General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article

Microsoft SkyDrive Adds Desktop Clients And Paid Upgrade Options, Threatens Existing Users' 25GB Of Storage

Posted: 23 Apr 2012 10:51 AM PDT

The new SkyDrive features added late last week were, apparently, just the tip of the iceberg; today, Microsoft unleashed a new and improved preview version of its cloud-storage service that adds local SkyDrive clients, default Live Mesh-like functionality, the ability to pay for extra storage and more. Heads-up for existing users, though; your SkyDrive allotment could shrink from its current 25GB down to just 7GB if you don't act fast.

The stand-alone SkyDrive for Windows program is now available for Windows 7, 8 and Vista users; a Mac OS X client is also available for people who like to mix apples and oranges. Like Dropbox, SkyDrive will stay synced with Microsoft's servers and consist of a single folder that you can add sub-folders and files to. (Sorry, Live Mesh users; SkyDrive can't -- and won't -- sync arbitrary folders as that service can, though on the plus side, Microsoft hasn't killed Live Mesh off yet.)

Drag-and-drop functionality is enabled for the SkyDrive clients, and its users can use the stand-alone desktop app to add files up to 2GB in size to their SkyDrive. The Web-version and apps currently limit maximum file sizes to 300MB. Users with the desktop clients installed will also be able to use it to remotely access their PCs in case they forgot to plop an important file into the cloud.

Now, for the downside: Microsoft's dropping the amount of free SkyDrive storage down to 7GB. If you signed up for a 25GB SkyDrive prior to April 22, you can keep all those gigs by logging in to your SkyDrive and clicking the "SkyDrive's free storage is changing – claim your free 25GB" link at the top of the page (like I just did). It's a limited time offer, though. If you already had more than 4GB of crap in your SkyDrive, Microsoft upgraded you automatically.

You can (finally) pay for more SkyDrive space now, too. $10/year nets you an extra 20GB, $25/year nets you an extra 50GB, and $50/year will set up with 100GB worth of additional storage. Those prices ain't that shabby.

We'll need to spend some time playing around with the newly improved SkyDrive before we know whether or not it's evolved into a true Dropbox competitor. In the meantime, we recommend reading the Microsoft blog post outlining all the new SkyDrive features in detail.

Nvidia Clues Us In On When "It's Coming"

Posted: 23 Apr 2012 10:22 AM PDT

Last week, Nvidia teased us with a vague picture of a black cooler shroud with the words "It's coming" emblazoned underneath the Nvidia logo. We still may not know what "it" is, but now we know when it's coming: this Saturday, April 28th at 7:30 P.M. Pacific time. In a new article up on the Nvidia website, the company says it "will be making a special announcement at GeForce LAN / NVIDIA Gaming Festival (NGF) 2012 in Shanghai, China."

As we said before, Nvidia's keeping mum about the details, but the scuttlebutt -- supposedly verified by "independent sources" -- is that Big Green will be rolling out the dual-GPU GTX 690 at that point, presumably for approximately a gajillion dollars. Others expect the announcement will be for the single-GPU GTX 670 or 670 Ti, which makes a bit more sense, seeing as how Nvidia is having trouble keeping GTX 680s in stock already.

Unleashing a dual-GPU card would only lessen the already-lean availability of the new GeForce cards, while the appearance of the GTX 670 Ti could possibly allow Nvidia to start making money off of GPUs that couldn't quite make the grade as a GTX 680. (The GTX 670 Ti is rumored to be basically the same as the GTX 680, only with one of the eight streaming multiprocessors (SMX) disabled, thereby giving it fewer working CUDA cores.) Still, like we said, the rumor mill says the GTX 690 is "it."

But hey, we're just stabbing in the dark here. The answer to what "it" really is will be here in less than a week.

Nude Revenge Photos on Facebook Earns Ex-Boyfriend 6 Month Sentence

Posted: 23 Apr 2012 07:27 AM PDT

Different people handle breakups in different ways. Some might find it appropriate to stand outside their ex's home and blast Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" from an outstretched boombox. Others simply move on, perhaps glad the experience is over with. But there's always that one person who does something completely inappropriate like, say, posting nude photos of their ex on Facebook, a decision that earned a scorned Australian lover a six months sentence.

According to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald, Ravshan "Ronnie" Usmanov told police he posted unclothed photos of his ex-girlfriend because "she hurt me and it was the only thing [I had] to hurt her."

He allegedly posted half a dozen nude photos depicting his ex-girlfriend "in certain positions and clearly showing" her private bits, top and bottom. After posting the photos, Usmanov emailed his ex and told her what he did.

Usmanov pleaded guilty but is appealing the six month home detention sentence.

Asus Launches Lower Cost Transformer Pad TF300 for $379

Posted: 23 Apr 2012 07:02 AM PDT

Android tablet makers are finally responding to the memo that clearly states in order to compete in the tablet space, you have to lower your price points. Enter Asus and its just launched Transformer Pad TF300. Pricing starts at a comparatively affordable $379, a solid price point for a 10.1-inch Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) tablet with an Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM.

That's a full $120 less than the Transformer Prime, and like it's pricier sibling, the TF300 sports an IPS panel with a 1280x800 resolution, albeit there have been reports that the image quality isn't quite on par. The TF300 also eschews the Transformer Prime's brushed aluminum chassis for a plastic case.

In other words, there are tradeoffs and concessions related to the lower price tag, but for 379 bones, Asus has put together a impressive looking tablet, at least on paper. In addition to the above mentioned features, the TF300 has a 1.2MP front-facing camera, 8MP rear-facing camera, built-in stereo speakers with Asus SonicMaster technology, microSD card slot, 16GB ($379) or 32GB ($399) eMMC flash memory, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, micro HDMI slot, 2-in-1 audio jack, and 22 W/h Li-polymer battery good for up to 10 hours of use.

The TF300 is available to purchase online now and in stores starting April 30, 2012.

Image Credit: Asus

FBI: Computers Infected with DNSChanger Trojan Will Lose Internet Access in July

Posted: 23 Apr 2012 06:41 AM PDT

Hundreds of thousands of infected PCs could be without Internet access beginning July 9, 2012, the day the FBI is planning to pull the plug on servers it seized that had been used to push ads to computers infected with a malware Trojan called DNSChanger. Systems infected with DNSChanger end up being redirected to the servers that were once under the control of the cybercriminals, but now belong to the FBI.

In cooperation with Estonian police, the FBI was able to take control of the servers, and the decision was made to keep them online so that the millions of infected PCs could still have Internet access. It's estimated that some 350,000 PCs are still infected with the DNSChanger Trojan, and if they're not cleaned up by July 9, they'll be unable to connect to the Internet. That's because the DNSChanger Trojan works its malicious mojo by intercepting DNS server requests sent by infected PCs whenever an Internet user clicks on a hyperlink or manually types in a URL. It's a fairly simple trick that resulted in about $14 million in illegal gains for the cybercrooks behind the scam.

If your PC is one of the 350,000 that are still infected, the Internet will essentially go dark beginning July 9. There a couple of different ways you can check. The first one is to visit DWCG's website and run through a quick (and free) diagnostic that simply entails clicking a URL. The second way is to manually check your system's DNS settings, directions for which can be found here (PDF).

Source: Forbes

Image Credit: DWCG

At Long Last, Intel Officially Launches 22nm Ivy Bridge with 3D Transistors, USB 3.0

Posted: 23 Apr 2012 06:06 AM PDT

Stop whatever it is you're doing and run through your office or down the street yelling, 'Ivy Bridge is here! Ivy Bridge is here!' Sure, you'll elicit funny stares as you lap the water cooler and blow by accounting's set of cubicles, but those 'in the know' will understand what all the fuss is about. They'll also be appreciative of the heads up that, finally, Intel's Ivy Bridge launch is official.

According to several online reports, Intel officially rolled out the 3D Transistor carpet today with a line of Ivy Bridge processors that total a baker's dozen. All 13 chips are flavored quad-core with a mix of Core i5 and i7 toppings, most of which are aimed at desktops. Intel will serve the lower end (and less expensive) dual-core i3 and i5 models in the Spring.

"This is the world's first 22nm product and we'll be delivering about 20 percent more processor performance using 20 percent less average power," Intel's Kirk Skaugen told BBC.

Skaugen says there are three factories kicking out Ivy Bridge processors and a fourth will go online sometime later this year. According to Skaugen, this is "Intel's fastest ramp ever." Demand could still end up outstripping supply, but to keep this from being an extended paper launch, Intel's Ivy Bridge production is 50 percent higher than it was for Sandy Bridge early on.

In addition to more processing performance and less power consumption, Ivy Bridge brings on-chip SuperSpeed USB 3.0 to the table. It also sports improved graphics and, for the first time, OpenCL 1.1 and DirectX 11.
Posted by Shri Krishna

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