General Gaming Article |
- CA Governor Fails to Sign Bill Requiring Warrants to Search Phones
- Verizon Bringing $150 Samsung Stratosphere to 4G Network October 13
- Kindle Fire Already Drawing Patent Lawsuits
- Need for Speed: The 12 Fastest High-Tech Gadgets In the World
- Chrome Web App of the Week: Rdio
- Microsoft's October Patch Tuesday Plugs Up 23 Spooky Security Holes
- John Carmack Says iD Will Take A Console-First Approach To Games
- Adata is All Pumped Up Over Its SandForce-based XM13 mSATA Solid State Drive
- Intel Paves SSD Roadmap for 2012
- Windows Phone Chief Criticizes Android and iPhone 4S
| CA Governor Fails to Sign Bill Requiring Warrants to Search Phones Posted: 10 Oct 2011 03:17 PM PDT
Brown's veto message says that due to the complicated issues involved, and the contradictory court decisions, he did not feel comfortable making a decision. Some have pointed to large campaign donations from police unions as the real reason. The state legislature was uncharacteristically together on the issue, having passed the bill by wide margins. With large numbers of arrests not leading to convictions, one has to wonder what becomes of all that harvested data. Presumably it is supposed to be deleted, but things do fall through the cracks, and government laptops seem to go missing quite often. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Verizon Bringing $150 Samsung Stratosphere to 4G Network October 13 Posted: 10 Oct 2011 02:57 PM PDT
The Stratosphere will be based on the Galaxy S chassis with a 1GHz Hummingbird SoC, a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen, 5MP front camera, 1.3MP back camera, and a slide out QWERTY keyboard.The hardware is decidedly last generation, but that sweet 4G data will still be a draw. The Stratosphere runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread with the Samsung TouchWiz UI on top. Is this a price point that would entice you to go with Verizon? | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Kindle Fire Already Drawing Patent Lawsuits Posted: 10 Oct 2011 02:43 PM PDT
Smartphone Technologies LLC is owned by Acacia Research, a publicly traded company that collects and licenses patents. The popular term for this type of business is "patent troll". Some of the other patents Smartphone Technologies is suing over involve the use of multiple calendars on a device. Acacia adds that the eInk Kindle also infringes some of its patents, ans is also part of the case. Amazon is expected to sell millions of Fires, so even a small licensing fee would be a huge payday for Acacia. Similar cases against Apple and others have thus far not resulted in a settlement. We expect Amazon to keep this is the courts for the time being as well. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Need for Speed: The 12 Fastest High-Tech Gadgets In the World Posted: 10 Oct 2011 01:57 PM PDT
As the technological parade marches forward, it tends to step a bit livelier with every passing innovation. It's in this spirit of momentum that we salute the fastest stuff on Earth.If patience is a virtue, just call us speed demons. A technology is defined as a system of applied science, craft, or art. In other words, it's a way of getting things done. As tech lovers, it seems only natural that each iteration of a technology accomplish those things a little faster and more efficiently. Whether it's to move people over land, air, water, or snow; process bits; liquefy coffee beans; or chipify wood, we ain't hatin' on acceleratin'. With a little help from Guinness World Records and our sister publication T3 in the UK, we present the following supremely fast inventions. Fastest Production CarBUGATTI VEYRON 16.4 SUPER SPORT
With an 8-liter, 16-cylinder, quad-turbocharged engine capable of making 1,001 horsepower, the Veyron 16.4 revs up from 0-60mph in less than 2.5 seconds—on its way to 250mph in about 42 seconds. Yeah, it's peppy. In June 2010 in Ehra-Lessien, Germany, one of these rare beauties set the land speed record for a commercially available automobile at 267.86mph. And when we say it's "available," that's kind of like saying Jennifer Aniston is available. Chances are the closest you'll get to experiencing this speedster is through TV and magazines. Proving us wrong on that count will cost you a base price of $2,426,904. That's right—AC is extra. Fastest Thing on Four WheelsBLOODHOUND SSC
To break the land speed record for a car, a vehicle must have four wheels, and the Bloodhound SSC complies. Other than that, this thing is basically a rocket with a passenger seat. A rocket and a jet engine provide 47,000 pounds of thrust. Three years in the making and built with the express purpose of shattering the land speed record, the Bloodhound SSC is expected to break 1,000mph later this year. The speed of sound is 768mph, just a bit faster than the current land speed record of 763mph from the Thrust SSC, which was designed by the same Richard Noble-lead team now working on the Bloodhound. Fastest Electric MotorcycleLIGHTNING MOTORCYCLES FLYING BANANA MK II
The apocryphally named Flying Banana MK II is actually a new version of the Lightning Motorcycles SuperBike production motorcycle. This August at the Bonneville Salt Flats, the Lightning bike set a new land speed record for electric bikes of 206.1mph. That speed was an average of several runs, and the top speed overall for the Lightning hit 208.4mph. Not only was that a record for battery-powered bikes, but it was also the first time an electric motorcycle broke into the exclusive 200mph club (which includes only 65 dino-powered bikes). Fastest Production MotorcycleSUZUKI HAYABUSA GSX1300R
It's named after a peregrine falcon that can dive bomb at speeds of 180 mph, so the Hayabusa had better be slick. With a six-speed transmission, its 16-valve, liquid cooled engine delivers 1340cc for achieving flight-like speeds of 194mph. At that velocity, you'll be applying another layer of dust to the already dingy Harley riders in your wake. Or maybe you could just keep yourself and your $13,699 investment safe and not weave between multiple lanes of slow-moving cars on gridlocked highways. Yeah, right.
Fastest RollercoasterFORMULA ROSSA
If you want to experience the world's greatest coasters, you must travel to Sandusky, Ohio to visit the Cedar Point amusement park. That's bad enough. We repeat: Sandusky, Ohio. But if you want to sample the world's fastest rollercoaster, you'll have to study up on arcane cultural mores and jet to the United Arab Emirates for Ferrari World's Formula Rossa ride. Designed to mimic a true Formula One racing experience, the Formula Rossa rollercoaster train looks like a Ferrari F1 car, and revs like one, too. With safety goggles donned, you'll accelerate to 150mph in 4.9 seconds, experiencing face-stretching G-forces and sharp turns of up to 70 degrees over the 1.4-mile track—the 4th-longest rollercoaster track in the world. Fastest Stand-Up RollercoasterRIDDLER'S REVENGE
Fastest Flying RollercoasterTATSU
Lucky you. As long as you're at Six Flags Magic Mountain, you can queue up for another tallest/fastest ride. This time it's Tatsu, the tallest and fastest "flying" rollercoaster, where you're strapped in underneath and parallel to the track to simulate the feeling of flying—and to conveniently steer vomit directly to the ground instead of toward other passengers. You'll reach 62mph and a peak cruising altitude of 170 feet during your flight.
Fastest ShoesPUMA COMPLETE TFX THESEUS 3 PRO
"Money, it's gotta be the shoes!" So spoke Mars Blackman (aka Spike Lee) in the famous—now vintage—Air Jordan commercials from 20 years ago. It wasn't true back then that the shoes made the man, and it's certainly not true now either. Still, the Puma Complete Theseus 3 Pro spiked running shoes earn the title of the world's fastest kicks. Why? Well, because they're frequently attached to the undisputed world's fastest man, Jamaica's Usain Bolt. Much like Anthony Weiner, Bolt owns an impossibly appropriate surname to go along with his multiple sprinting world records (see chart). Who could forget that the undeniably gifted, arguably arrogant 21-year-old casually smashed records at the 2008 Beijing summer Olympics after a day of sleeping in and grubbing on Chicken McNuggets? Bolt recently turned 25 and will be at it again next year for the 2012 summer Olympics in London. If he's to demolish more world records, an upgraded pair of Pumas could be marginally responsible. Yes, this is all about the shoes, after all. The $124.99 Complete TFX Theseus 3 Pro shoes are dedicated sprinting track shoes with synthetic microfiber uppers and soft microfiber suede linings. Each shoes includes eight 3/16" pyramid spikes and weighs about 5.6 ounces (for a size 9 men's).  THE FASTEST SHOE? Place some trainers on Usain Bolt and, voila, they become the world's fastest shoes. The Puma Complete Theseus 3 Pro, favored by Bolt, are spiked shoes designed specifically for the 100m and 200m. You can pick up some original 2008 Puma Theseus IIs on Ebay for around $40. Disclaimer: these shoes do not guarantee an Olympic gold medal.  THE USAIN BOLT DIET Read most health literature today and it'll sell you the idea that to be a world-class athlete you should have a high-protein regime meticulously planned by your personal trainer. But what did Bolt give credit to for his Olympic world record-smashing success? McDonald's Chicken McNuggets. According to the interviews after the race, he woke at 11 a.m., watched TV and ate his first batch of nuggets, then had a sleep, woke to refuel with more nuggets, then headed to the track. Usain Bolt's Personal Bests
Fastest TrainCRH380A
Last December, the Chinese Ministry of Railways set a world record for the fastest unmodified passenger train. On its way from Zaozhuang City in Shandong Province to Bengbu City in eastern Anhui Province, a CRH380A-type train topped out at 302mph, way more than enough to make American commuters pause for a bit of existential shame. This electric bullet train has a body of lightweight aluminum alloy and a power output of 9.6MW, putting the old Orient Express to shame. Even though the train's speed occurred during testing and normal operation speed maxes out at around 236mph, that's still fast enough to warrant a catchier name with a little braggadocio. How about the World Domination Choo-Choo? We'll work on it. Fastest HovercraftUNIVERSAL HOVERCRAFT UH19P
It was 1995 when American Bob Windt cranked up his modified UH19P hovercraft named Jenny II to a cheek-chapping 85.4mph at the World Hovercraft Championships in Peso de Regua, Portugal. The 19-foot Jenny II had a 100 horsepower V6 car engine powering its two propulsion fans. It seems appropriate that the hovercraft speed record was set 16 years ago. We get the feeling that the record could have been easily broken by now, if anyone were actually interested in hovercrafts. If you were into GI Joe and Transformers toys in the '80s, the lumbering vehicles that could traverse land and sea seemed like the pinnacle of inventiveness. However, in these days of predator drones, autonomous cars, and computer Jeopardy champions, hovercrafts aren't as enchanting as they once were. Perhaps if there were a combined hovercraft/planetarium/electric bull, we could muster up enough nostalgia to spend an afternoon on it—but only if we had a Groupon. Fastest ComputerTHE K COMPUTER
This June, Japan laid claim to the world's fastest supercomputer, usurping China and the United States before it—in a big way. Fujitsu's K Computer (Linux) is capable of a staggering 8.2 petaflops (8.2 quadrillion floating point operations per second), whereas the next system on the TOP500 supercomputer list runs at 2.57 petaflops. If supercomputing comes down to a numbers game, the K computer definitely knows how to play. Its architecture includes 68,544 2GHz 8-core SPARC64 VIIIfx processors (548,352 total cores) stuffed into 672 cabinets. It also brazenly uses a proprietary network interconnect called Tofu, apparently with no concern over possible spiked estrogen levels. Feeding all that computing power requires a hell of a lot of…power. The K computer's power consumption of 9.89MW is more than twice that of any top 10 supercomputer; it's roughly enough power for 10,000 houses. Is it worth it? Don't judge until you see how it handles Battlefield 3. Fastest Wood ChipperVERMEER BC600XL BRUSH CHIPPER
Everyone loves that scene from Fargo where the guy who played a nihilist in The Big Lebowski gets caught feeding body parts into a wood chipper. If only he'd had the Vermeer BC600XL, he may have finished the job fast enough to get off scot free. There are plenty of bigger, badder wood chippers out there that will handle more volume in a short amount of time. However, when it comes down to the pure speed with which the chipper converts branches and limbs of appropriate size into mulch nuggets, this little buzzsaw takes the prize. The BC600XL can handle material of up to six inches in diameter. And although it's only packing a modest 27 horsepower engine under the hood, when it turns on the speed, it can process 230 feet of material per minute—an industry best. Fastest Espresso MachineSWISS ESPRESSO EXTRACTOR
Have you ever been struck with the sudden, terrifying realization that your heart rate is normal and your hands are no longer shaking? You need a strong coffee injection, and fast. It's the Swiss Espresso Extractor to the rescue. In September 2008, a trio of Swiss inventors claimed the record for Fastest Espresso Machine when their contraption pumped out 11.5 liters (just less than three gallons) of espresso coffee in one minute. The automated espresso maker takes up about as much space as a restaurant refrigerator and works similarly to any other coffee maker, just faster and on a much larger scale. So if you have the space for the machine, a large vat of coffee beans, and a big bucket, you too could produce enough espresso to kill a mid-sized water buffalo in 60 seconds. Sometimes you just need that extra boost. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Chrome Web App of the Week: Rdio Posted: 10 Oct 2011 12:24 PM PDT While everyone's been busy raving about Spotify finally coming to the United States, Rdio quietly continues to get better and better. Last week, in an effort to incite new customers to subscribe to their awesome collection of streaming tunes, the internet music juggernaut announced that it would provide a usage-based free monthly music streaming service to their customers that allows for a finite number of songs per month to be listened to. With this in mind, we've opted to make Rdio our Chrome Web App of the Week. With its easy to navigate interface and high quality sound, Rdio is a music lover's dream. With over 12 million songs to choose from, it's almost impossible to not find something on Rdio that'll please your ears. If you're feeling indecisive about what to listen to, you can also turn to other Rdio listeners for suggestions or hunt down your connections from Twitter or Facebook as well as a number of popular online mail services. Once you've hunted down some tunes you love, add them to your Rdio collection, tag them to listen to later or, as a premium subscriber, transfer them to your mobile device to listen to later.
Given it's deep feature set, expansive catalog of music, connectivity options and the ability to kick out the jams from any internet connected rig, tablet and most smartphones, Rdio is a great choice for any music aficionado to get their groove on to. Be sure to check back every Monday for another edition of Maximum PC's Chrome Web App of the Week.
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| Microsoft's October Patch Tuesday Plugs Up 23 Spooky Security Holes Posted: 10 Oct 2011 10:53 AM PDT
All but two of the bulletins deal with stopping remote code execution. Out of those six, two are labeled as "Critical" and deal with Microsoft's .NET Framework, Silverlight, Windows, and Internet Explorer. Every other bulletin is labeled as "Important," which describes "a vulnerability whose exploitation could result in compromise of the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of users' data, or of the integrity or availability of processing resources." It's the second highest of four ratings, the others being Critical (No. 1), Moderate (No. 3), and Low (No. 4). You can view Microsoft's full Advance Notification for October 2011 here. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| John Carmack Says iD Will Take A Console-First Approach To Games Posted: 10 Oct 2011 09:54 AM PDT
"You can choose to design a game around the specs of a high-end PC and make console versions that fail to hit the design point, or design around the specs of the consoles and have a high-end PC provide incremental quality improvements," Carmack told Kotaku over the weekend. "We chose the latter." "We do not see the PC as the leading platform for games," Carmack said, although he admitted that top-of-the-line PCs can deliver a much better experience than the less-powerful consoles – but it simply doesn't make financial sense for iD to toss its resources at PC-centric titles . "That statement will enrage some people, but it is hard to characterize it otherwise; both console versions will have larger audiences than the PC version." Tim Willits, Rage's creative director, told the publication that the console-first approach lead to "incredibly solid and bug-free 360 and PS3 versions" that had none of the problems of the PC launch -- although some angry Rage owners have suggested that that approach is the source of the PC troubles, instead. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Adata is All Pumped Up Over Its SandForce-based XM13 mSATA Solid State Drive Posted: 10 Oct 2011 09:43 AM PDT
"The 'rapid start' usage of Tablet PCs has had an impact on the consumer desktop market, causing rising hopes and expectations for performance," Adata said in a statement. "The future market is expected to demand that boot devices combine the power of rapid, efficient operation with a thin profile and price competitiveness. To this end, ADATA has set its sights squarely on the market trends of the near future, applying the full force of the company's development capability and years of experience in memory storage. The result is the introduction of the XM13 mSATA SSD, incorporating mSATA memory cache, low power consumption, and implementing the latest SandForce controller." Despite the tiny package, the XM13 packs a performance punch, at least when compared with other SATA 3Gbps drives. Adata rates the read and write speeds at up to 280MB/s and 260MB/s, respectively, with 12,500 random read and write IOPS. The XM13 will ship in 30GB and 60GB capacities. Image Credit: Adata | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Intel Paves SSD Roadmap for 2012 Posted: 10 Oct 2011 09:09 AM PDT
Intel listed several SSD models already released or soon to debut in Q4 2011 that will carry the chip maker into the first quarter fo 2012, according to the roadmap VR-Zone obtained. These include the 520 Series (Cherryville), 710 Series (Lyndonville), and 720 Series (Ramsdale). The 720 Series is the only one Intel hasn't yet launched. As the second quarter of 2012 rolls around, Intel will introduce its Ramsdale MLC in 800GB and 400GB capacities. These will sport a PCI Express interface and use 25nm MLC-HET NAND flash memory. The second quarter will also see the launch of King Crest, a followup to the 520 Cherryville line. It will also feature 25nm MLC-HET NAND flash memory, but in a 2.5-inch form factor and a SATA 6Gpbs interface. The same applies to Intel's Taylorsville SSD line, which will launch in the fourth quarter. These will ship in 800GB, 400GB, and 200GB capacities. Also slated for a Q4 release is Intel's Lincoln Crest line. These drives will take aim at mainstream consumers and succeed Intel's 320 Series. Image Credit: Intel | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Windows Phone Chief Criticizes Android and iPhone 4S Posted: 10 Oct 2011 08:37 AM PDT
Lee certainly things so. When asked if he sees Apple's iPhone 4S as a missed opportunity that Microsoft can capitalize on, he said he does. "Yes I do. I think, from an end user's experience on the software, there's a lot of interesting reviews written comparing us to iOS 5 and the amount that we've got done in 11 months -- some people are making comparisons of pace," Lee said. One thing in particular Lee is excited about is the number of new features crammed into Mango without the "clutter and confusion" of other platforms. This is something he sees as particularly problematic on Google's Android platform. "I think Android is heading down this chaotic phase," Lee said. "We want to enable OEMs, we want to enable operators, but we don't want chaos. If you've used some of the Android phones, some of them are great, but some of them are not great. But it's random. And it feels like, with some of them, that you've had several cooks in the kitchen trying to bake different things with the same thing. Whereas we have much more coherency in the totality of what somebody gets when they buy our phone." You can read the rest of his interview here. Image Credit: wpcentral.com |
Civil liberties groups are up in arms today with the news that California Governor Jerry Brown has 
Verizon's 4G LTE rollout has been accompanied by a market increase in the price of smartphones. Most of the carrier's 4G models have been starting their lives at a $300 price point. The new 
The Kindle Fire isn't even due to ship to consumers for another month, but already it has attracted its first patent suit. Smartphone Technologies LLC, which as far as we can tell doesn't actually make anything, has 
We're already nearing the halfway point of October, and that means another Patch Tuesday. To help prepare for tomorrow's deluge of updates, Microsoft has issued its Advanced Notification for this month, which lays out eight security bulletins outlining 23 security holes across a range of software, including Windows 7/Vista/XP/Server and others.
With all the bugs and graphical glitches plaguing the release of Rage, it's no surprise to hear that John Carmack's getting frustrated. On the other hand, the console versions of the game don't rely on updated Nvidia and AMD drivers and they've had a remarkably smooth ride. Maybe Carmack was thinking of that when he recently said that iD, the classic PC developers responsible for the paradigm-shifting Doom and Quake series, will be creating games with a console-first focus going into the future.
Adata is totally stoked about its new high performance XM13 mSATA solid state drive. According to Adata, the XM13 is the fastest SSD in its class and represents the company's "increasingly strong R&D capabilities" while also establishing a firm foundation in the small form factor market. The XM13 uses 25nm MLC NAND flash memory and a modern SandForce chipset.
One thing Intel has never been very good at is keeping its roadmaps under lock and key. Perhaps that's by design, or perhaps not. Either way, yet another roadmap belonging to the Santa Clara chip maker has been leaked to the Web, this latest one detailing the company's plans in the SSD space for the rest of 2011 and on through next year. Here's what you can expect.
In an interview with The Seattle Times, Andy Lee, president of Microsoft's Windows Phone division, took a few potshots at the competition while talking up his company's Mango platform. Mango, or Windows Phone 7.5, was introduced to some existing Windows Phone users last month and introduces 500 new features. But is it better than the competition?| 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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Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's 
