General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article

FCC Filing Reveals Sony Chromebook

Posted: 26 Mar 2012 04:54 PM PDT

If Acer and Samsung thought that they were forever going to have the Chromebook market all to themselves, we've some seriously bad news for the two companies. A Japanese rival seems to be gearing up to invade what has essentially been their collective fiefdom till now. Hit the jump for more.

Laptop Reviews recently discovered documents pertaining to what appears to be a Tegra-based Sony chromebook on the the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) website. Contained in the FCC filing are some pictures of the device and a user manual that identifies it as a VAIO VCC111 Series computer.

One of the pictures features a right-angle ruler being used to measure the Chromebook depth, which is around 21cm or 8.27-inches. Other pictures contained in the FCC filing reveal the presence of an 11.6-inch Samsung LCD, D-Max webcam, Huawei Gobi 3000 3G module, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth,  HDMI port, SD card reader and two USB 2.0 ports.

But perhaps the most interesting bit is the processor, which is simply identified as "T25" in a sticker on the Sony Chromebook's bottom. Laptop Reviews suspects the T25 could actually be Nvidia's Tegra 2 T25 ARM chip. If that indeed turns out to be the case, it will be the first ARM-based Chromebook on the market.

Microsoft Stumbles After Galaxy Nexus Smokes Windows Phone In Staged Challenge

Posted: 26 Mar 2012 09:10 AM PDT

Microsoft unveiled the "Smoked By Windows Phone" campaign at CES; basically, if your non-Windows Phone could perform a certain task faster than a Windows Phone, Microsoft would give you $100. The company upped the ante recently, offering users at Microsoft stores a $1,000 laptop if they managed to smoke a Windows Phone. Well, one blogger managed to smoke a Windows Phone with a Galaxy Nexus, only to be disqualified after the fact by rules employees created on the spot.

Sahas Katta of the SkatterTech blog was tasked with displaying weather from two different cities faster than the employee, whose Windows Phone already had weather-sporting Live tiles pinned to her home screen. Katta, however, had previously disabled the lock screen on his Nexus and pinned two weather widgets to his home screen out of pure luck (or so he claims); after a countdown, all he had to do was press the power button and scream "Done" while the Microsoft employee was still swiping away her lock screen.

After the smoking, the Microsoft employee and her manager said Katta actually lost "just because," then said the weather information had to be from cities in two different states -- a technicality that the duo apparently made up on the spot. To make matters even worse, they then asked Katta to pose in front of a "My Android was smoked by Windows Phone" sign before leaving.

Katta penned a blog post about the ordeal, which took off and prompted Microsoft evangelist Ben Rudolph to offer Katta a rematch on a random challenge. Fortunately, Rudolph went even further after some bad press around the blogosphere; this morning, he tweeted that he had a free laptop, Windows Phone and an apology waiting for Katta if Katta sends him an email.

(By the way, I'm not trying to bash Microsoft this morning; just reporting on the news, folks.)

Image credit: 1800pocketpc.com

Windows Live Messenger Blocking Pirate Bay Links

Posted: 26 Mar 2012 09:03 AM PDT

Internet service providers aren't the only companies getting in on the copyright cop action; Microsoft recently began blocking Windows Live Messenger messages containing links to the Pirate Bay. If you try to send a Pirate Bay URL to a buddy, WLM will now slam on the brakes and tell you that piratebay.se has been "reported as unsafe."

To be sure, a segment of the files available on the site contain malware, but most Pirates report running into only a small number of infected files. And if safety was the primary concern, wouldn't the instant messaging service block links to other file sharing sites, as well? TorrentFreak, which broke the news, reports that "All of the other large BitTorrent sites remain unaffected, even though they offer content that's identical to The Pirate Bay."

Don't try being smart and skirt the ban with Pidgin, Digsby or another chat client, either; TorrentFreak beat you to the punch and reports that Pirate Bay links sent over the WLM with those clients are still banished to the aether.

Next Generation Consoles "Unlikely" to Block Used Games, GameStop Says

Posted: 26 Mar 2012 07:31 AM PDT

GameStop's cash cow is its used game business. Sure, you can also buy new titles, game accessories, and even tablets at your local GameStop, and you can't purchase a game without the guy behind the counter pressuring you into pre-ordering half a dozen upcoming titles. But used games are the fuel that makes the company's engine run. You can imagine, then, why GameStop refuses to believe that next generation consoles will try to kill off the used game business model by linking software to your specific hardware. Sounds unfathomable, doesn't it?

GameStop agrees, though the notion has been thrown out there. In fact, there have been several rumors about how next generation game consoles could snuff out the used game market. One of them is that the Xbox 720, or whatever the 360's successor will be called, could ship without an optical drive and rely on a combination of streaming titles and local storage. Another rumor has Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo blocking used games by linking software to your hardware.

"We think it's unlikely that there would be that next-gen console because the model simply hasn't been proven to work," GameStop CEO dPaul Raines said during an earnings call, according to DigitalTrends. "Remember that used video games have a residual value. Remember that GameStop generates $1.2 billion of trade credits around the world with out used games mode. So consider taking used games out of that, you'd have to find new ways to sell the games, and our partners at the console companies have great relationships with us."

It's hard to imagine hardware makers joining a crusade against used games led by publishers, let alone all three major players taking a stand. Even if two out of the three main console makers were to try and kill off used games, it would give the third remaining player a huge advantage over the competition, so either all three would have to be all-in, or none at all.

Our opinion? Used games aren't going anywhere any time soon. What's your take?

Image Credit: GameStop

Micron Ready to Spend $1.5 Billion Acquiring Elpida

Posted: 26 Mar 2012 06:52 AM PDT

It was being reported last week that Micron Technology issued a bid of $1.5 billion to take over Elpida Memory, which had fallen on tough times after a prolonged slump in the DRAM market, and it now appears as though Micron is the frontrunner to acquire the bankrupt memory maker. Toshiba and Globalfoundries were two other names that had been thrown around as potential suitors, but either they didn't bid, or they were outbid by Micron.

News and rumor site DigiTimes first reported Micron's $1.5 billion desire to scoop up Elpida, and Fudzilla is talking like it's now a foregone conclusion. These aren't the most reliable sources in the world, but where there's smoke, there could be fire.

As Fudzilla points out, Elpida's primary asset is its Hiroshima plant worth approximately $1 billion. This would be the prize possession in any takeover and would allow Micron to expand its operations without having to build a new fab of its own. None of this chump change, of course, but Micron is sitting pretty with $2.1 billion cash and short term investments, according to Micron's Q2 2012 financial report (PDF).

Image Credit: Micron

T-Mobile to Slash Workforce, Close Down Call Centers

Posted: 26 Mar 2012 06:28 AM PDT

Without the benefit of a merger with AT&T and even after receiving a big time breakup fee in the neighborhood of $4 billion, T-Mobile is finding it difficult to forge ahead with business as usual. T-Mobile, currently the fourth largest carrier in the U.S. behind Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint, reportedly plans to shut down several call centers and reduce its workforce by 1,900 as the wireless carrier attempts to cut costs.

T-Mobile is closing nearly a third of its two dozen call centers, bringing the number down to 17 over the course of the next three months, CNN reports. This will actually result in the elimination of 3,300 positions at the outset, though T-Mobile will hire 1,400 workers to flesh out its remaining call centers. It's unclear if those receiving pink slips will have the option of relocating.

"These are not easy steps to take, but they are necessary to realize efficiency in order to invest for growth," T-Mobile USA Chief Philipp Humm said in a statement.

T-Mobile still makes a profit, but it's also spending large amounts of cash to build a better network capable of competing with the big three. Parent company Deutsche Telekom would like nothing more than to sell its U.S. operations, though after the failed AT&T acquisition, finding a buyer is no easy task.

Image Credit: Flicker (Jim Legans, Jr)

Digital Storm Designs Custom Chassis for New ‘Aventum’ Build

Posted: 26 Mar 2012 06:03 AM PDT

If you've been reading Maximum PC for any length of time, then you're probably familiar with Digital Storm, one of a handful of remaining boutique system builders that hasn't been gobbled up by a bulk OEM. Just don't tell the folks at Digital Storm they're simply a bunch of system builders, it turns out they have a knack for designing computer cases, too. Meet the Aventum, a new system housed inside a patent pending chassis "designed by Digital Storm engineers from the inside out."

"Unlike any other chassis, Aventum's intelligent design enables it to exceed the demands of the most power hungry enthusiasts, gamers and creative professionals," remarked Rajeev Kuruppu, Digital Storm's Director of Product Development. "We've spent months analyzing every conceivable way to effectively eliminate heat from Aventum and as a result, our engineers devised new systems that have never been attempted. Every integral component and every zone is constantly being monitored so our customers can ensure their dream machine is always delivering optimal performance."

Digital Storm claims it scrutinized every aspect of Aventum's chassis during the design process, and the result is a custom chassis with a proprietary thermal exhaust chamber, intelligent 5 thermal zone regulation, and software that controls 13 customizable fans. It also houses Digital Storm's Cryo-TEC liquid cooling system.

There are four baseline configurations to choose from. A Level 1 system starts at $3,859 and includes an Intel Core i7 2700K processor, 16GB of DDR3-1600MHz memory, EVGA GeForce GTX 680 graphics card, 120GB SSD + 1TB HDD, Asus P8Z68-V Pro motherboard, DVD writer, 1050W Corsair Pro Silver power supply, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

A Level 2 system ups the ante with an Intel Core i7 3930K processor and adds a second videocard in SLI, swaps the motherboard for an Asus Sabertooth X79 board, and upgrades the power supply to a 1200W Corsair Pro Gold Series. It sells for $4,985.

The Level 3 configuration starts at $6,687 and includes an Intel Core i7 3960X processor, 16GB of DDR3-2133MHz Corsair Dominator GT memory, three Kepler cards in SLI, an Asus Rampage IV Extreme X79 board, and a 1500W Silverstone power supply.

Finally, the Level 4 system is essentially a workstation built for both work and play. It starts at $7,856 and includes two Intel Xeon E5-2630 processors, 32GB of DDR3-1333MHZ ECC RAM, three EVGA GeForce GTX 680 graphics cards, 180GB SSD + 1TB HDD, EVGA Classified SR-X motherboard, a 1500W Silverstone PSU, and the same slot-loading DVD writer found on all four configurations.

Aventum Product Page

Image Credit: Digital Storm
Posted by Shri Krishna

Total Pageviews

statcounter

View My Stats