General Gaming Article |
- New Tests Cast Doubt on FAA Electronics Ban
- GoDaddy Accused of Stifling Domain Movers
- MotoACTV Android Watch Rooted, Ready for Modding
- Chrome Web App of the Week: Do It Tomorrow
- Rumor: Intel Planning Atom CPUs For NAS Boxes
- ASRock Shows Off Transformer-Themed X79 Mobos
- Acer Denies Rumored Plans to Duck Out of the Tablet PC Business
- Chrome Engineer Explains Near Billion Dollar Investment in Mozilla
- AMD Readies New Phenom Chips Built Around Bulldozer
- Samsung Agrees to Purchase Sony's LCD Business for $940 Million
| New Tests Cast Doubt on FAA Electronics Ban Posted: 26 Dec 2011 02:45 PM PST
The tests showed that a Kindle only outputs roughly 30 microvolts per meter, far below the level needed to affect even unshielded wiring. Additionally, the number of devices active doesn't matter as EM radiation is not cumulative. Bilton also cites some exceptions the FAA has made for devices like personal voice recorders and shavers. Both these devices emit similar amounts of radiation as a Kindle. Despite the likely safety of low-power devices like the Kindle, the FAA ban on using the devices during take-off and landing remains in effect. One engineer consulted in the report said the real reason for the ban was "inertia and paranoia" in the FAA. Some pilots have also pointed out the rules help people remain distraction-free during the most dangerous parts of a flight. What do you think of the electronics ban? |
| GoDaddy Accused of Stifling Domain Movers Posted: 26 Dec 2011 02:17 PM PST
If Namecheap is to be believed, GoDaddy has been submitting incomplete domain information as a matter of policy when a move is requested. This makes it extremely difficult for a new registrar to process the change. "This action speaks volumes about the impact that informed customers are having on GoDaddy's business," Namecheap said in a statement. GoDaddy has not responded to the allegations, but we imagine they will deny everything. GoDaddy came under fire last week when the Internet became aware the registrar supported SOPA. In its present form, SOPA would allow copyright holders to shut down sites that were found to have any infringing material. It would also force alterations to the DNS system that many experts believe would be dangerous. |
| MotoACTV Android Watch Rooted, Ready for Modding Posted: 26 Dec 2011 02:00 PM PST
The ACTV runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread beneath a heavily customized interface suited for a small screen. By using the ZergRuch exploit, modders were able to open the device up and install the Android Market and other Google Apps on it. With a custom launcher, the ACTV is a totally new device, though not terribly usable. This isn't going to suddenly make the ACTV a must-have accessory. It's still a pricey add-on that most users won't need. This is just another example of the Android community doing what it does best. |
| Chrome Web App of the Week: Do It Tomorrow Posted: 26 Dec 2011 11:29 AM PST
A productivity app designed to capitalize on drive to put off tasks from today that could easy be performed tomorrow, Do It Tomorrow, is a task tracking app for individuals who understand that sometimes the best way to manage their lives is to procrastinate as hard as they can. Foregoing the multitude of features offered by many of today's most popular calendar and task management applications, Do It Tomorrow offers users a simple, elegant interface that affords the ability to enter tasks that need to be taken care of today, or be pushed off until tomorrow.
Realizing that a productivity app is only as productive as it is mobile, Do It Tomorrow's developers have also put together smartphone and tablet versions of their application for iOS and Android users to exploit, making it easy to get things done--or put things off for a day--no matter where life takes you. Be sure to check in every Monday for another edition of Maximum PC's Chrome Web App of the Week.
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| Rumor: Intel Planning Atom CPUs For NAS Boxes Posted: 26 Dec 2011 11:12 AM PST
Anything you read in DigiTimes should be taken with a grain of salt – or seven – since the publication doesn't exactly bat .1000 with its rumors, but this one actually makes some sense (and hey, NAS boxes should get more spotlight time, anyways). DigiTimes' as-always-anonymous sources claim that we'll start seeing new 32nm Atom CPUs for NAS boxes and entry-level servers as early as the second quarter of 2012. The publication even outs the chips' alleged codename: Centerton. While Atom chips don't offer anywhere near the brawn of Sandy Bridge, they can certainly hold their own against the CPUs currently found in NAS boxes. But then again, most people don't expect – or even want – too much out of their network storage. Does the thought of an Atom-powered NAS box intrigue you? |
| ASRock Shows Off Transformer-Themed X79 Mobos Posted: 26 Dec 2011 10:44 AM PST Want a little bit more Autobot in your PC's life? While everybody was busy making a big deal out of Habro's trademark lawsuit against the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime – ourselves included – another manufacturer quietly showed off some Transformer-related PC hardware of its own, and these components look like they may actually be licensed! Late last week, ASRock plopped concept pics of Optimus Prime- and Bumblebee-branded X79 mobos up on its Facebook page. Suddenly, the Hasbro suit makes a little more sense.
ASRock is no stranger to the LGA 2011 socket; it already offers a bevy of X79 boards, including a "Professional" X79 mobo bearing the Fatal1ty name. For what it's worth, TechPowerUp points out that the X79 Optimus Prime and the X79 Bumblebee (as they're called in the Facebook pics) look just like ASRock's existing X79 Extreme9, but with fancier pant jobs. Would you be more likely to pick up a Transformer-themed board than a stock mobo? Which looks better to you, X79 Optimus Prime or X79 Bumblebee? I've always been an Optimus kind of guy, but I'm kind of groovin' on the yellow and black Bumblebee board. |
| Acer Denies Rumored Plans to Duck Out of the Tablet PC Business Posted: 26 Dec 2011 09:13 AM PST
Amid rumors that Acer would withdraw from the tablet PC and smartphone markets, company founder Stan Shih set the record straight by explaining this isn't the time to give up, DigiTimes reports. Shih acknowledged there's some frustration behind the scenes, but shrugged it off as an unavoidable part of the process, just as the company went through when first entering the notebook market years ago. Acer's board of directors wants the company to simplify its operational goals and narrow its focus on profitable products, of which it believes tablet PCs and smartphones both fit into. |
| Chrome Engineer Explains Near Billion Dollar Investment in Mozilla Posted: 26 Dec 2011 08:54 AM PST
Peter Kasting, a Senior Software Engineer and a member of the Chrome UI team, got all riled up after reading MG Sielger's "Pay to Stay" piece, in which Sielger concluded that Google is "paying all that money to a competitor." His piece prompted a mini-rant from Kasting, who explained Google's reasoning in a Google+ post. "People never seem to understand why Google builds Chrome no matter how many times I try to pound it into their heads. It's very simple: the primary goal of Chrome is to make the Web advance as much and as quickly as possible," Kasting said. "That's it. It's completely irrelevant to this goal whether Chrome actually gains tons of users or whether instead the Web advances because the other browser vendors step up their game and produce far better browsers. Either way the web gets better. Job done. The end." Kasting doesn't claim Google is a total Web evangelist. He points out that "Google succeeds (and makes money) when the Web succeeds and people use it more to do everything they need," so if that means supporting companies like Mozilla, then so be it. "Because of this Chrome doesn't need to be a Microsoft Office, a direct-money-maker, nor does it even need to directly feed users to Google. Just making the Web more capable is enough," Kastings added. As Paul Harvey used to say, now you know the rest of the story. |
| AMD Readies New Phenom Chips Built Around Bulldozer Posted: 26 Dec 2011 08:27 AM PST
Chinese webiste inpai.com.cn did a little digging on the Web and found updated CPU support lists for select ECS and Jetway motherboards. These lists include a handful of unreleased Phenom chips based on AMD's Bulldozer architecture with up to eight cores and with unlocked mulitpliers. There are four new chips in all:
Interestingly it appears AMD is planning to brand these as Phenom II parts instead of Phenom III. When these processors will be available and for how much is anyone's guess. Image Credit: AMD |
| Samsung Agrees to Purchase Sony's LCD Business for $940 Million Posted: 26 Dec 2011 07:09 AM PST
Sony's angle in this is to monetize its shares in S-LCD and to secure a flexible and steady supply of LCD panels from Samsung without the responsibility and costs of operating a manufacturing facility. Samsung, on the other hand, gains complete control of operations and anticipates heightened flexibility, speed, and efficiency in both panel production and business operations. The deal is expected to close by the end of January 2012. Image Credit: Flickr "pondspider" |
New York Times writer Nick Bilton has had enough of the FAA's vague explanations of why personal electronic devices aren't allowed during certain parts of a flight. After frequently questioning the rationale for such rules, he recently commissioned his own 
Domain registrar GoDaddy may have dropped its official support for the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), but this ugly chapter is far from over. According to competing registrar Namecheap, GoDaddy is doing all it can to 
Another Android device rooted and cracked open for the modding community? Yawn, right? Well, when that Android device also happens to be a watch, things get a little more interesting. The Motorola 
As many of us continue to wallow in the throes of a self-induced turkey coma, it's hard to focus on the fact that sooner or later, the holidays will give way to our regular workaday lives and all of the responsibilities that come with with it. For Chrome users less than crazy about getting back to being productive, there's 
Ah, network attached storage; whether you're 
You won't find too many people beating down virtual or brick and mortar doors to get their hands on an Acer Iconia Tab. The demand just isn't there, not when there are sexier, slimmer, more capable, and less expensive alternatives available (some of which are a combination of more than one of those), and the Iconia Tab line hasn't sold particularly well as a result. Be that as it may, Acer isn't waving the white flag.
Some people have been questioning why Google would dump nearly a billion dollars into a three-year search deal with Mozilla and its Firefox browser instead of leaving Mozilla high and dry after their existing agreement expired. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that the new deal is three times higher than the previous one, and is more than Microsoft was willing to pay Mozilla to have Bing featured as the default search. Why give all that money to a competitor? That's the wrong question to ask, according to one of Chrome's developers.
AMD fans were rooting for the Santa Clara chip maker to yank the performance crown from Intel with team green's desktop Bulldozer-based FX series processors. That didn't happen, and it looks like the next batch of Bulldozer processors will skip the high-end hype and attack the mid-range and entry-level markets where AMD has enjoyed quite a bit of success.
The joint LCD venture between Sony and Samsung is undergoing some changes with respect to ownership and who's responsible for what. Under terms of a new agreement, Samsung will acquire all of Sony's shares of S-LCD Corporation, the companies' joint manufacturing venture. Samsung will pay Sony 1.08 trillion South Korean won, or around $940 million, for the share transfer, and the two companies will continue their cooperative engineering efforts focused on LCD panel technology, Sony | 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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