, TXT, DOCM, Flash, JPG, MP3, MP4 and AAC. Do you think the Nook tablet has a shot? |
| Beijing Rolling Out Free Wi-Fi, Just Enter Your Phone Number Posted: 03 Nov 2011 02:46 PM PDT
There are two main concerns with the My Beijing network. It is possible the Chinese government simply wants to get citizens used to its tightly controlled and filtered network, then shut down independent sources of connectivity. This has already been occurring in smaller cities. it's no secret that the Chinese government often blocks information it does not agree with, and this would only strengthen its grip and allow it to more easily track users via the required phone numbers. The other concern is that Chinese authorities could simply fail to properly protect the phone numbers they collect. Surely this would be a treasure trove of data for spammers or less than reputable advertisers, and it will more than likely come under attack at some point. Still, many Chinese citizens cannot afford personal internet access, so the free Wi-Fi may be better than nothing. It will reportedly remain free for a period of at least three years, after which point a fee could be assessed. |
| HTC Rezound Announced: 720p Screen, Beats Audio, Coming To Verizon November 14 Posted: 03 Nov 2011 02:26 PM PDT
Even though the Galaxy Nexus has been announced, the Rezound will be the first smartphone to ship with a 720p screen in the US. Yes, this phone packs a 4.3-inch 1280x720 screen. There will also be a 1.5GHz SoC inside, paired with 1GB of RAM. The Rezound will also be the first phone in the US with Beats audio built in, and buyers can look forward to a free pair of Beats earbuds in the box. HTC said that while the phone will ship with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, it will be updated to Ice Cream Sandwich as soon as possible. Verizon's Android lineup is getting absolutely packed this holiday season. The Droid RAZR, HTC Rezound, and the Galaxy Nexus will be hard to choose between. |
| PC Prescriptions: 21 Free Apps to Keep Your PC Healthy Posted: 03 Nov 2011 01:43 PM PDT An ounce of prevention is worth, what, a working version of your operating system? A few hours of a Windows reinstallation? All of your system's data? When it comes to dealing with issues with your desktop or laptop PC, apps that help you prevent problems before they occur are worth their file size in gold. A clean, efficient, and smoothly running PC only makes your life that much easier as a user: Your data is organized and accessible; your operating system is free of errors and other third-party problems; your system, well, works – and it works nearly as well as it did the first day you installed the OS. In short, apps that help protect your system from yourself, from the outside world, and from its persistent push toward chaos are critical parts of the PC user experience, period. As it just so happens, we've come up with a list of the 21 best programs that can help prevent (or mitigate) PC performance problems before they make your life miserable. "But wait," you ask. "Do I really need all 21?" No. Treat this article like a spice rack: Depending on how strong of a mix you think you need for your individual computing setup, you might benefit from all, some, or a scant few of the apps we'll be suggesting. The Reinstallation BluesLet's start from the beginning. Something's gone cataclysmically wrong with your Windows operating system and your only choice is to either restore it back to its original settings – potentially wiping your data, your record of program installations, or just generally making your hard drive's contents chaotic – or wiping your drive and reinstalling Windows from scratch. Use Clonezilla to clone your primary hard drive's contents to a separate drive before you undertake this process, and you'll then be able to copy your critical files back once your reinstallation is complete. System Information for Windows If your current Windows issues aren't catastrophic, but you still want to start the time-consuming process of reinstalling the operating system from scratch, be sure to make ample use of the freeware app System Information for Windows.
The beauty of this app lies in its ability to tell you exactly which programs are installed on your system (which can be copy and pasted to make a printable list), as well as which keys you've used for various apps. Laptop users, take note: If you're worried that a Windows reinstallation might somehow leave you hanging without critical drivers that your laptop needs to function (perhaps your laptop is super-old!), then get some peace-of-mind via Semper Driver Backup. This app does just what its name implies: It copies all of your system's drivers to a single folder for safekeeping, which you can then use to restore your system hardware to a workable state post-Windows reinstallation! Let's face it: CDs and DVDs are going the way of the dodo. They're extremely prone to annoying scratches that can render them unusable, they're slow to use, they have a good tendency to be misplaced and squashed around the general messiness of your desk – the list goes on. WinToFlash saves the day by transferring the contents of your Windows installation disc to a flash drive, which the program then makes bootable. Provided your motherboard supports flash-based booting, hello speedier Windows installations! While we're big fans of Ninite – the tool that allows you to customize and automate an installation package for a ton of must-have software apps on a brand-new PC – there's always something to be said for new blood.
So that's why we're also including Allmyapps as a Web tool that you should definitely keep your eye on. These two programs let you quickly and easily mass-install all sorts of apps onto your system, saving you countless hours (and mouse-clicks) in the process! A Spotlight on NiniteSince we just recommended that you check out Ninite to mass-install apps on your system, let's take a deeper look at the must-have freeware programs that will help keep your PC running perfectly. It goes without saying, but Google's ability to sandbox browser activity from the rest of your operating system goes a long way toward keeping certain kinds of malware from turning your desktop into a mess. But there's also Chrome's built-in "Safe Browsing" feature that allows you to avoid Website traps before you even load a single line of code. The list goes on!
Stop us if you've heard this one before. Microsoft Security Essentials is an excellent freeware antivirus application for three major reasons: It's consistent in its ability to detect and eliminate threats, it's a lightweight and often-updated app that offers powerful protection without eating up key system resources, and it's one of the few freeware antivirus apps that delivers real-time scanning for any file that touches your system. Let's face it; we all sometimes download something we shouldn't (by accident, of course). And when we find our systems infected with an annoying toolbar or pop-up mechanism, the first tool that we should use to eradicate such nonsense from our systems is Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware. Simply put, weekly scans with this app will keep your PC (mostly) problem-free! Spare your tomatoes: We realize that disk defragmentation isn't for everyone, especially you fancier Maximum PC readers with your SSD storage arrays (or SRT-based storage setups). But if you're looking for a tool that offers a bit more power than the standard Windows 7 disk defragmentation utility, Auslogics' Disk Defrag is your ticket. We especially enjoy its auto-defragmentation mode – scheduled defragmentation can be so easily forgotten! This one's the big one. We can't count how many times removal utilities for the apps that we download don't always do the best of jobs at deleting files, folders, and the registry entries associated with programs that you just don't want anymore.
The freeware version of Revo Uninstaller scours your system to remove every last trace of an app that you're kicking to the curb. For the PC clean-freak, Revo Uninstaller is a giant bottle of digital bleach. Fervent File ManagementSimple, easy, efficient—we confess, part of the appeal of this freeware backup application is that its makers, Code 42, just seem to get backups. This isn't an app that's going to spend 8 hours copying every single file on partition C: to partition D:. Oh no.
CrashPlan, by default, only cares about the critical files in your Home/User folder. It's an excellent recommendation blended into a no-fuss program for users that just want a simple means of getting important files from one hard drive to another. Of course, if you want a little more oomph to your backup than a simple "folder goes here" kind of a solution, Syncback brings a little more advanced functionality to bear on your backup practices. And, yes, as the name implies, Syncback can do more than just copy folders, filter files, and schedule backups – it can also automatically match the contents of two folders to one another (the "synchronize" bit). This app is so slick, it almost makes us want to spring for the paid-for version! Good ol' Belvedere – yes, this app really is like having a virtual butler for your desktop system. It's a simple tool that allows you to reconfigure and resort folder contents based on rules you specify. For example, you can sort all files in a folder matching a particular extension that are more than, say, 7 days old into a new folder called "archive." Or if you're hardcore, you can have this app delete these old files (or any kinds of files you specify) with but one click of a button! An organized PC is a fast PC – not in benchmarks, perhaps, but "fast" in the sense that you won't have to spend 20 minutes of your life navigating through folders to find the particular file you're looking for.
Advanced Renamer is a super-powerful freeware app that not only helps you rename files in a variety of rules-based ways, but it can also move or copy these files into a new folder hierarchy automatically. Now that's organized! It's tough to start organizing your files if you don't even know what's taking up so much darn room on your hard drive. Disk Space Fan is the simple, pretty way to see a generic overview of just how your hard drive's space is being eaten up.
But if you want to dig a lot deeper into your drive analysis, then you're going to want to pick up the freeware app SpaceSniffer—what it lacks in looks, it makes up for with filter-driven scans combined with drill-down analyses and printable reporting. Junk RemovalWant to give your system the digital equivalent of a car wash in only two clicks of a mouse button? Ccleaner scours your hard drive for junk – temporary files, Web caches, cookies, the contents of you recycle bin, and other unnecessary crud – before removing it all in one big batch process. All you have to do is select the kinds of files you'd like to get rid of (we recommend: all), let the app assess your drive to see how much space you might save, and pull the virtual trigger. Cleaning house is that easy! For a bit more oomph to your system cleaning, check out DrivePurge. This freeware app almost offers too many choices for novice users to comprehend. Just how many, you ask? DrivePurge scours your system for more than 750 different kinds of files and, depending on what you've selected for removal, automatically wipes these clutter-causing bits off your system for good. Thankfully, you can have the app ignore certain kinds of files – including system folders and files – if you're afraid that you might be removing too much! Congrats, new PC owner! If you're lucky, you've purchased your system from a vendor who cares about your well-being and hasn't loaded your copy of Windows with all sorts of junk software, trial versions of apps, time-limited promotions, toolbars, advertising offers, and other such nonsense.
And if you're not so lucky, there's SlimComputer – a freeware app that's designed to quickly and efficiently restore your system to as close to a default Windows installation as is possible. Depending on the specific hardware manufacturer of your system's devices, the process of installing new, updated drivers for your parts might be seamless and clutter-free. If you're unlucky, however, it could add just add one more batch of files on top of an increasing pile of older drivers that sit on your system, taunting you to banish them into digital nothingness. Driver Sweeper, a freeware app, helps you remove these legacy drivers that you just don't need anymore. Begone! Happen to notice that Windows is taking forever to boot nowadays? Annoying "load at startup" apps could be the reason for the slowdown, and Soluto is an excellent way to go about determining how these programs play a role in preventing your computer from quickly loading.
And once you've figured out the issues, you can use this program to directly disable apps that you don't really need running the second Windows loads. An Ounce of Prevention…Finally, we come to the biggie. If you have the system resources and hard drive space to run another operating system inside of you primary OS, then do so: It's a great way to constrain apps, utilities, and other programs you're just "testing out" to a place that's far easier to maintain, purge, and restore than your primary operating system. And VirtualBox is the freeware virtual machine that makes this advanced computing all possible – like, say, trying out a developer preview of Windows 8! Twenty-one different apps and we have yet to say anything big about the your system's actual hardware. Sure, keeping your software fresh, uncluttered, and happy is an important, preventative aspect of computing. But equally important is making sure that you have all the warnings you need if your system's internals are about to go supernova.
We've always been fans of HWMonitor for that, as it provides you with an easy-to-decipher look at your CPU and GPU temperatures and fan speeds. |
| Google Tweaks Search Algorithm for Fresher Results Posted: 03 Nov 2011 12:44 PM PDT
"Given the incredibly fast pace at which information moves in today's world, the most recent information can be from the last week, day or even minute, and depending on the search terms, the algorithm needs to be able to figure out if a result from a week ago about a TV show is recent, or if a result from a week ago about breaking news is too old," Google explained in a blog post. The sous chef of search said that the improvements it added to its Caffeine Web indexing system should impact more than a third -- roughly 35 percent -- of all searches and will better determine when to give you more up-to-date relevant results. Trending events and hot topics, for example, will tend to return fresher results, whereas looking up a recipe might not. "Different searches have different freshness needs. This algorithmic improvement is designed to better understand how to differentiate between these kinds of searches and the level of freshness you need, and make sure you get the most up to the minute answers," Google added. Sounds fresh. |
| Browser Extension of the Week: Web of Trust Posted: 03 Nov 2011 11:59 AM PDT
Designed for use with Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera and Safari (if you must), Web of Trust provides a safer browsing experience by indexing websites based on a number of attributes: Trustworthiness, Vendor Reliability, Privacy and Child Safety. After creating an account or connecting to WOT through your Facebook profile, using the extension couldn't be easier: Simply browse to a website, click on the extension icon, and you'll be provided with the site's WOT rating. What's more, WOT allows its users to have their say as well. WOT users are encouraged to provide their own ratings for the sites they visit and can even express why they voted for a site in the manner they have through WOT's comment system. The generated commentary can then be perused by other WOT users.
This combination of user generated ratings and commentary means that Web of Trust is able to provide both a quantitative and qualitative view of a website's content, making it easier for everyone to ascertain whether or not they can rely on what the interwebz have to offer. Be sure to check back every Thursday for another edition of Maximum PC's Browser Extension of the Week.
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| Intel Shows Off Sandy Bridge-E Compatible DX79SI Extreme Series Motherboard Posted: 03 Nov 2011 11:00 AM PDT
TomsHardware pointed us to the Intel website, where the official product brief is hosted. Aside from the obvious LGA2011 socket, Intel has managed to cram eight – you heard it right, eight – DIMM slots into the ATX mobo for up to 64 GB of total memory. There are ports and expansion options aplenty, too: three of those spiffy new PCIe 3.0 x16 slots, two PCIe 2.0 x1 slots, one PCI slot, two SATA 6Gb/s, four SATA 3Gb/s, 14 USB 2.0, four USB 3.0 (via NEC controller), two 1394a, and plenty of audio-out options. In addition, the board fully supports both Nvidia's SLI and AMD's CrossFire technologies for multiple graphics cards. You'll also find dedicated power and reset buttons and the now-familiar Intel motherboard skull logo. "With the Intel® Desktop Board DX79SI, Intel is once again offering the board of choice for champion gamers and performance enthusiasts who live to push their systems WAY beyond the limits," the product brief boasts. Check it out for yourself, or head on over to LegitReviews, which has tons of pictures of the DX79SI Extreme Series Motherboard from IDF 2011. |
| Windows Phone 7 App of the Week: Facebook Posted: 03 Nov 2011 10:56 AM PDT With one of the primary features of Windows Phone 7 being the myriad ways it integrates with Facebook it may seem redundant to offer an app dedicated to the social network. For Facebook die-hards though, sometimes you just need to dive into the service to tackle all of the aspects and features you are used to having available.
Facebook for Windows Phone received some interesting new features this week that make use of some of the new capabilities in Mango, and make it an extremely powerful tool for those looking to stay connected to their network while mobile. The Facebook app has always allowed you to keep track of your friends and provided you access to your notifications and pictures. The latest update (released on Halloween) allows you to pin individual areas of the app to your start screen, giving you one-touch access to your news feed, messages, or places. Facebook for Windows Phone 7 is a perfect complement to the built-in features of the platform, giving you more powerful capabilities not offered by the OS itself.
Facebook for Windows Phone is available as a free download from the Windows Phone Marketplace. |
| Quad-Core Commodore 64 Replica Rolls Into View Posted: 03 Nov 2011 10:50 AM PDT
Commodore USA, LLC is in the business of selling replica Commodore models with modern day components. Their latest model is the Commodore 64 Extreme (C64x-EX), which they proudly proclaim is the most powerful Commodore computer ever produced. In and around the C64x-EX is the aforementioned quad-core Sandy Bridge processor along a 2TB of hard drive, 8GB of RAM, two USB 3.0 ports, five USB 2.0 ports, a single eSATA port, SPDIF, HDMI, DVI, VGA, slot-load DVD burner, GbE LAN, and an integrated mechanical keyboard with Cherry "Blue" key switches. Commodore USA, LLC is accepting preorders now and promises to ship the $1,500 PC pre-imaged with Mint 11 (will dual-boot with the retro inspired Commodore OS Vision) by December 15th if ordered before November 25th. Image Credit: Commodore USA, LLC |
| Rosewill Goes Big with Blackhawk Ultra Computer Case Posted: 03 Nov 2011 10:30 AM PDT
It can also accommodate XL-ATX, E-ATX, SSI CEB, and standard ATX motherboards, as far as compatibility goes. Going by the numbers, the Blackhawk Ultra measures 9.45 inches (W) x 25 inches (H) x 25.99 inches (D) with front and top panels included, or 9.06 inches x 23.63 inches x 24.41 inches without. All told, it weighs over 36 pounds, and closer to 37 pounds. The Blackhawk Ultra is, appropriately enough, an all-black chassis. It's made of steel and four external 5.25-inch drive bays (one of which can fit a 3.5-inch drive), ten internal 3.5-inch drive bays, 10 expansion slots, a pair of USB 3.0 front panel ports, two USB 2.0 ports, audio inputs, a pair of front-mounted 140mm red LED fans (included), a rear 140mm fan (included), three top mounted 120mm/140mm fans (optional), and a pre-installed side 230mm fan that can be swapped out for nine 120mm fans (optional). Rosewill's Blackhawk Ultra is available now for $230 MSRP. Image Credit: Rosewill |
According to Engadget, Barnes and Noble will indeed be announcing a Nook Color successor at its event on November 16th. The leaked documents obtained by Engadget refer to the device as the 
Starting alter this month, Beijing will start rolling out a 
It's been a long time coming, but the HTC Rezound, the device once known as the Vigor, has been 
Have you ever thought about search results as being like warm cookies? Strange as it sounds, that's exactly what Google likens them to, because like cookies straight out of the oven, search results are best when served fresh. With that in mind, the code bakers at Google tweaked their search algorithm recipe to deliver more recent results to your online queries.
Let's face it: For every honest, reputable website, shopping portal or social network out there worth putting your trust into, there's another thousand internet destinations hellbent on getting their dirty rat claws on your personal information, or slinging shady deals. Mitigate the damage with 
Looking for a big, badass motherboard that can handle almost anything you throw at it? Intel's been teasing us with glimpses of the Sandy Bridge-E-compatible DX79SI Extreme Series Motherboard ever since the Intel Developers Forum a little while back. We've been drooling and waiting for more info ever since. Now, with little fanfare and no formal announcement, the company's released a product brief that gets into details and outlines the DX79SI's capabilities in full. 
Load"*",8,1. If you understand what that means, then clearly you were rocking a PC well before this age of the Internet when PCs became socially hip. Those loading instructions are instantly familiar to anyone who ever owned a Commodore 64, still the best selling single model PC of all time, but what isn't familiar is a Core i7 2720QM processor nestled inside that little beige keyboard you used to own. Commodore is getting with the times.
If the choices are to go big or go home, Rosewill clearly opted for the former with its new Blackhawk Ultra computer case. Just how big is the Blackhawk Ultra really? According to Rosewill, it's spacious enough to fit two power supplies, if you were so inclined, or perhaps of more utility is the ability to mount an HPTX motherboard like EVGA's Super Record 2 (SR2).| You are subscribed to email updates from Maximum PC - All Articles To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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