| 7 Pieces of Wearable Computing Posted: 20 Nov 2013 05:56 PM PST  Oculus Rift, Google Glass, and more!
While we can't become androids by sticking microchips into the back of our necks just quite yet, we at least have some computing devices that we can wear. To honor some of these zany doodads, we decided to round up seven of the most interesting wearable computing devices. Do you think there is a strong future for wearable computing? Let us know in the comments below! |
| Are Smartphones Really Any Different? Posted: 20 Nov 2013 04:01 PM PST Breaking down the "advantages" smartphones have over PCs I recently bought a used computer from a friend. He had done a clean install of the OS before I started using it but something was still wrong. The battery kept running down far faster than it should have, the Wi-Fi reception was atrocious, and man, the occasional lag was horrible, and installing the Chrome browser killed performance. I had unfortunately installed all of my applications and didn't want to nuke it, but that's ultimately what I did, but only after booting into safe mode, erasing the system's cache—not once, but twice—and doing a complete reinstall of the OS, reformatting all of the drives and also running down the battery to recalibrate it. 
Are smartphones really all that different from PCs? I speak not of a used x86 laptop computer but of a used (but still practically new) Android smartphone. For the most part, the phone is performing where it should be now, but only after I spent four days trying to diagnose the problem and another day wiping it out and reinstalling. I still can't install the Chrome browser on it without performance going to hell, but I've given up on that one. My real-world anecdote is meant to counteract a common belief among the general population: Phones and tablets are better than PCs because they require zero maintenance and never break. I acknowledge that, for the most part, these mobile devices do generally work, but I also acknowledge that, for the most part, so does the average PC. And for the naysayers who'll contend that it was just an isolated event, or that I should have tried iOS, I challenge you to go to any cell phone carrier's website and cruise the support forums. People aren't there talking about sunshine and rainbows. They're pissed off and confused because X isn't doing Y. 
Don't tell us that phones don't have their fair share of issues as well. What's really a laugh is when people talk about how they're glad they're finally off the PC upgrade treadmill but then fawn over the latest eight-core phone with the 5-inch screen to replace the device they bought six months ago. What, the new GPU in the new SoC is 20 percent faster? Sign me up for another two-year contract! Let's not even get into the aspects of the OS upgrade lag. That's the time between when a new OS comes out and when the phone you bought five months ago finally gets it, some 15 months later, if you're lucky to get it at all. Finally giving up, the consumer just goes out and buys a new phone or tablet with the latest OS, instead. If the PC world worked like that, pitchforks and torches would line the road leading up to the castle overnight. If anything, maybe phones could learn a thing or two from the PC and provide timely security and OS updates to everyone, and actually work to improve drivers once in a while. Until then, while I still love my now-working phone, I still love my PC, too. |
| PS4 Material Cost Estimated to be $372 Posted: 20 Nov 2013 03:47 PM PST 
IHS says PS4 almost breaks even Sony's selling each PlayStation 4 at a slight loss according to an analysis by IHS. The preliminary findings list the total material cost at $372 with an additional $9 manufacturing cost. Add in other expenses (like marketing and shipping costs) and the PS4 isn't profitable yet without the sale of additional accessories and games at its $399 price point. 
At launch, the PS3 cost Sony $840.35 to build, with a total material cost of $805.85. They were sold for $499 and $599—a significant loss. Sony tried hard to cut manufacturing costs with the PS4. These cost saving measures mainly revolve around the falling price of optical drives and the integrated design of the PS4 which reduced the number of components. The relatively low starting cost of the system is good news for Sony with material costs expected to decrease over the lifespan of the console. It's interesting to see just how fast some of the component prices have dropped. The 120GB hard drive in the PS3 cost Sony $38 whereas the 500GB drive in the PS4 is $1 cheaper at $37. Similarly, the optical drive in the PS3 cost $66 and is now only $28 in the PS4. The RAM might be more expensive, but that's because of the high price of GDDR5 memory. Follow Ben on Twitter. |
| Zotac Expands Zbox Mini PC Family into Haswell Territory Posted: 20 Nov 2013 01:42 PM PST  Three new Zbox SKUs welcome Haswell to the mini PC party
Zotac today announced a trio of new Zbox mini PCs built around Intel's 4th Generation Core processor (Haswell) family. Given the improvements in power management that Haswell brings to the table compared to previous generation processors, in addition to the other architectural upgrades, mini PCs are a logical choice for Intel's latest chips. In this case, Zotac opted to go with the Core i3 4130T (dual-core, 2.9GHz), Core i5 4570T (dual-core, 2.9-3.6GHz), and Core i7 4770T (quad-core 2.5.GHz-3.7GHz) processors. The Core i3 4130T is found in the new Zbox ID91, which also comes with two DDR3-1600 DIMM slots, 2.5-inch SATA port, Intel HD Graphics 4400, HDMI and DVI display options, 4-in-1 memory card reader, dual LAN ports, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, and a few other odds and ends. Intel's Core i5 4570T processor is found in the ID92. It also comes with two DDR3-1600 DIMM slots, a 2.5-inch SATA port dual GbE LAN ports, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and 4-in-1 memory card reader, as well as Intel HD Graphics 4600, mSATA interface, dual DisplayPort and DVI-I connectivity, and four USB 3.0 ports. Finally, you'll find the Core i7 4770T in the Zbox IQ01, which shares the same feature-set as the ID92. All three configurations can be purchased in "Plus" versions, which come pre-populated with 4GB of RAM and a 500GB 5400 RPM hard drive. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| AOL Pulling the Plug from Popular Winamp Player Next Month, Merry F***in' Christmas Posted: 20 Nov 2013 01:09 PM PST  Turn out the lights, the party's over
This may come as a shock to the system, but effective December 20, 2013, Winamp will become a ghost of the Internet's past. AOL, which bought Winamp in 1999 for $80 million, has decided to shut down the popular media player service just five days before Christmas, officially ending a better than 15-year run as one of the most well regarded media players among power users. Winamp and all associated web services will cease to exist past December 20th. Additionally, AOL will no longer host downloads, though with the wealth of third-party download sites in cyberspace, we're sure it won't be all that difficult to find. If you want to play it on the safe side, however, you'll want to download the latest -- and last -- version before that date, AOL stated on Winamp's website. Arstechnica confirmed the announcement with Geno Yoham, Winamp's general director, though he declined to go into detail at this time, as did AOL. "Such a bummer. AOL had been trying to sell it for months. I even looked at it. Spinner was shut down first, it's the end of Music 1.0," venture capitalist Josh Felser, who founded Spinner.com, told Arstechnica. 
Former employees estimate that Winamp was pulling in around $6 million per year. The service also has millions of users around the world, though the general concensus is that it could have been much bigger if not for mismanagement. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| JPR Notes Second Quarter of Consecutive Growth in Graphics Chip Market Posted: 20 Nov 2013 12:11 PM PST  Intel, Nvidia emerges as winners in Q3
Overall graphics shipments rose 1.6 percent in the third quarter of 2013, marking the second consecutive quarter of positive growth, according to the latest data by Jon Peddie Research. At the same time, shipments in Q3 were down 8.8 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago, JPR said. Q3 is typically when retailers stock up inventory for the holiday shopping season, and though the gain this quarter was smaller than in pre-2008 years, it still ended on a positive note. The three major players are AMD, Intel, and Nvidia. AMD's overall unit shipments decreased 4.2 percent sequentially, while Intel and Nvidia gained 3.5 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively. Total discrete GPU (desktop and notebook) shipments were mostly flat from last quarter with a negligible gain of 0.12 percent, and down 18.8 percent from the same quarter a year ago due to "problems plaguing the overall PC industry," JPR said. Overall, discrete GPU shipments are trending downwards with a CAGR from 2012 to 2016 of -5.7 percent. All tallied, Intel now holds a 63 percent share of the GPU market, versus 61.8 percent a quarter ago and 60 percent last year. AMD is in a distant second with a 20.7 percent share, down from 22 percent last quarter and down from 21 percent last year. In third place is Nvidia with a 16.3 percent, virtually unchanged from last quarter (16.2 percent) and down from 18.6 percent a year ago. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Google to Open Six "Winter Wonderland" Pop-Up Stores to Demo Latest Products Posted: 20 Nov 2013 09:47 AM PST  Opening pop-up stores during the holidays is becoming a thing
It's getting easier than ever to spend some hands-on time with today's tech gadgets before committing to ordering them online. For example, both Samsung and Apple have dedicated sections in most Best Buy retail locations to show off their respective wares, Microsoft has retail stores all across the country, and Intel is opening up pop-up stores for holidays. Now Google is getting in on the action. Pop-up stores are becoming a trend during holidays, and just in time for this holiday shopping season, Google plans to open six of its own. They're called "Winter Wonderlabs" and they'll open in New York City, Chicago, New Jersey, Washington DC, Los Angeles, and Sacramento. "Experience Google's new gadgets -- from Nexus 7 to Chromecast to the latest Chromebooks -- all in one place," Google says. "Take a break from the mall madness and listen to music, watch videos, play games, or browse web." In addition to showcasing Google's latest gear, each store will have a large snow globe with fake snow where customers can take videos of themselves. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Gartner Sees an End to Big Declines in PC Shipments Posted: 20 Nov 2013 09:07 AM PST  Yes, tablets and traditional PCs can coexist in the market place
You may find yourself wanting to gouge your eyeballs out with a used grapefruit spoon every time you see a headline declaring the end the end of the PC era. We're willing to concede that tablets and even smartphones have cut into traditional PC sales the last several quarters, and we haven't been shy about covering the decline in shipments, but the numbers just don't support the notion that the PC as you know is dead. Furthermore, at least one market research firm believes the market is close to bottoming out. Let's back up a moment. In October, Gartner said that combined desktop, notebook, and ultramobile shipments were on pace to top 321.6 million units in 2013, versus 184.4 million tablet shipments. In 2014, Gartner expects PC shipments to stay virtually flat with 321.4 million shipments, while tablets enjoy continued growth with 263.2 million shipments. The way we see it, tablets aren't replacing PCs, they're coexisting with them. Not only that, Gartner analyst Tracy Tsai told The Wall Street Journal that the days of double-digit declines in PC shipments are coming to an end. Tsai and company predict PC shipments will slow in the fourth quarter of 2013 to a 3 percent year-on-year drop, much better than the 8.6 percent decline noted in the third quarter. "The decline is at a much slower rate," Tsai said. "The global economy is stabilizing. Also, there will be more lower-cost, aggressively priced two-in-one (tablet with a keyboard) devices that are being launched in the second half of this year, which should help demand." This is all good news for an industry that's struggling to figure out how best to leverage both mobile and traditional PC sales. Acer Chairman J.T. Wang recently resigned after his company posted a record loss, and Michael Dell bought back the company he founded and made it private so that he wouldn't have to answer to shareholders. Meanwhile, Lenovo continues to post strong quarters with impressive desktop, notebook, and mobile PC sales figures. In any event, the bottom line here is that the days of declining PC shipments seem to be nearing an end. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| 1,000 Battlefield 4 Codes Up for Grabs, 'Like' AMD's Gaming Facebook Page for a Shot at One Posted: 20 Nov 2013 08:15 AM PST  Entries must be submitted prior to December 2, 2013
When AMD originally announced its expanded game bundles for the holiday season, there was a bit of confusion surrounding which Radeon R9 Series product owners would receive a free copy of Battlefield 4. The original wording made it sound like anyone who purchased an R9 Series card starting on November 13th would be eligible, as long as it was from a participating vendor, but AMD later clarified that it would be up to each individual hardware partner and retailer to decide which SKUs qualify. To make up for the miscommunication, and also as a 'Thank You' to gamers who purchased a card prior to November 13th, AMD said it would be giving away 1,000 free copies of Battlefield 4. Here's how you can toss your name into AMD's hat for a shot at getting one. Simply "Like" the AMD Gaming page on Facebook prior to December 2, 2013 at 12 PM Eastern and you will be automatically entered to win a free copy of BF4. If you already "Like" the page, you can still enter by "Liking" the original comment post. That's all there is to it. AMD will then randomly select 1,000 winners on December 3. Have a question? See if it's answered among the legal mumbo jumbo in AMD's Rules and Conditions page related to the giveaway. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Newegg Daily Deals: Corsair HX Series 750W PSU, Asus Z87-Plus Motherboard, and More! Posted: 20 Nov 2013 06:31 AM PST |
