General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article

HP Omni 27 Quad Review

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 02:39 PM PDT

One step forward, and a giant leap back

THE DISPLAYS IN HP's TouchSmart series top out at 23 inches. To get anything bigger, you must move over to HP's Omni all-in-one lineup. The upper limit here is a ginormous 27 inches, but you won't get that slick touch user interface, and you'll need to sacrifice performance to keep the price tag in the same $1,250 neighborhood occupied by the TouchSmart 520-1070 we reviewed in March. We're not convinced those are good trade-offs.

Both models feature an HDMI input that allows you to use the display independent of the computer, and that's easily one of their best features. Plug in a set-top box or a gaming console, and the machines can serve double duty as a computer and a 1080p display for watching TV or playing games. There's just one problem: You can't use the wireless keyboard to control or mute the volume when the computer is being used solely as a display. Instead, you must push the PC/Game mode button to bring up an onscreen control panel, press the minus button three times to select the volume control function, and then repeatedly press the plus or minus buttons to adjust the volume. To mute the volume, you must turn it to zero—which takes 14 button presses from full volume—or switch the display back into PC mode. That will drive you nuts at every commercial break and every time the phone rings.

The 27-inch screen is great for watching movies and TV, but your eyes won't like using this computer for long stretches.

We tend to dismiss the speakers in all-in-ones because the small enclosures just can't produce good bass response. Connecting HP's Pulse subwoofer (a $130 option) into the Omni 27 Quad's subwoofer output made us realize how well HP's integrated speakers produce mid- and high frequencies. You might, however, find an even better sub from a mainstream speaker manufacturer. Polk Audio's PSW10, for instance, has an amp that produces 50 watts RMS to the Pulse's 30 watts, and it features a 10-inch driver compared to the Pulse's 6-incher. We found it online for just $120.

Unlike the TouchSmart 520, the Omni 27 Quad does not include a discrete videocard or a TV tuner. You can add these features when you place your online order, but a videocard will add $70 to $120 to the price, and the TV tuner will tack on $50.

Adding HP's Pulse subwoofer to the Omni 27 Quad does wonders for its audio capabilities—and it has blue LEDs! (Don't worry, you can turn them off.)

Like the TouchSmart 520-1070, the Omni 27 Quad comes packed with 8GB of RAM, but the unit we reviewed was outfitted with a 2.5GHz Core i5 2400S (compared to the 2.8GHz Core i7-2600S on the TouchSmart) and a paltry 1TB hard drive (compared to the 2TB drive on the TouchSmart). Here again, you can order a customized model at additional expense.

Native resolution of 1920x1080 is fine for 23- or 24-inch computer displays, and it's the highest resolution that current-gen HDTVs can deliver. But you sacrifice a great deal of precision when you spread that number of pixels over a 27-inch screen that's just two feet from your eyes. Losing the TV tuner—and even the touch UI—isn't a big deal, but we don't like the idea of stepping down to a lesser CPU and a smaller hard drive to get that big screen. Our biggest complaint, however, centers on the ridiculously convoluted volume control—it's bad enough to prevent us from recommending the Omni 27 Quad at any price.

EA Boss: "All Games Will Be Free To Play In Five To Ten Years"

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 10:56 AM PDT

The head of EA's Origin may take issue with Steam selling games at a steep discount -- *cough* hypocritically *cough* -- but judging by a statement from his boss, he may not have to worry about being undercut at retail forever. No, David DeMartini isn't getting fired; EA COO Peter Moore just thinks that basically all games will be free to play in the next five to 10 years.

"I think, ultimately, those microtransactions will be in every game, but the game itself or the access to the game will be free," Moore told Kotaku. "I think there's an inevitability that happens five years from now, 10 years from now, that, let's call it the client, to use the term, [is free.]"

It won't be a total shift for the industry; when asked how a game like Mass Effect could translate into F2P, Moore said he thinks that a handful of $60 games that cater to the hardcore will survive, but they'll be few and far between. The real cash isn't in catering to the hardcore, though, Moore says; the big money comes from luring in the masses with the allure of free games.

That's a strong opinion, but Moore isn't an idiot or a n00b to the gaming industry; before settling at EA, he held down executive-level positions at Sega and Microsoft's Xbox division.

Hearing that, does Crytek's decision to focus exclusively on F2P games in the future sound so crazy? Or do you think big names and multimillion dollar companies are simply getting carried away with a fad?

Sandia National Lab Starts Licensing Out Super Quiet, Hyper-Efficient CPU Cooler

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 10:33 AM PDT

Think your CPU cooler kicks ass? Some of the top minds in the country disagree. Researchers at the Sandia National Laboratories have been working on a novel new design for a rapidly spinning cooler, one that they say is up to 30 percent more efficient than traditional models AND virtually silent in typical use cases. Sounds crazy ambitious? Apparently, it isn't; Sandia's already looking to license the technology out to electronics suppliers, and one unidentified CPU cooling company has already hopped on the bandwagon.

Sandia's cooler basically consists of two parts: a disk-shaped heat spreader with vertical cooling fins, positioned on top of a stationary base plate that touches the CPU and acts as a heat sink. The bottom of the finned spreader is flat, as is the top of the heat sink. A gap of less than 0.001-inches separates the two, and during operation the top disk spins at a rate of 2,000 RPM.

Being at such close range and spinning so fast creates, essentially, a self-regulating "hydrodynamic gas bearing," which lets the cooler negate the thin layer of stagnant air -- known as the boundary layer -- that locks in a lot heat in traditional sink-plus-fan CPU cooling methods. In fact, the heat takes on almost liquid properties in Sandia's method and transfers between the heat sink and the cooling fins very, very efficiently.

As the cooler spins, its shape draws air down into the "eye" of the hardware, which is then quickly pushed out radially through its curved fins, keeping everything cool. The shape and spin of the cooler benefits this stage two-fold; it pumps air very, very well, and any dust that tries to settle on it gets blown out just as fast.

If that's a bit too technical for your blood, check out the video above, in which creator Jeffrey Koplow shows off the cooler in action and provides a solid description of how it works. It's a lot easier to grasp if you watch it, trust me. A lot more information can be found in a whitepaper on the Sandia National Laboratory website.

Sandia hopes the cooler's design will scale up and take off in a number of industries, including (obviously) PC uses, solid state lighting, HVAC, automotive and large appliances. Which CPU cooling company do you think licensed the technology?

Viral Video of School Bus Monitor Prompts Investigation, Outpouring of Support

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 07:43 AM PDT

Fair warning if you woke up in an exceptionally good mood today and don't want anything to ruin it. Stop reading right here, right now. Seriously. I'm even tossing in a throwaway sentence to give your brain a chance to communicate with your eyeballs to divert your attention elsewhere (here's a fine piece on the science behind Nigerian scams). Still reading? You were warned.

One of the latest videos to go viral on YouTube shows a group of middle school kids relentlessly taunting and verbally abusing Karen Klein, a 68-year-old school bus monitor who tries her best to ignore the insults but is ultimately driven to tears. It gets worse (and better).

The middle school kids make fun of her weight, threaten to defecate on her property (and other places not fit to repeat), tease her income level, they poke and prod her, talk about stabbing her, and at one point, joked her family should kill themselves, a taunt that hit too close to home considering her oldest son committed suicide a decade ago.

"Live with integrity," is one of the few verbal responses Klein offered the children.

It's infuriating, and isn't anything I'd normally post on Maximum PC, but there are a couple of silver linings surrounding the unfortunate incident. First, thanks to the age of the Internet (and an idiotic decision to post the video on YouTube), Greece Central School District and local police are now investigating what took place on the bus, NYDailyNews reports.

Secondly, the Internet proves that good still trumps evil, as there's been a vacation fund setup at Indiegogo.com. The initial goal was to raise $5,000 so that Klein could take some well deserved time off and go on "a vacation of a lifetime!," and with 30 days remaining, it has already raised a whopping $154,000.

You can watch the horrific and NSFW video here, and if you feel compelled to donate to Klein's vacation fund, you can do so here.

Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

 

Verizon Wireless Expands 4G LTE Rollout to 46 Additional Markets

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 07:15 AM PDT

Verizon Wireless already boasts the nation's largest 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, and it doesn't appear interested in relinquishing that bragging right any time soon. In fact, VZW today announced the expansion of its 4G LTE network into 46 totally new markets, along with better coverage in 22 existing regions. If you're keeping count, that's a total of 304 markets to date being served by VZW's 4G LTE network.

"Time and time again, third-party surveys affirm that the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network keeps its promise to provide customers with consistently reliable responsiveness, download and upload speeds, and greater availability in more places throughout the country than any competing network," said Nicola Palmer, chief technical officer of Verizon Wireless. "Our aggressive 4G LTE network build-out is on track, providing our customers with the largest 4G LTE network in the United States – and the world – today. We are committed to cover more than 400 markets by the end of 2012. We will continue to expand and strengthen our 4G LTE network and plan to offer full nationwide coverage everywhere we have 3G coverage today, by the end of 2013."

That's good news for potential Samsung Galaxy S III owners, which touched down in the U.S. today (on T-Mobile and AT&T) and will be available at Verizon in the coming weeks. VZW offers two dozen 4G LTE devices in all, more than any other carrier.

As for the new 4G LTE markets, they range from Logan, West Virginia to Yuba City/Marysville, California, and several areas in between (and around).

Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

 

LCD TV Shipments Drop for First Time Ever, DisplaySearch Says

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 06:48 AM PDT

Most everyone interested in owning an LCD TV seems to have already went out and purchased one. According to DisplaySearch, worldwide TV shipments tumbled 8 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2012, marking the steepest rate of decline since the second quarter of 2009. More telling, however, is the fact that LCD TVs, which dominate the market with an 84.2 percent share of all types of TVs (well ahead of CRT TVs, which sits in second place with a 9.9 percent share), saw shipments drop by 3 percent year-over-year, and by 33 percent sequentially.

This is the first time in the history of the category that LCD TV shipments have fell on an annual basis, and the immediate future doesn't look so bright for the segment, either.

"Soft demand and cautious expectations about the upcoming year in many parts of the TV supply chain have led to a slowdown in shipments," noted Paul Gagnon, NPD DisplaySearch Director of North America TV Research. Gagnon added, "Key component prices, such as LCD panels, are not expected to decline much in 2012, and many brands are concentrating on improving their bottom line. Both of these trends will contribute to slowing unit volume among a price conscious consumer market."

Every other category of TVs fell as well, including Plasma (minus 18 percent year-over-year), which has continued to stick around. As for TV brands, Samsung holds the top spot with a 26 percent share of the total market, ahead of LG (14. percent), Sony (9.4 percent), Sharp (6.5 percent), Panasonic (5.3 percent), and all remaining brands (38.3 percent).

Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

 

Google's Reaction to Microsoft Surface: A Mixture of Surprise and Skepticism

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 06:29 AM PDT

Reactions to the recently unveiled Microsoft Surface tablet family just keep coming in, with everyone from PC vendors to industry watchers eager to weigh in on the Redmond-based company's decision to sell self-branded tablets. Even though people are probably more interested in Apple's reaction, Google beat the Cupertino company to the punch Wednesday when it fired a cautious verbal volley at the Surface.

During an interview session at the GigaOm Structure conference in San Francisco, GigaOm patriarch Om Malik asked Google's senior vice president of Chrome and Apps, Sundar Pichai, for his take on the Surface. Pichai began by saying it was a surprising announcement and "shows the pressure they feel from Apple and iPad." However, he did compliment Microsoft for putting "serious effort" into the Surface's form factor, an area in dire need of innovation according to him.

"They are doing everything right in terms of messaging, but to me it's a very complicated strategy to pull off," Pichai said. "Even before the Surface announcement, Windows 8 itself has been a cause of both optimism and concern among entire ecosystem. I am excited because the Windows ecosystem is in some ways ossified, and it takes time for it to change."

"Windows 8 is a big disruptive thing, and that is both good and an opportunity for everyone else. One of the main concerns with Windows 8 is that it is primarily designed around touch and tablets, and it's not exactly fully clear how great of an user experience it is on laptops and so on with Metro mode."

Pichai's reaction in a lot of ways mimics the overall initial response to Windows 8 and the Surface in that it too is mixed. Perhaps no one really knows how to react to and what to really expect from Windows 8 and the Surface tablet family.

Watch live streaming video from gigaomstructure at livestream.com

Samsung Galaxy S III Touches Down on U.S. Soil

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 06:05 AM PDT

At long last, Samsung's highly anticipated Galaxy S III smartphone has crossed the U.S. border, having already shipped to more than two dozen other countries last month. T-Mobile gets first dibs on Samsung's newest Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) device, with AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, and U.S. Cellular planning to offer the smartphone "in-store and online within the next several weeks," Samsung says. Odd wording by Samsung since AT&T is scheduled to offer the Galaxy S III sometime today as well (currently is listed as "Due Today" on AT&T's website).

T-Mobile priced the Galaxy S III at $280 for the 16GB model and $330 for the 32GB version, both of which reflect a $300 instant discount and a $50 mail-in rebate card. Suggested retail price is $630 (16GB) and $680 (32GB).

In case you need a refresher, the Galaxy S III sports a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED HD touchscreen (1280x720), dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor (international version rocks a quad-core CPU), 2GB of RAM, 8MP rear-facing camera with autofocus and LED flash, 1.9MP front-facing camera, 4G LTE radio, and a 2100 mAh battery.

Reviews of Samsung's flagship device started popping up on the Web yesterday and mostly reflect positive impressions, though some feel the Galaxy S III falls a little short of the hype. CNN, for example, notes that there's plenty of horsepower underneath the hood, but that many of Samsung's TouchWiz features "suffer from frustratingly poor execution, adding up to a "clumsy" device, albeit one that still trumps many of its competitors.

Image Credit: Samsung

Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

 
Posted by Shri Krishna

Total Pageviews

statcounter

View My Stats