| AMD's Holiday Game Bundles Center Around Battlefield 4, Thief Posted: 12 Nov 2013 09:01 PM PST  A year later, AMD is still giving away games with graphics cards
AMD's been helping gamers add to their collection of titles with Never Settle game bundles since October 22 of last year, and lest you think the Sunnyvale chip designer has plans of slowing down, you can expect more game promotions heading in the holiday season. What comes next? Well, to start with, any gamer who purchases an AMD Radeon R9 Series product starting on November 13 will get a copy of Battlefield 4. You have to check availability and make sure you're buying the R9 graphics card from a qualifying vendor to be eligible for the BF4 promotion, which you can do by heading over to www.amd.com/battlefield4. Not a bad deal, and as an added bonus, Mantle API support is supposed to come this December. 
The second holiday promotion is an extension of the Never Settle Forever bundle to gamers who purchase a Radeon R7 260X graphics card. Those who purchase the part from a qualifying vendor are eligible for the Sliver reward tier (check availability at www.amd.com/neversettleforever), which entails two free game selections. Coinciding with the promotion, AMD is adding Thief to the list of available titles in the Silver tier. Other possible game selections include Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs, Sniper Elite V2, Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon, and DiRT 3. 
"We're tremendously excited about the game bundles heading in to the holiday season, especially because October 22 marked the first anniversary of the industry-changing Never Settle programs! It's hard to believe it's already been a year of giving the world's best games to gamers with the purchase of an AMD Radeon graphics card," AMD said. These are some pretty sweet offers. Anyone plan on taking advantage of either one? Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Microsoft Stops Ranking Its Employees Posted: 12 Nov 2013 01:42 PM PST 
Reward curve and rating system scrapped Things are looking up for current Microsoft employees and prospective hires. The Seattle tech giant is doing away with its stack ranking policy, according to an internal memo forwarded to The Verge. Employees will no longer be categorized as top, average, or poor performers. The problem with stack ranking is that some employees have to be given poor reviews to fit the system even if their performance was average or better. This has allegedly led to competition between individual employees. In the memo, Microsoft HR Head Lisa Brummel details the changes to the company's "performance review program," which amounts to an increased focus on teamwork and collaboration as well as an "emphasis on employee growth and development." This is the company's push towards becoming "One Microsoft." Brummel also highlights the removal of their reward curve and rating system in favor of a new policy which lets company managers and leaders reward employees as they see fit. Here's the full memo as published by The Verge: 
What do you think about the changes? Could this be the start of a new Microsoft? Tell us in the comments. Follow Ben on Twitter. |
| Hisense Announces 55-inch Ultra High Definition 4K TV for $1,999 Posted: 12 Nov 2013 01:09 PM PST  Holiday season may be highlighted by 4K TVs
Just in time for the holiday shopping season, Hisense introduced its aggressively priced 55-inch XT880 4K Ultra High Definition Smart TV for $1,999. That may not exactly fall into the "affordable" category for most shoppers, but it wasn't all that long ago when two-grand was the going rate for a regular TV of the same size. These days that gets you a 65-inch or 70-inch Full HD 1080 LED, or in this case, a 55-inch 4K panel. It's not such a bad deal if you're willing trade physical screen real estate in exchange for a higher resolution and more densely packed pixels. You're on your own for finding 4K content, though with there starting to be more 4K hardware in the wild, an influx of higher resolution content may not be too far behind. In addition to native 4K support, the XT880 has built-in Wi-Fi, an Opera web browser, four HDMI/HDCP inputs (one of which is true UHD), USB Digital Media Player, a collection of apps preinstalled (Netflix, Vudu, YouTube, Vimeo, Pandora, Twitter, Facebook, Picasa, and AccuWeather), and three 15W speakers. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| EVGA's $200 Tegra Note 7 Gaming Tablet Now Available to Pre-Order Posted: 12 Nov 2013 10:31 AM PST  An affordable slate with Tegra 4 inside
EVGA today introduced its Tegra Note 7 tablet for gamers. Billed as the "perfect traveling companion," this 7-inch slate rocks an IPS display with a 1280x800 resolution, Nvidia Tegra 4 SoC with a quad-core CPU (and a 5th battery saver core) and 72-core GeForce GPU, 1GB of DDR3L-1600 RAM, and 16GB of eMMC storage aided by a microSD card slot for up to an additional 32GB of storage space. It also features built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, USB 2.0 port, HDMI output with support for up to Ultra HD 4K displays, 3.5mm audio jack, VGA front-facing camera, 5MP rear-facing camera with autofocus and HDR, and a 4100 mAh battery good for up to 8 hours of HD playback. Rounding all this out is Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. There's no custom skin to get in the way, and according to reports, Nvidia will be releasing an Android 4.3 update in December, along with timely updates thereafter. What hasn't been mentioned, however, is when Android 4.4 KitKat will arrive. One of the differentiating features here is the included stylus with Nvidia DirectStylus technology to give users up to 3x the responsiveness of the competition, EVGA and Nvidia claim. It's also the only chisel-tip stylus on the market. 
If you're interested in reserving a Tegra Note 7, Newegg is currently accepting pre-orders ahead of the device's November 19th launch date. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Vine Extends Reach to Windows Phone Platform Posted: 12 Nov 2013 10:05 AM PST  Another popular app makes its way to Windows Phone
One of the reasons why Microsoft's Windows Phone platform is getting so soundly beat in the mobile space by Android and iOS (in terms of market share) is because its app selection isn't up to par. It's not just about the sheer number of apps -- having hundreds of flatulence apps is hardly a competitive advantage -- but equally important is ensuring that popular apps are represented. Vine was one that was noticeably missing, until now. Vine is now available for Windows Phone, so all you HTC 8XT and Samsung ATIV S Neo owners can record short video clips on your mobile phone of choice. "Tap and hold the screen to create short, looping videos with sound," Vine explained in a blog post. "Camera tools, like grid and ghost, help you shoot like a pro, and, of course, you can put yourself in the action with your front-facing camera. Check out Explore to view popular posts, browse through channels, or see what's trending, and discover which of your friends are already on Vine with Find People." Something that's unique to the Windows Phone version of Vine is the ability to pin your favorite Vine accounts to your homescreen, using Pivots to switch between apps. For those of you wondering about Instagram, it's supposed to arrive on Windows Phone in the "coming weeks." Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Renders Give a Glimpse of Apple's Upcoming Headquarters Posted: 12 Nov 2013 08:43 AM PST  It's circular to promote collaboration
Before he passed away, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs helped design his company's new headquarters with renowned architect Sir Norman Robert Foster. Called "Apple Campus 2," the new headquarters will reside on a 176-acre plot in Cupertino. The main building -- a circular spaceship (the Mothership) intentionally devoid of rectangles and squares which, along with long buildings and buildings with more than four stories, have been deemed to inhibit collaboration -- will take up 2.8 million square feet with room for 13,000 employees. While knowledge of the planned campus isn't new, Wired dug up 20 never-before-seen renders of the Mothership and surrounding area, which consists of a man-made forest in the northeast corner of Cupertino. There's a two-level, 2,000 space parking garage underneath the main facility. There's also an underground auditorium, a 90,000 square-foot cafeteria, and all kinds of excess. Estimates have the project's budget at $5 billion and growing. As it stands today, the site is 20 percent landscape, the rest covered by buildings and asphalt, Wired says. The goal is to have it complete by 2016, with every last detail planned out, including the placement of every single tree. When it's finished, it will be 80 percent landscape. Due to the climate, there won't be a need for air conditioning or heating because of natural ventilation. The facility will also run on 100 percent renewable energy, having one of the largest solar arrays in the world. Check out the renderings (and video) and let us know what you think. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Motorola Expands Moto X Customization to Every Major U.S. Carrier Posted: 12 Nov 2013 08:04 AM PST  Moto X customizations no longer exclusive to AT&T
AT&T seems to be at the front of the line a lot when it comes to mobile devices. For a period of time, it was the only carrier offering Apple's iPhone, and more recently, if you wanted a customized Moto X device from Motorola, you had to be an AT&T subscriber. Not anymore. Motorola announced that the Moto X is now available for customization on all major U.S. carriers, including Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile, and of course AT&T. What that means is you can choose from a bunch of different front, back, and accent color options for a truly unique looking smartphone. However, it doesn't stop there. "Just in time for the holidays, you can now choose to add a custom phrase to the back of your Moto X. With fiber laser technology, you can sign your design like never before. Show your team spirit, sport your nickname or give a gift with the ultimate personal touch by adding this free feature when you customize your Moto X on Moto Maker," Motorola said in a blog post. To sweeten the post, Motorola announced two other tidbits. First, the company confirmed that Android 4.4 KitKat is coming soon to the Moto X. Secondly, the U.S.-built Moto X is now going for a promotional price of $100 with a two-year service contract. If you're interested, head over to the Moto Maker website to design your own custom Moto X. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Newegg Daily Deals: 2K Games Sale Bonanza, Score Bioshock Infinite for $12! Posted: 12 Nov 2013 06:08 AM PST |
