General Gaming Article |
- Samsung Speaks Out On Australian Galaxy Tab Ban
- Leaked Verizon Ad Lists Galaxy Nexus for $199
- 130+ Domains Seized By US Authorities
- Cool Site of the Week: GoodReads
- Ubisoft Dev: Piracy To Blame For Lack Of "I Am Alive" On The PC
- Do Your Folks A Favor On "Update Your Parents' Browser Day"
- Sen. Lieberman Wants a "Terrorist" Flag On Blogspot.com Websites
- This week's hottest reviews on TechRadar
- Unlocked Galaxy Nexus Now Available in the US
- Kingston: Solid State Drives Will Finally Supplant Hard Drives in Second Half of 2012
| Samsung Speaks Out On Australian Galaxy Tab Ban Posted: 25 Nov 2011 02:32 PM PST
Apple's patents in Australia are considerably more broad than in other countries. As such, Samsung's lawyers are arguing that the judge failed to even evaluate the patents for validity before making a ruling. With the trial not scheduled until March of 2012, Samsung would essentially be locked out of the Market until the iPad 3 was announced. Apple's legal team was predictably skeptical of Samsung's filings. They claim that the judge made no error in judgement, and that the ruling would stand up to scrutiny. While the Tab 10.1 is still technically still banned from sale, some retailers have been importing them on the gray market to sell. How do you think this will shake out? |
| Leaked Verizon Ad Lists Galaxy Nexus for $199 Posted: 25 Nov 2011 02:04 PM PST
As of now, the link to buy the device points nowhere, so this is by no means confirmed. In general $300 has been the price for Verizon's new high-end LTE devices. It's not impossible that the carrier is looking to bring the price of these phones down to where more consumers will buy. As AT&T rolls out LTE, Verizon won't have the same kind of exclusivity any more. The ad lists several other phones at lower prices than they are currently selling at. The consensus seems to be that the flier is likely for a short term promotion that may or may not still happen. The permanent price of the Galaxy Nexus is probably going to be $299 just like the Droid Razr and HTC Rezound. |
| 130+ Domains Seized By US Authorities Posted: 25 Nov 2011 01:46 PM PST
Unlike last year's actions, this round seems to have been directed more toward sites that charge for their ill-gotten wares. There were a multitude of counterfeit clothing sites, as well as some that sold pirated software. The authorities have yet to comment on the seizures, but we wouldn't expect this to be the end. While the DOJ and ICE seems to be forging ahead, there is still a question as to whether domain seizures are legal. Legislation like Protect IP and SOPA are still pending in Congress, but would make specific allowances for this activity. Do you think that US law enforcement is overstepping? |
| Cool Site of the Week: GoodReads Posted: 25 Nov 2011 11:59 AM PST
GoodReads is a social network designed with book lovers in mind. After creating an account, users are invited to build a library of the books they've read and give each one a rating. Once that's done, it's time to get social: By connecting with friends from your Twitter, Facebook, Hotmail, Yahoo, or Gmail, you'll be able to see what other people in your circle are reading. Don't have a lot of readers in your peer group? No Problem: GoodReads lets you connect with new acquaintances through the site as well. Members of your friends list can swap book reviews and make recommendations.
As GoodReads currently boasts over 6,400,000 members and 220,000,000 different books, reading aficionados will never be at a loss to find someone else to talk about books with or come up with something new to read again. Be sure to check in with us every Friday for another edition of Maximum PC's Cool Site of the Week.
|
| Ubisoft Dev: Piracy To Blame For Lack Of "I Am Alive" On The PC Posted: 25 Nov 2011 11:30 AM PST
"We've heard loud and clear that PC gamers are bitching about there being no version for them," Mettra told IncGamers. "But are these people just making noise just because there's no version or because it's a game they actually want to play? Would they buy it if we made it?" That's a real concern for the company, Mettra explained: if Ubisoft paid a team of 12 developers to port the game over to the PC, the game would have to sell in excess of 50,000 copies in order to make the effort financially viable for Ubisoft. Mettra then insinuated that for all their talk, most PC gamers are – you guessed it – filthy pirates who wouldn't actually buy the game, anyways. "It's hard because there's so much piracy and so few people are paying for PC games," he said. After some negative feedback to the article, Mettra sent IncGamers a follow-up email explaining his position further: "I would really love to see a PC build of the game and I don't think I meant to say 'the game won't happen on PC'… What I meant is that the PC version did not happen yet. But we are still working to see the feasibility of it, which is not necessarily simple." Mettra, who isn't a native English speaker, said that communication issues may have been part of the reason the message came across the way it did. Thoughts? |
| Do Your Folks A Favor On "Update Your Parents' Browser Day" Posted: 25 Nov 2011 10:39 AM PST
The Atlantic's Alexis Madrigal dreamed up the new nerd holiday a few days ago in a post that was heavily tongue-in-cheek. But lying in the center of all that sarcasm was a glistening gold nugget of a great idea, and other big names quickly took up the call to arms. Google's search guru Matt Cutts tweeted a reminder in the midst of feasting yesterday, and Microsoft's IE blog created a list of the top ten times to update your parents' browser (Number one being: "When they're distracted by grilling you about when you're going to get a real job, when you're going to settle down, and when you're going to give them grandchildren. ") We're just going to say you should do it to save yourself some future headaches. Madrigal offered up some tips in his original post: "Don't switch brands on them. No putting Chrome instead of Firefox or Internet Explorer. Keep it simple." Sounds good to us. So what are you waiting for? Get to updating and put your blissfully unaware parents out of their IE6 misery! |
| Sen. Lieberman Wants a "Terrorist" Flag On Blogspot.com Websites Posted: 25 Nov 2011 10:12 AM PST
The Verge pointed us towards Talking Points Memo, who managed to get ahold of a snail mail letter that Lieberman sent to Google boss Larry Page. Lieberman, apparently, is pretty miffed that Jose Pimentel – an accused lone wolf terrorist who allegedly planned to blow up various government buildings with homemade pipe bombs – has a blog on Blogger that advocated violence against the state and provided directions on how to create explosives. "As demonstrated by this recent case, Google's webhosting site, Blogger is being used by violent Islamist extremists to broadcast terrorist content," Lieberman wrote. Lieberman's upset that "Blogger's Content Policy does not expressly ban terrorist content nor does it provide a 'flag' feature for such content," and he wants those areas updated accordingly. Apparently, Joe doesn't feel that posting bomb-making instructions and calling US buildings legitimate warfare targets would fall under Blogger's existing ban on "Hate or Violence." We think he might be on to something: Blogger already has a "Nudity" flag, but no discrete "Graphic Furry Action" flag, which is obviously a glaring oversight. Google has yet to respond. |
| This week's hottest reviews on TechRadar Posted: 25 Nov 2011 08:08 AM PST This week we've reviewed Google's new Galaxy Nexus - the first Android 4.0 handset as well as the new, souped up Apple MacBook Pro. We've also checked out a brand new 46-inch LCD from Philips as well as Sony's whacky personal 3D viewer. Read on for all the reviews posted on TechRadar this week. The Philips 46PFL469706H is a milestone in TV design. Picture quality on an LCD TV was simply not possible until now, and it's all made possible by the new 'moth eye' filter. It uses tiny nodules to mimic similar structures found on moth's eyes and is used to eliminate reflections on the screen, resulting in a greatly enhanced perceived contrast range. You have to see it to truly believe it, but it takes this TV from being a great contender to a market leader. There are a few niggles in the form of 3D crosstalk and some input lag when gaming, but otherwise it's a phenomenal achievement by Philips. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the world's first phone to run Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and comes with a plethora of top-end tech, including a huge but still massively high resolution screen. There are some gadgets in geek-world that are announced and we just cannot wait to touch. Nokia's N95, the original iPhone, the T-Mobile G1 and Palm's first Pre. And the Galaxy Nexus fits firmly in that category. The big selling point here is not so much the handset – it's what powers the Galaxy Nexus. Google has redrawn its Android OS in probably the biggest overhaul since it launched exactly three years ago. Sony HMZ-T1 Personal 3D Viewer review If you've got money to burn and you're a big fan of 3D and own a 3D Blu-ray player, the Sony HMZ-T1 could be right down your street. While we really can't imagine head mounted 3D displays taking off in quite the same way that Walkmans did a generation ago, we rather like Sony's HMZ-T1 personal 3D viewer. It's a bold and exciting spin on a familiar concept, and one that actually delivers on its promise of a virtual cinema experience. Its 3D performance is particularly mesmerising and if we could see our thumbs, we think they'd both be pointing upwards. The AS851 is the first Android dock to launch into a market full of 200 million Android phones. So it's sure to be a hit, right? If only it were that simple… Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (Late 2011) review The late 2011 update to the 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro is a mild refresh, but definitely a welcome one. It comes soon after a massive upgrade at the beginning of 2011, and the prices haven't changed, so we've no cause for complaint. This week's other reviewsCooling Be Quiet Dark Rock Advanced C1 review Cooler Master GeminII M4 review Cooler Master Hyper TX3 EVO review Mobile phones Monitors Printers Televisions TV tuner cards Hands on reviewsMobile phones Hands on: BlackBerry Curve 9380 review Internet ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sign up for TechRadar's free Week in Tech newsletter Follow TechRadar on Twitter * Find us on Facebook * Add us on Google+ |
| Unlocked Galaxy Nexus Now Available in the US Posted: 25 Nov 2011 07:00 AM PST
The Galaxy Nexus we're talking about here is fully unlocked and so will cost more than a carrier-subsidized version, which will arrive next month from Verizon carrying a $199 price tag with a two-year contract. The price of the unlocked Galaxy Nexus, in case you're interested, is listed as $749.99 on Expansys.com. Before you go ahead with the purchase, we'd like to inform you that the handset currently suffers from a serious bug that leads to abrupt loss of volume during calls. Google recently acknowledged the bug and promised to "update devices as soon as possible" with a fix. |
| Kingston: Solid State Drives Will Finally Supplant Hard Drives in Second Half of 2012 Posted: 25 Nov 2011 06:58 AM PST
Nathan Su, flash memory sales director at Kingston, says the average price of 1GB of NAND flash memory will probably fall to around $1, according to DigiTimes. Su readily admits that the high cost of flash has hampered SSD adoption, but he believes the transition to 19nm and more advanced manufacturing processes will prove a game changer in 2012. Also working in SSD's favor is the shortage of HDDs caused by recent flooding in Thailand. In some cases, HDD prices have shot up three-fold since the flooding took place, and some industry insiders don't expect the market to stabilize until the end of next year. |
Samsung has apparently gotten all its legal ducks in a row and has 
Android fans in the US have been waiting with bated breath for Verizon to announce availability of the 4G LTE Samsung Galaxy Nexus. After various rumors of delays, an interesting Big Red holiday ad started running last night, with the Galaxy Nexus listed for a downright reasonable 
The crackdown continues on piracy and counterfeit-related domains today with the news that as many as 130 domain names have been 
Despite the fact that the internet is a constant source of never ending electronic amusement, sometimes it's simply not enough to keep you entertained. On the days where memes, kittens, trolls and games just aren't cutting it, might we suggest settling in with a good book? Don't worry, there's no need to go cold turkey by turning off your rig while you read--far from it. As a matter of fact, our Cool Site of the Week, 
Ubisoft hates it when pirates plunder the company's gaming wares online. They've been at the forefront of the DRM battle, and by that, we mean they've been forcing DRM-ridden content down PC gamers' throats left and right. It gets worse: Ubisoft won't even be publishing its upcoming "I Am Alive" on the PC due to piracy concerns. Disappointed PC players have been vocal in their displeasure, but all the "bitching" doesn't change the facts, creative director Stanislas Mettra says.
If you're a Maximum PC reader, there's a good chance that you're the computer geek that relatives call when they get infected with a nasty piece of malware. With it being the day after Thanksgiving, there's also an above-average chance that you might be over at your folks' house at some point today. It's time to strike and make things easier for your future self! Leave Black Friday to others and hop on the new post-Turkey Day bandwagon: Update Your Parents' Browser Day. You'll be glad you did.
Long-term lawmaker (and former Presidential candidate) Senator Joe Lieberman is taking the fight against terrorists to the series of tubes known as the Internet. But rather than whipping up another overbearing law like SOPA, Lieberman's going straight to Google itself to hit the terrorists where it hurts: updated terms of use policies and content flags. Um, what?
Google's latest flagship phone the Galaxy Nexus is all set to hit the States 
After peering into its crystal ball, the market psychics at Kingston firmly believe that by this time next year, you're likely to choose a solid state drive over a mechanical hard drive. NAND flash memory prices are coming down, and while it's been slow going, overall pricing for SSDs will finally reach the point where they're able to attract would-be HDD buyers.| 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 |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
