General Gaming Article |
- RIM Confirms More BlackBerry Issues, Currently Investigating Cause
- National Emergency Alert System Fails Its First Test
- Future Tense: Whither Apple?
- VIA Unveils World's First Dual-Core Pico-ITX Mainboard
- Next Generation SSDNow SSDs Twice as Fast as Before, Kingston Says
- Windows Phone 7 App of the Week: Spotify
- Need a No Cost Firewall? ZoneAlarm Free Firewall 2012 Has Eyes in the Back of Its Head
- Hard Drive Shortage Takes Toll on Motherboard Market
- HTML5 Reigns Supreme: Adobe Kills Mobile Flash Player
- Kingston HyperX RAM Sets Two New World Overclocking Records
| RIM Confirms More BlackBerry Issues, Currently Investigating Cause Posted: 09 Nov 2011 02:37 PM PST
According to RIM, they believe the issue to be localized in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Though, the previous outage started a a local problem before spreading globally. Most of today's reports are of emails going missing, or being severely delayed. This indicates a problem with the BlackBerry Email Servers, which serve all mail for Blackberry users. RIM's back end infrastructure made sense a few years ago, but with new push technologies and faster data connections, it is increasingly becoming a liability. If this incident turns out to be nothing, it will really serve to show how closely everyone is watching RIM, and perhaps expecting them to make another mistake. |
| National Emergency Alert System Fails Its First Test Posted: 09 Nov 2011 02:22 PM PST
FEMA has said that it is still processing the results of the test and will have more information in a few weeks. Though, FEMA officials have conceded behind closed doors that there was a serious glitch resulting in a partial failure of the emergency alert system. Some early indications are that the satellite and cable operators had not properly prepared equipment. This was just a test, and is presumably intended to uncover problems like this. Although this was the first test of the national system, and FEMA is likely going to have some explaining to do as they seek to fix the problem. maybe while they're at it, adding a social media component to the National Emergency Alert System would make sense too. Did you see the test in your area? |
| Posted: 09 Nov 2011 01:57 PM PST
Whither Apple?I believe America's greatest strength has been its ability to cultivate the most profitable crop in human history—geniuses. This country is the way it is because of men and women with genuine vision and the ability to move that vision into the realm of accomplishment. In fact, our current economic woes may very well be due to a failure to invest in the next generation's crop of geniuses. We have spent too many years failing nurture vision and innovation. Industry has made the near-fatal mistake of thinking that "make it cheaper" is an acceptable substitute for "make it better." The evidence says that it is not. The great strength of Apple computers was always the commitment of Steve Jobs to "make it better." Jobs' return to Apple was the smartest move the shareholders ever did. (Apple's darkest days occurred during the reign of whatshisname, the soda salesman. Whatever experience he had managing a company that made its profits from selling carbonated sugar water, it wasn't the kind of visionary experience that a computer company needs.) So the loss of Steve Jobs now could be as critical a moment for the company as it was when he was forced out in 1985. A visionary company needs a visionary leader. Consider the Disney empire. Walt Disney was the Steve Jobs of his time—a different industry, but no less a visionary. Walt wasn't afraid to take chances. He'd already been making silent cartoons when sound technology came to the movies. He immediately recognized the possibilities of adding music to animation. Steamboat Willie was a gamble, but it paid off big: it made Mickey Mouse a hit and it established Disney as the foremost cartoon studio in the country. Everybody else was playing catch-up. Walt continued to push the art form. He was the first to make cartoons in color, the first to use the multi-plane camera to create the illusion of depth, and the first to produce a feature-length cartoon. He bet the farm on Snow White. He had to go back to the bank to borrow money to finish the film. If it had flopped at the box office, Anaheim and Orlando would still be suburbs. Throughout his life, Disney continued to push the limits of what was possible. Fantasia was a brilliant and ambitious effort—a marvelous marriage of great music and astonishing animation. And it was in six-channel sound! Initially, it was a financial disaster for the studio, but only fifteen years later it was recognized as a masterpiece. Walt was never afraid of risks. As he had done so many times before, he bet the farm on 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. The picture had a marvelous cast (Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Peter Lorre!) and some of the best underwater effects ever shot. Even today, the film holds up beautifully, fairly earning the reputation of "timeless classic." Walt's biggest gamble was the construction of Disneyland in Anaheim. Again, he had to dance with the financiers. There were many who believed that an amusement park was a frivolous investment, that the park would be Walt's final folly. But Walt had the vision to create a television series of the same name. Like the park, the show had Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland—it was an hour-long weekly commercial and children all over the country understood the connection. Disneyland wasn't just an amusement park, it was the first theme park. In fact, it was a multi-themed park. Disney World in Orlando was another big gamble, but this time Disney had the evidence that it would work—not just a park, but a whole landscape of parks and hotels. And this time he had the resources to do it on an astonishing scale. Disney would now control the entire resort experience, guaranteeing both a consistent level of quality and a higher cash flow. Despite Walt's best efforts to provide direction for the Disney empire after his passing, what was missing was Walt. Those who held the decision-making power didn't have his same sense of vision and imagination, didn't have the same ability to inspire the artisans. The films of that period weren't just forgettable, they were dismal and embarrassing—in particular, Robin Hood, The Fox And The Hound, The Black Cauldron Oliver And Company. It wasn't until Jeffrey Katzenberg came in that the animation department began to recover. When he left, the quality of the films slumped again—Treasure Planet?!!--until John Lasseter arrived. And that's the point. Just as Disney's success depended on Walt's genius, so has Apple's success depended on Steve Jobs. After Walt died, Disney floundered, not recovering until Michael Eisner took the reins. Like Walt Disney, Jobs was never afraid to take risks, never afraid to innovate, never afraid to create. Under Jobs, Apple never put out a "me-too" product. Even those who weren't Apple customers paid close attention to Jobs' annual presentations of new products. Steve Jobs is simply irreplaceable. He was Apple. The company is currently in a very strong position and is likely to remain so for some time. The iPod, iPhone, and iPad product lines still own their respective market niches. (I'd like to say nice things about the MacBook Air as well, but I find the keyboard practically impossible for touch typing.) I assume that like Walt Disney, Steve Jobs left his company with sufficient direction to carry them forward for the next few years. But that timeline will run out. The circumstances of the marketplace are going to change, the competition will ramp up its own product lines and present new challenges, consumers are going to start looking around to see what else is happening, and most important—the new leadership of the company will be caught on the horns of an internal dilemma, struggling to honor Jobs' vision while creating their own sense of direction. Apple may be looking at an identity crisis somewhere down the road. It could be as soon as next year, it might not be evident for two or three years, but it could be inevitable. None of this speculation is intended to disparage Apple or anyone who works there. It's merely an observation about what happens to a company when it loses its visionary. There are a lot of other examples to point to. The history of Ford Motors. Chrysler with and without Lee Iacocca. The IBM-PC after Don Estridge. Sony without Akio Morita. Star Trek, depending on who's sitting in the throne of the Great Bird. A visionary company requires a visionary leader. Apple is approaching a crossroads. Without someone at the helm who thinks about doing impossible things, "make it cheaper" looks like an easy shortcut to higher profits. If Jobs has chosen his people well, they'll resist that temptation. I expect them to. But part of Apple's continuing success is its relationship with its fan-base. (Yeah, I know I should have said customer-base, but fan-base seems more appropriate.) Apple thrives on big splashy product announcements. Without the regular dose of "and one more thing" will Apple retain its magic? (The iPhone 4S was not the iPhone 5 and the fan-base was visibly disappointed.) One of the things I've seen in several different industries is that sometimes people entrenched in positions of authority regard ambitious young visionaries as a threat, so they remove the threat to protect their own position. Even worse, they tarnish the reputations of those they fear. (I'm not naming names here.) That's a mistake. It hurts the entrepreneur for a little while, but it hurts the company, the consumer, and the marketplace even more. The smarter thing to do is recognize the genius, find the right niche for him or her, provide the resources for the genius to take on interesting challenges, to create and innovate, invest in the results—and then afterward take the credit for being smart enough to hire that genius in the first place. Everyone will respect your management skills and regard you as a management genius. But where the person in power is desperate to be seen as the creative genius—well, um, lack of genius reveals itself every time. Real genius lies in recognizing genius in others and giving it wings to fly. If Jobs left behind a cadre of dedicated team-players, the company will run smoothly…for a while. But if he was visionary enough to have stashed a few troublemakers into the mix, guys like himself who didn't quite fit the mold, and who were always pushing the boundaries, guys who dream of the stars, then Apple will continue to soar. Apple can't afford to forget its own history—what it was with Jobs, what it was without. It's a history of bold innovation, calculated risks, and an unfailing determination to keep making it better. I root for Apple to continue innovating. That kind of competition is good for the entire industry. What do you think?
————— David Gerrold is a Hugo and Nebula award-winning author. He has written more than 50 books, including "The Man Who Folded Himself" and "When HARLIE Was One," as well as hundreds of short stories and articles. His autobiographical story "The Martian Child" was the basis of the 2007 movie starring John Cusack and Amanda Peet. He has also written for television, including episodes of Star Trek, Babylon 5, Twilight Zone, and Land Of The Lost. He is best known for creating tribbles, sleestaks, and Chtorrans. In his spare time, he redesigns his website, www.gerrold.com |
| VIA Unveils World's First Dual-Core Pico-ITX Mainboard Posted: 09 Nov 2011 12:36 PM PST
"The VIA Pico-ITX allows embedded system design to pack unprecedented levels of performance into even smaller form factors," said Epan Wu, head of the VIA Embedded Platform Division, VIA Technologies, Inc. "The new VIA EPIA-P900 opens up exciting new possibilities for innovation in ultra compact embedded designs." The system measures a scant 10cm x 7.2cm and supports up to 4GB of DDR3 memory. Other highlights include HD audio; HDMI, VGA, and LVDS display connectivity; GbE LAN; support for up to seven USB 2.0 ports (five as pin headers); two SATA ports; and support for digital I/O. VIA didn't say how much the EPIA-P900 will cost, though it's likely to be sold primarily to OEMs anyway. Image Credit: VIA |
| Next Generation SSDNow SSDs Twice as Fast as Before, Kingston Says Posted: 09 Nov 2011 12:02 PM PST
The new SSDNow V200 sports a SATA 6Gbps interface and is available in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB capacities. In addition to injecting more performance into these next gen drives, Kingston says they're also up to 20 percent less expensive than the SSDNow V100 Series.
Kingston's 64GB V200 drive is rated at up to 260MB/s sequential reads and up to 100MB/s sequential writes, the 128GB at 300MB/s and 190MB/s, and the 256GB at 300MB/s and 230MB/s. Each drive is available as a standalone unit or as part of an upgrade kit that includes the drive itself, cloning software, a DVD with step-by-step instructions, cables (SATA data and power), and a 3.5-inch mounting bracket. So, what about price? That's a great question, and one Kingston neglected to answer. We'll update as soon as we find out more. Image Credit: Kingston |
| Windows Phone 7 App of the Week: Spotify Posted: 09 Nov 2011 11:32 AM PST Music lovers are funny creatures. We have this desire to own every track from a specific artist or group, but we also like variety, making collecting music an expensive hobby. Maintaining access to your entire music collection when you aren't at home is also an issue. Services like Pandora and Slacker Radio have helped with this conundrum to some extent, allowing us to listen to a variety of music based on our likes and dislikes, but these services don't provide the level of control you get from a large music library.
Enter Spotify, the streaming music service launched in the U.S. in July after several years of success in Europe. Spotify provides the ability to play music by artist, album, or individual track. The service is cloud based, meaning you can easily stream music using your 3G or Wi-Fi connection, and also allows for downloading playlists for offline playback. Spotify also leans heavily on Facebook and Twitter, providing a means to share your listening habits with your friends.
Listening to Spotify on a mobile device does require Spotify Premium, a monthly service that runs $9.99 per month. New subscribers can play with the functionality of Spotify on their mobile device for a limited time. Spotify for Windows Phone is available from the Windows Phone Marketplace as a free download. |
| Need a No Cost Firewall? ZoneAlarm Free Firewall 2012 Has Eyes in the Back of Its Head Posted: 09 Nov 2011 11:22 AM PST
This new version is compatible with any standalone antivirus package and offers two-way (inbound and outbound) protection against threats, Check Point says. It also has a redesigned UI that's purportedly easier to use, a faster install routine, identity theft protection, and an anti-phishing/site status toolbar. "More than 200 million people today use free antivirus software, but they lack a strong two-way firewall, leaving their PCs vulnerable to online attacks," said Bari Abdul, vice president of consumer sales at Check Point Software Technologies. "Antivirus alone is not enough. It misses almost 30 percent of viruses, and it does not provide any protection against hackers. At a minimum, consumers need to strengthen their security by adding a strong, two-way firewall on top of their antivirus software. ZoneAlarm is offering an effective solution." ZoneAlarm Free Firewall 2012 is available now in English, German, French, Spanish, and Italian. Image Credit: Check Point Software Technologies |
| Hard Drive Shortage Takes Toll on Motherboard Market Posted: 09 Nov 2011 10:54 AM PST
Industry sources tell DigiTimes that the HDD shortage is also having a negative impact on fourth quarter motherboard shipments. We're not talking about just a small dent, either. Overall, fourth quarter motherboard shipments are expected to decrease up to 15 percent. Gigabyte in particular is on pace to end the year on a sour note. The company's Q4 motherboard shipments could see a decline as high as 25 percent. Asus, meanwhile, expects motherboard shipments to drop from 6,3 million in the third quarter to 6 million in the fourth, while MSI, ECS, and ASRock are each bracing for a drop of at least 10 percent. Image Credit: Asus |
| HTML5 Reigns Supreme: Adobe Kills Mobile Flash Player Posted: 09 Nov 2011 10:48 AM PST
The upcoming Flash Player 11.1 update for Android and the Blackberry Playbook will be the last one scheduled for the software. "We will of course continue to provide critical bug fixes and security updates for existing device configurations," Danny Winokur, general manager of interactive development for Adobe, said in the announcement. With mobile development halted, the company will "increase investment" in its HTML5 contributions. Flash isn't disappearing completely, however; Winokur says that the company will continue to focus "on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores." It will also continue to be available and updated for the PC. In fact, Winokour says Adobe is already hard at work on the PC-only Flash Player 12 as we speak. Image credit: geeky-gadgets.com |
| Kingston HyperX RAM Sets Two New World Overclocking Records Posted: 09 Nov 2011 10:37 AM PST A couple of Swiss overclockers set a pair of memory overclocking records using a 2GB dual-channel kit of Kingston's high frequency HyperX DDR3-2544 memory (KHX2544C9D3T1FK2/2GX). It's the fastest dual-channel memory kit around, and thanks to Roger Tanner "splmann" and Marc Voser "Besi," it's also the kit responsible for setting frequency records at CAS 6 and CAS 8. At CAS 6, the overclocking duo pushed the kit to 3095MHz, and at CAS 8 it topped out at 3175MHz. These are the fastest frequencies ever for each respective CAS latency.
It's no shocker that it took some serious cooling to set these records. The team used liquid nitrogen, first fixing the memory slots in a cooler made from aluminum and copper. Kingston says the cooler had a basin at the top, which was filled with -196C liquid nitrogen. Image Credit: Flickr (Kingstno Technology EMEA) |
Earlier today, RIM confirmed that some customers are experiencing delayed or disrupted BlackBerry services, and the company is 
The very first test of the National Emergency Alert System today, but it appears that the new high-tech system that was due to take over all the airwaves 
VIA just rolled out what the company claims is the industry's first ever dual-core Pico-ITX motherboard. The VIA EPIA-P900 packs a dual-core VIA Eden X2 1GHz x86 processor and VIA VX900H Media System Processor into the smallest commercialized form factor there is. The result is a pint-sized system that's capable of advanced multitasking and multimedia chores, including "flawless" Full HD video rendering.
If climbing hard drive prices have you singing the mechanical storage blues, perhaps it's time to start shopping a solid state drive (SSD). You won't save any money by stepping up to an SSD, nor will you find one that offers a better price-to-gigabyte ratio than an HDD, but at least you'll know the price you paid isn't higher than what it was a month ago for the same drive. Need more temptation? Kingston says its next generation SSDNow Series for 
Can you remember the last time you installed a third-party firewall? It was almost a necessity back when Windows XP was the latest and greatest consumer OS from Redmond, and as far as Check Point is concerned, there are still some big time benefits to be had from standalone firewalls like the new ZoneAlarm Free Firewall 2012 the company just released.
Woe is you if your hard drive gives up the ghost, and not just because of the hassle involved with restoring data from your backups (because you are backing up your files, right?). The other reason it sucks to lose a hard drive right now is because recent flooding in Thailand hit HDD makers pretty hard, resulting in a shortage, which itself has resulted in higher prices. Unfortantely, the trickle down effect doesn't stop there.
We're not too proud to admit it: maybe Steve Jobs had it right. Apple's refusal to let Adobe's Flash platform sully iOS is famous in tech circles, and way back in April of 2010, 
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