General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article

Acer, Toshiba, & Asus Unveiling New Windows 8 Tablet Hardware at Computex Next Week

Posted: 03 Jun 2012 08:46 AM PDT

Windows 8 TabletOpinions on Windows 8 as a desktop operating system are definitely a mixed bag. While most people would describe the fusion of Metro and the Desktop as awkward at best, even the biggest of critics have to admit the potential for Metro on tablets is huge. We've had three release previews at this point to give us an idea of what the operating system will look like, but hardware could make or break Microsoft's tablet aspirations. PC OEM's have tripped over themselves trying to duplicate the industrial designs consumers crave, and if Windows 8 ships on 4 inch thick square tablets, they might as well not even bother. Our first glimpse of new Windows 8 tablet hardware will be on display next week at Computex Taipei, with Acer, Toshiba, & Asus showing off new designs.

According to Bloomberg the Asus booth will be the one to watch, as they will have both a Tegra based Windows 8 RT device, and an Intel X86 tablet running side by side. By contrast Acer has confirmed its demo unit will be powered by Intel, and Toshiba is using a Texas Instruments ARM chip for its latest. It will be interesting to find out from the vendors themselves exactly what compromises must be made in size, weight, and battery life if you opt for an x86 design over ARM. I'm guessing more than one Maximum PC reader would be interested in a x86 Windows 8 "Transformer Like" tablet, but of course this will all depend on form factor.   

Google Revealing “The Next Dimension” of Google Maps on June 6th

Posted: 03 Jun 2012 07:51 AM PDT

GoogleGoogle Maps has long been considered the gold standard for mapping services, despite the heavy competition from Bing and countless others. Between Street View, Google Earth, and the amazing turn-by-turn navigation found on Android, it's hard to imagine the service getting any better. Obliviously Google would disagree with me however, and are getting ready to release "the next dimension" on June 6th at 12:30 PM ET.

Brian McCleendon, VP of Google Maps and Google Earth is rumored to be hosting the event, and will be demonstrating a ton of new features. Based on both the name, and the most obvious missing feature, it is expected 3D maps will finally go live. Interestingly enough, this is one area where Bing really shines. According to Google the new features "will help people get where they want to go – both physically and virtually".

Google's last minute timing of the event is likely an attempt to get ahead of the press black hole that surrounds Apple during WWDC. 

iFixit / Chipworks Samsung Galaxy S III Teardown

Posted: 03 Jun 2012 06:00 AM PDT

SamsungDuring my years here at Maximum PC I've noticed a strong correlation between our audience, and the desire to rip perfectly good things apart just to see how they work. When it comes to modern smartphones this can be a bit problematic because they don't always go back together all that well. The use of proprietary screws, glue, and other nasty "innovations" threaten to make future computing devices completely unserviceable. Thankfully sites such as iFixit have popped up to do the heavy lifting for us, and risk their $600+ phones so you don't have to. Today's science experiment is the Samsung Galaxy S III. 

Most of the items exposed post mortem were already known, but at least now we can see how they all fit together. Up close pictures of the 8-megapixel camera, 2,100mAh battery, and Exynos Quad Core CPU look great, however there is always a catch. The Glass on the display is "fused" to the Galaxy S III frame. This means any accidental drop that breaks the glass will be an expensive, curse inducing mistake. We wish manufacturers would keep reparability in mind when they design phones and gadgets, however the desire to make them thinner and lighter isn't helping.

Hit jump to see the step by step teardown.   
Posted by Shri Krishna

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