General Gaming Article |
- New Valve Linux Blog Confirms Steam, Left 4 Dead 2 Ports In The Works
- Micron Starts Offering World's First Mass-Produced Phase Change Memory Solution
- Sony Shows Off Thermal Sheet with Thermal Paste-Like Heat Conductivity
- Microsoft Rolling Out Hotfix for Embarrassing Skype IM Bug
- Lian Li Introduces Tri-Compartment EATX PC-X2000FN Computer Case
- Microsoft Admits Violating EU Agreement Over Browser Ballot, Blames 'Technical Error'
- Symantec Antivirus Update Caused Certain Windows XP PCs to Crash
- New Office Does Not Support Windows XP and Windows Vista
| New Valve Linux Blog Confirms Steam, Left 4 Dead 2 Ports In The Works Posted: 17 Jul 2012 11:24 AM PDT
From the blog: The goal of the Steam client project is a fully-featured Steam client running on Ubuntu 12.04. We've made good progress this year and now have the Steam client running on Ubuntu with all major features available. We're still giving attention and effort to minor features but it's a good experience at the moment. In the near future, we will be setting up an internal beta focusing on the auto-update experience and compatibility testing. Of course, gaming services are useless without games, so the team is also working hard at porting over Left 4 Dead 2, and reports success at getting it up and running natively on Ubuntu 12.04. "Our goal is to have L4D2 performing under Linux as well as it performs under Windows," the team writes. After that, the plan is to start moving other Valve titles onto the open source bandwagon, too. The team promises to update the Valve Linux blog often, and they'd love to hear feedback from gamers like you to keep things appropriately open and community-driven. Pop that site into your RSS feed reader of choice, folks. |
| Micron Starts Offering World's First Mass-Produced Phase Change Memory Solution Posted: 17 Jul 2012 11:03 AM PDT
Micron's 1.8V chip actually contains both 1Gb of phase change memory and 512Mb of low-power DDR2 memory, which share the same interface. The company hopes this initial solution will become popular in feature phones -- unsurprising, given the low total memory amount on the chip. Future designs will target other mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Phase change memory erases cells at the bit level rather than in entire blocks, which makes it faster and more efficient than Flash when it comes to writing data. As far as reading data goes, hopping over to Micron's mobile PCM FAQ page shows that the chip hits random read times of 400MBps -- none too shabby, especially for a first-generation product. Micron says PCM offers faster boot times, as well. Like Flash, phase change memory has a limited lifecycle, but since each cell can represent multiple bits thanks to their shifty nature, PCM can theoretically last longer than Flash. Micron's new technology is rated for 100,000-plus write cycles. |
| Sony Shows Off Thermal Sheet with Thermal Paste-Like Heat Conductivity Posted: 17 Jul 2012 10:22 AM PDT Applying thermal paste to a CPU before dropping a heat sink on it isn't too much of a pain in the butt, but you have to do it carefully; as pretty much everybody reading this site probably knows, air bubbles and uneven application can affect cooling performance. What if you didn't have to worry about applying thermal paste? Crazy talk, I know, but during last week's Techno-Frontier convention in Tokyo, Sony Chemical & Information Device Corp was showing off a thermal sheet that it said has the same thermal conductivity of traditional paste.
Most system builders who even know about thermal sheets -- such as Sony's own EX50000 -- scoff at the idea of using them, as they simply don't work as well as pastes, even though thermal sheets are thin and flat, bubble-free, longer-lasting and easier to apply. Sony's prototype EX20000C sheet is only 0.11 to 0.78 inches thick and conducts heat as well as paste thanks to its unique design, which Tech-On! reports is basically just silicon jam-packed with carbon fibers. At the convention, Sony showed off the Ex20000C's ability to cool down CPUs using a side-by-side comparison of identical, yet unnamed processors; one used the EX20000C thermal sheet, while the other used a traditional (yet also unidentified) thermal paste. The thermal sheet actually kept the CPU 3 degrees (Celsius) cooler than the thermal paste. (Pictured above) Intriguing, sure, but the EX20000C is still just a prototype. Would you consider using a thermal sheet if it conducted heat as efficiently as paste? (If not, you should check out our thermal paste showdown to see which compound you should be using.) Via Geek.com Image credit: Tech-On! |
| Microsoft Rolling Out Hotfix for Embarrassing Skype IM Bug Posted: 17 Jul 2012 07:57 AM PDT
"The hotfix addresses an issue that occurs only when a user's Skype client crashes during a Skype IM session, which may in some cases result in the last IM entered or sent prior to the crash being delivered to a different IM contact after the Skype client is rebooted or logged in as a new user," Microsoft said today. "Although we cannot determine precisely how many users may have been affected by this error, we believe the number is small given the very specific circumstances under which the error occurs." According to Microsoft, only certain Skype clients are affected, including Skype 5.10 for Windows, Skype 5,8 for Mac, Skype 4.0 for Linux, and Skype 1.2 for Windows Phone. Unaffected clients include Skype 5.9 for Windows, Skype 2.8 for Android, and Skype 4.0 for iOS. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook
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| Lian Li Introduces Tri-Compartment EATX PC-X2000FN Computer Case Posted: 17 Jul 2012 07:38 AM PDT
The case itself measures 27.3 inches tall but only 9.4 inches wide. The top compartment holds four of the seven hotswappable 3.5-inch drive bays, along with a 2.5-inch cage for installing up to three solid state drives (SSDs), Lian Li says. Two additional 3.5-inch HDD and a single 2.5-inch SSD can also be installed in middle compartment. Lian Li claims the middle compartment is by far the roomiest, allowing DIY builders to cram hardware inside without worrying about space limitations for expansion cards and CPU coolers, the latter of which offers up to 7 inches of clearance. The case supports graphics cards up to 13.3 inches long. Power supplies up to 9 inches install in the bottom compartment and are aided by ventilation slits underneath, along with a pull-out filter to rid yourself of unwanted dust bunnies. There are a lot of features (which you can spy on the case's product page), as there should be when the asking price is a hefty $499. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook
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| Microsoft Admits Violating EU Agreement Over Browser Ballot, Blames 'Technical Error' Posted: 17 Jul 2012 06:03 AM PDT
"Under a December 2009 decision of the European Commission, Microsoft is required to display a 'Browser Choice Screen' (BCS) on Windows PCs in Europe where Internet Explorer is the default browser. We have fallen short in our responsibility to do this," Microsoft said in a statement. Microsoft added that, "Due to a technical error, we missed delivering the BCS software to PCs that came with the service pack 1 update to Windows 7. This is the only scenario Microsoft admits falling short on its agreed upon obligation, noting that it "missed serving the BCS software to roughly 28 million PCs running Windows 7 SP1." European customers who purchased PCs running the original version of Windows 7 or relevant versions of Windows XP and Vista were unaffected, Microsoft claims. It's unclear whether EU officials will fine Microsoft for its oversight. For its part, Microsoft is taking steps to show it's acting in good faith. Within just one business day of learning about the "technical error," Microsoft fixed the problem on new PCs and distributed BCS software to ones that had already shipped. Microsoft also offered to voluntarily extend its browser agreement with the EU for an additional 15 months. "We understand that the Commission will review this matter and determine whether this is an appropriate step for Microsoft to take," Microsoft said. "We understand that the Commission may decide to impose other sanctions." Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook
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| Symantec Antivirus Update Caused Certain Windows XP PCs to Crash Posted: 17 Jul 2012 04:42 AM PDT
Symantec has identified the cause of this whole problem. Apparently, these blue screens (error code 0x000000CB) were the result of an unintended threesome involving certain third-party software, the SONAR signature update (20120711.011), and the Windows XP Cache manager. "On July 11, 2012 at approximately 10:30 PM PT, Security Response started receiving reports of customers experiencing blue screens after applying definitions July 11th revision 18 and SONAR (SONAR is the behavior-based technology that is part of Symantec Endpoint Protection's Proactive Threat Protection.) definitions July 11th rev11," the company said in a Knowledge Base article on the issue. "We are currently restructuring our testing process to improve compatibility testing and will not be releasing new SONAR signatures until this new process is in place." The flawed update has already been replaced with updated signatures and a workaround is now available for affected machines. |
| New Office Does Not Support Windows XP and Windows Vista Posted: 16 Jul 2012 11:18 PM PDT
According to the Office Customer Preview FAQ page, the new Office requires either Windows 7 or Windows 8 (Release Preview or higher) to run and that "it isn't possible to install on a PC running Windows XP or Vista." While Microsoft's decision to not support the archaic Windows XP is not surprising, the two—er, few—remaining Vista users probably did not see this coming. It's worth noting here that unlike the new Office, its predecessor, Office 2010, supports three generations of Windows beginning with XP. Image Credit: Microsoft |
The kick ass Summer Sale isn't the only thing the Steam team has up their collective sleeves this week. Yesterday, Valve launched a brand-spanking-new 
In even more "future tech" news, Micron announced today that it has started mass production of a 45nm phase change memory solution for mobile devices. Phase change memory -- so called because it uses heat from an electrical current to flip between varying physical states -- is considered a possible successor, or at least competitor, to Flash in the non-volatile memory market. Micron's chip is the first phase change memory solution to become widely available in quantity.
Microsoft on Monday 
At a time when computers are trending towards smaller towers and shrinking form factors, Lian Li decided to 
Microsoft is once again in hot water with European Union (EU) antitrust officials, this time for failing to fully comply with a 2009 settlement in which the Redmond software company agreed to give customers a choice of which Web browser to use when installing Windows. For the most part, Microsoft had been doing that, except in some instances where PCs shipped to European customers with Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 pre-installed.
Over the weekend, Symantec revealed that a recent antivirus update wreaked havoc on certain Windows XP machines, causing them to crash with the dreaded "blue screen of death." According to the company, the update in question slipped through the "compatibility testing part of the quality assurance process for SONAR signatures" and remained available via LiveUpdate between 6:25 p.m. PT July 11 and 2:51 a.m. PT July 12.
At a special event in San Francisco earlier today, Microsoft raised the curtain on the 15th version of its Office productivity suite, which has historically been a huge cash cow for the company. Speaking at the said press event, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer the new Office "will fully light-up when paired with Windows 8." Well, turns out there really aren't an awful lot of things out there beyond Windows 8 that can fire up the new Office, for | You are subscribed to email updates from Maximum PC - All Articles To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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