| GDC 2014 Highlights: Virtual Reality Devices, Steam Machines, and More Posted: 21 Mar 2014 02:39 PM PDT  We go hands-on with the latest gaming gadgets at the 2014 Game Developers Conference
We had the chance to check out GDC 2014 held in San Francisco, CA and this year was really about virtual reality. We had everything from the Oculus Rift development kit 2 to Sony's Project Morpheus and a bunch of VR accessories and peripherals thrown in for good measure. VR wasn't the only thing there, however, Valve was also on hand showing off its Steam Machine ecosystem which included its new controller and Stream streaming capabilities. Check out the highlights from the show below and let us know what you're most excited about in the comments section! |
| Newegg Daily Deals: SanDisk Extreme II 120GB SSD, Acer 23-inch LED Monitor, and More! Posted: 21 Mar 2014 10:20 AM PDT |
| Symantec in Search of a New Chief After Firing CEO Steve Bennett Posted: 21 Mar 2014 10:05 AM PDT  Shares of Symantec tumble after security outfit shows its CEO the door
Security firm Symantec announced that it has terminated Steve Bennett as the company's president and chief executive officer, as well as his resignation from Symantec's board of directors. A special committee has begun the search for a permanent replacement, during which time board member Michael Brown will serve as interim CEO. The decision to let Bennett go didn't sit well with investors, who were caught off guard by his surprise dismissal yesterday. Symantec's share price fell more than 9 percent in pre-market trading and is now down almost 13 percent. Though the move came as a surprise to most, Symantec said the decision wasn't precipitated by any event or impropriety. It seems Symantec simply felt Bennett wasn't the right person to drive the company's growth and to hit the goals it set out for itself. "We recognize Steve's contributions to Symantec, including developing and leading a series of successful initiatives focused on organizational realignment, cost reduction and process effectiveness. These changes have helped establish a solid foundation for Symantec's future, and we remain committed to our previously announced greater-than 5 percent organic revenue growth and better-than 30 percent non-GAAP operating margin targets by FY17," Symantec chairman Daniel Schulman said in a statement. "Our priority is now to identify a leader who can leverage our company's assets and leadership team to drive the next stage of Symantec's product innovation and growth." Symantec develops security software, including its popular Norton line of products. For a long time, Norton had a negative reputation among power users for its slow performance, bloat, and in some cases, ineffectiveness. However, Symantec completely rewrote the program in 2009 with a focus on speed and performance. Since then, Norton Internet Security has consistently scored high marks in Maximum PC's annual antivirus roundups. The turnaround effort makes Bennett's firing even more surprising and casts a shadow of uncertainty over future versions of Norton. However, interim CEO Michael Brown feels confident the company can continue on without skipping a beat. "With recent key hires, we have a leadership team in place that is capable of accelerating our growth and I look forward to working closely with them to help execute the next phase of the company's transformation plan," Brown said. "The need for protecting and managing your information has never been stronger, and we must act aggressively to capture a growing share of this market. By concentrating on product innovation and growth initiatives, we aim to leverage Symantec's tremendous assets across both consumer and enterprise applications to enhance our position as a market leader." Brown has been with Symantec ever since the company's merger with VERITAS Software in July 2005. Prior to that, he was the CEO of Quantum Corporation, where he grew revenues from $3 billion to $6 billion. Image Credit: Flickr (Kazuhisa OTSUBO) Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Acer's Compact H5380BD Projector Supports 3D Movies, Won't Drive Up Your Power Bill Posted: 21 Mar 2014 08:37 AM PDT  Little projector beams big images up to 300 inches diagonally
The next time you plan a movie night, you may want to stay inside. That's what Acer hopes, anyway -- the company just announced its H5380BD home entertainment projector for U.S. consumers. The company's projector displays 720p HD (1280x720) images in 16:9 widescreen format, while also offering up 144Hz 3D support at 3,000 lumens, prompting Acer to advertise "movie-quality projection." "Our newest projector was designed to provide consumers with an affordable option for showcasing HD movies and 3D entertainment," said Edward Chan, product manager for Acer America. "Outfitted with a long-lasting LED lamp and power saving options, it offers a low total cost of ownership. Small and lightweight, it's easy to move from room to room or to bring to a friend's house for a movie night." The H5380BD can display up to a 300-inch image with color saturation up to 95 to 130 percent NTSC. Other rated specs and features include a 13,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, Acer ColorBoost II+ technology, a dust shield system, and power saving amenities that can extend lamp life up to 10,000 hours. Acer's newest projector is available now for $549 MSRP. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Microsoft Alters Outlook and Hotmail Policy After Snooping a Blogger's Inbox Posted: 21 Mar 2014 06:52 AM PDT  Yes, Microsoft is within its rights to peek in your Hotmail
A side story that got lost in yesterday's revelation that authorities arrested a former Microsoft employee for allegedly leaking Windows 8 trade secrets to a French blogger is how Microsoft was able to track down its suspect. Simply put, the blogger was using a Hotmail account, so Microsoft granted itself access to his inbox. Based on the emails it read, Microsoft had a culprit, but was this a breach of privacy? According to Microsoft, its terms of service make it clear that it has the right to look at a user's Hotmail or Outlook when circumstances dictate, and that's what it did in this instance. "In this case, we took extraordinary actions based on the specific circumstances. We received information that indicated an employee was providing stolen intellectual property, including code relating to our activation process, to a third party who, in turn, had a history of trafficking for profit in this type of material. In order to protect our customers and the security and integrity of our products, we conducted an investigation over many months with law enforcement agencies in multiple countries," Microsoft explained in a blog post. "This included the issuance of a court order for the search of a home relating to evidence of the criminal acts involved. The investigation repeatedly identified clear evidence that the third party involved intended to sell Microsoft IP and had done so in the past." However, Microsoft goes on to state that courts do not issue orders authorizing someone to search themselves. Therefore if Microsoft believes it has probable cause, there's no court process to follow to search through information on servers located on its own premises. Microsoft says it will only do this kind of thing "in the most exceptional circumstances," and in this particular case, there was a "rigorous process before reviewing" the blogger's content. That might not be enough to make Hotmail and Outlook users feel as though their privacy is being taken seriously, so Microsoft added some additional policies. The first new policy is that it will only conduct a search of customer email and other services if the circumstances would justify a court order, if one were available. Secondly, it will use a legal team separate from the internal investigating team to look at the evidence and determine if a crime would be sufficient to justify a court order. Third, in the event of a search, it will be confined to the matter under investigation. And finally, Microsoft will ensure transparency by revealing in its bi-annual transparency report the number of searches that have taken place. Image Credit: Flickr (opensource.com) Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
