General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article

Epic Games Confirms They Are Working on a PC Exclusive

Posted: 08 Apr 2012 04:49 PM PDT

UnrealEpic games is known these days for Xbox titles such as Gears of War, however it's sometimes easy to forget they were also one of the all-time greats in the PC arena. The Unreal series pushed the boundaries of competitive multiplayer, and even PC hardware well ahead of anything else of its day. A few select titles such as the original Gears of War and Bulletstorm made their way to the PC, however the controls just didn't transfer well to the mouse and keyboard. Those longing for the good ole days of Epic PC exclusives finally have something to look forward to, with Design Director Cliff Bleszinski confirming the existence of a PC only title to panel attendees at PAX East. 

Epic Games president Mike Capps told reporters from Joystiq after the panel that the unannounced PC exclusive they referenced is well underway, and they have no plans to port it to the console now, or anytime in the future. That's not much to go on, however with E3 just a few months away we might not have to wait long to learn more. It is entirely possible the title could also be among the first to show off the capabilities of the next generation Unreal engine.

There you have it folks, the Epic of days gone by is finally back. If the game ends up being a free to play MMO based in the Pokemon universe I apologize in advance for getting your hopes up. 

Rumor: Nvidia Tegra 4 Roadmap Leaks

Posted: 08 Apr 2012 10:15 AM PDT

TegraNVidia has a homerun on its hands with the new GTX 680, however in the tablet arena they are still struggling to carve out a niche for themselves. Dozens of Android tablets are sporting the latest and greatest Tegra 3, however Apple claims to have them beat when it comes to graphics horsepower, and we've even heard rumblings that a lack of built in LTE could hamper future OEM adoption. That's not to say the Tegra 3 family isn't great lineup of SoCs, but the factors listed above could be the reason VR-Zone in China has caught wind on the specifications for Tegra 4, codename "Wayne". Marketing 101, if you don't like the discussion, change the subject.

The first Tegra 4 chip should arrive in Q1 2013 under the name "T40", and will be a 1.8GHz quad core part. Built in LTE support will arrive in Q3, along with 3 new parts with clock frequencies ranging from 1.2-2.0 GHz. All four SoCs will be based on the ARM Cortex-A15, and are being designed to suit both 7" and 10" tablets. Of course all of this is still unconfirmed by NVidia, and we won't know for sure until Computex in June. 

specs

(Image Credit VR-Zone)

Hotel Caught Injecting Banner Ads on “Complimentary” Wi-Fi Network

Posted: 08 Apr 2012 09:29 AM PDT

RG NetsIf you are like us, no hotel makes the reservation cut until access to free Wi-Fi has been confirmed. The quality and speeds are always a bit of a crap shoot, but it turns out it sub 1Mbps connections isn't the only thing you might need to worry about next time you hit the road. When web developer Justin Watt booked a room at the Courtyard Marriott in Times Square, he noticed something wasn't quite right with the pages he was viewing.

After a bit of investigation Watt discovered the hotspot was injecting Javascript code into every webpage. The result? A full banner ad placed smack dab on the top or bottom of every site visited. Watt traced the activity back to a gateway belonging to a company called RG Nets, a firm whose only products involve monetizing Wi-Fi networks. RG Nets website is pretty open with how the technology works, and while it is indeed clever, it's also extremely seedy. 

"Arbitrary HTML page rewriting enables the operator to inject static or dynamic advertising onto every web page the end-user views. When combined with a handful of simple rewriting recipes, interstitial advertising and even forced viewing of video content are easily attained".

Think that's bad? It isn't the only service they offer. A separate section of the site details ways to selectively profile and throttle individual users, allowing the Hotel to sell heavy users a fast tier of service. 

Would these Wi-Fi shenanigans change your opinion of a Hotel? Or do they have the right to monetize their networks? Check out the promotional video and let us know what you think in the comments below. 

Asus Confirms Transformer Prime GPS Issues With New Dongle Accessory Shipping April 16th

Posted: 08 Apr 2012 08:55 AM PDT

transformerThe Asus Transformer Prime is far and away one of the most popular Android tablets on the market, and while that isn't saying much, we were still a bit surprised when consumer reports left it off the list of best tablets in favor of the Sony TabletP. It's far from a perfect device, but it does at the very least offer a few innovative features for those who still feel the iPad is an oversized iPod Touch. Owners of the device seem to have relatively few complaints, however the GPS has always been a sore spot. Turn by turn navigation apps have been all but unusable, and teardowns have identified that it may in-fact be a design flaw.

Asus on the other hand refused to acknowledge the issue, and presumably were hoping the internet fervor would die down. Cooler heads have prevailed however, and Asus has not only admitted the problem, but they have confirmed that an add on GPS dongle will start shipping on April 16th. Xda-developers who claim to have seen the dongle describe it as "minimalist", and that it connects to the Transformers proprietary connector.

We won't know until April 16th if Asus plans to give the accessory away for free, though it seems like the only fair thing to do given the circumstances.
Posted by Shri Krishna

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