General Gaming Article

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• Valve’s In-Home Streaming Available to Everyone
• Graphics Analysis: Dark Souls 2
• Google Skips Ahead of Apple as Most Valuable Brand in the World
• California Paves Way for Testing Self Driving Cars on Public Roads in September
• Google Chrome OS Update Adds Folder Support to Launcher
• Spotify Hits 10 Million Paid Subscriber Milestone
• Lenovo Continues to Have Midas Touch, Posts Record $38.7 Billion Revenue for Full Year
• Newegg Daily Deals: MSI R9 280 Gaming 3GB Graphics Card, AMD FX-6350, and More!

Valve’s In-Home Streaming Available to Everyone Posted: 21 May 2014 04:04 PM PDT All aboard the Steam stream train Valve has announced that its In-Home streaming service is available to everyone on Steam. The feature, which has been in beta until now, allows Steam users to stream their games from one PC to another on their home network.  Logging into your Steam account on two computers, using the same network, will automatically connect them. Once connected, your primary rig, the remote computer, can stream video games, including graphically demanding ones, to a lower-end PC or laptop. What you can stream is determined by a game's system requirements but such requirements won't affect what kind of computer you stream it to.  As of right now, Steam users will not be able to host the stream from Windows XP, Mac OS X, or SteamOS/Linux machines. But the remote PC will stream games to the aforementioned platforms. Users will also be able to remotely install, launch, and play games from the secondary computer as if they were using the remote PC. In addition, keyboard, mouse, and controller input is sent back to the remote computer. Follow Sean on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Graphics Analysis: Dark Souls 2 Posted: 21 May 2014 11:35 AM PDT We compare the game's low, medium, and high settings with comparison pictures and video Welcome to Maximum PC's new "graphical analysis" feature where we do a deep dive analysis on a video game's graphics options comparing its low, medium, and high settings along with any other graphical bells and whistles it may offer. In this on-going feature we will provide picture and video comparisons to the PC's biggest games. We know you're probably either equipped with a bad-ass rig or on the cusp on upgrading so we wanted to give you a visual glimpse of what your system/future system might be able to handle playing certain titles.  For our inaugural story, we decided to go with the recently-released Dark Souls 2.  It's no secret that the original Dark Souls on the PC was a terrible port. The game easily made our 10 Worst PC Ports list in large part due to its lack of graphical options. It's default resolution was 720p (yuck!). Furthermore, you had to pretty much hack the game to get it working in 1080p. Namco and FromSoftware said they were going to change that with the PC version of Dark Soul 2, so we wanted to take it for a visual test drive to see for ourselves. Dark Souls 2: Graphics Analysis Video Comparing low, medium, and high settings. Testing Methodology: We wanted our tests to be easily replicated, so we ran the game in 1080p, using Dark Souls 2's preset graphics options, which include "Low," "Medium," and "High." These are the only presets the game offers, there is no "Ultra" preset in Dark Souls 2. We should mention that the point of this test is to analyze image quality and visual fidelity. This is not a frame rate performance test. We captured our screenshots and video with a modest gaming rig, which sports an Intel Core i7 4770K CPU, 8GB of 1600MHz G.Skill RAM, and a GTX 680 video card.  The settings we used for each test are shown in the screenshots below:  Low Preset Medium Preset High Preset On a related note, the game's minimum and recommended specs are listed here.  Video Scene Analysis: Note: You can click on the images below to see an animated GIF comparing the scene running across Low, Medium, and High settings. Ocean Scene Our first scene has the game rendering an ocean, located near the game's hub city, Majula. When the scene is rendering on Low settings, it barely renders the ocean's waves. After we cranked it up to Medium, the waves became much more pronounced, finally, on High you can see the waves start to foam up a little more. We also noticed that the cloth on our character's trousers were less jaggy at Medium and High settings. Overall, there is a big difference between Low to Medium, but the disparity is less between Medium to High.  Note: You can click on the images below to see an animated GIF comparing the scene running across Low, Medium, and High settings. Indoor dark dreary dungeon scene In the second scene in our video, we captured footage from a dark dreary dungeon. This time, it was hard for us to delineate a difference between any of the game's presets. Our character's particle effects looked the same in Low, Medium, and High. We did see a difference in the dungeon's walls, however, which featured more detail at Medium and High settings. If you look at the arch way, you can see more textures on the rocks when the game is running in Medium and High.  Note: You can click on the images below to see an animated GIF comparing the scene running across Low, Medium, and High settings. Outdoor castle courtyard scene The last scene from our video shows our character in a castle courtyard. As we went from Low to High, it was again difficult for us to tell the difference between the three presets. Our character did look more detailed when we cranked up the setting from Low to High, but other than some minor shadows underneath the grass, we couldn't see many major visual upgrades in the environment. The castle's gray walls had a few more textures and shadows when going from Low to High settings, but these are very minor enhancements.   Extra Scenes not in the Video:  Castle vegetation scene In this scene we see a castle wall covered in green vegetation. We see a consistent increase in detail going from Low to High. As we went up in graphical fidelity, the moss on the castle's exterior becomes greener, crisper, and filled with more shadows.  Boulder scene Another area that we took a peek at featured a few boulders outside. As you can see it was difficult for us to tell the difference between the game's presets. We found that the rocks became more detailed going from Low to High, but there wasn't a huge difference within the rest of the environment. Conclusion: In doing our graphics test we saw the biggest difference in image quality when we had our character in highly-lit areas, or surrounded by water. When we were in dark or low-lit areas, the differences were quite negligible. For the most part, there doesn't seem to be a huge difference between Medium and High settings. The Medium preset in some cases looked almost identical to the High preset, with but a few minor missing textures and shadows. Ultimately, if you're playing Dark Souls 2, you probably won't see a huge disparity in image quality going from Medium to High, and this game isn't one that is likely to impress your console-loving friends with the game's highest settings.  Did you like this feature? If so, which game would you like us to do a deep dive graphical analysis on next?

Google Skips Ahead of Apple as Most Valuable Brand in the World Posted: 21 May 2014 11:00 AM PDT Apple concedes its spot atop the list of most valuable brands Steve Cook and the rest of the Cupertino gang at Apple are off their collective game, or so it would appear. Having once been declared the most valuable brand in the world, that honor now belongs to Google, as determined by Millward Brown, a global research agency specializing in advertising, marketing communications, media, and communications. In a new ranking of the top 100 most valuable global brands for 2014, the Mountain View firm supplanted its Cupertino rival. The way Millward Brown figures it, Google's brand is worth $158.84 billion. That's a significant 40 percent jump compared to Google's brand value last year. Meanwhile, Apple's reported brand value dropped 20 percent year-on-year to $147.88 billion. In doing so, the two companies traded the top two spots. "Digital service brands such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Tencent and LinkedIn are now more than just tools, they have become part of our lives. They offer new forms of communication that absorb people's attention and imagination, while also helping them organize the rest of their lives at the same time. To gain more of our mind-space brands such as Google are making ambitious plays across existing category boundaries," Peter Walshe, Global BrandZ Director at Millward Brown, told The Telegraph. IBM took the No. 3 spot at $107.54 billion, followed by Microsoft at No. 4 ($90.18 billion) and McDonalds at No. 5 ($85.76 billion). Technology-based firms accounted for half of the top 10 spots, the other two being AT&T at No. 8 ($77.83 billion) and Amazon at No. 10 ($64.25 billion). You can view the full list here (PDF). Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

California Paves Way for Testing Self Driving Cars on Public Roads in September Posted: 21 May 2014 09:52 AM PDT The next time you're cut off in traffic, it might be the car, not the human driver that did it! The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) this week approved a set of rules and regulations for testing autonomous vehicles, otherwise known as self-driving cars. There was a public hearing held back in January, after which the DMV delivered final testing regulations to the Office of Administrative Law for approval. Regulations were then written up this week and will become effective on September 16, 2014. As you might expect, there's a bit of a process involved before a company can put a driver inside a self-driving car and have it barrel down public roads. There's a permit that needs to be filed for. The vehicle must be operated by an autonomous vehicle test driver who is an employee, contractor, or designee of the manufacturer conducting the test. In addition, the company must have $5 million in insurance, or otherwise show proof that it can pay up to that amount in damage claims. There are requirements for the test driver as well. Most of the regulations are obvious entries -- the driver must be in immediate physical control or actively monitoring the vehicle's operation and capable of taking over if something goes awry. He or she must also remain in the driver's seat at all times. There's actually quite a bit of training involved. "As automated systems get more complex, human understanding also gets more complex," Bryant Walker Smith, a fellow at the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford (CARS), told ArsTechnica. "For a vehicle to suddenly swerve to the right, a human would have to grab [the steering wheel]... training becomes even more important, and it would also be important for general users." It's an interesting future we're embarking on. A recent article in Popular Science posed an interesting question. Say a front tire blows out and your autonomous car swerves. After calculating the outcome, the self-driving car can either swerve left into oncoming traffic and kill multiple people, or swerve right over a cliff killing just you. Which should it do? That's a question that will eventually need to be answered. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Google Chrome OS Update Adds Folder Support to Launcher Posted: 21 May 2014 09:17 AM PDT New and improved version of Chrome OS hits the Stable channel Google this week rolled out an updated version of its open source Chrome OS to the Stable channel -- version 35.0.1916.116 (Platform version: 5712.6.0). The update applies to all Chrome OS devices, save for the Asus Chromebook and Samsung Series 3 Chromebox. For all other Chrome OS devices, the update adds a number of bug fixes, security updates, and feature enhancements. One of the bigger additions to Chrome OS is that the Launcher now supports folders. You can now sort and organize all of your web apps into folders rather than stare at a haphazard collection of icons strewn about. Based on user feedback, Google also updated window controls. The minimize button has made a return and the left/right tiling of windows can be accomplished by long-pressing on the maximize button, Google says. If you're into voice commands, you'll be happy to know that blurting out "Ok Google" will allow you to use voice control on New Tab Page and Google.com for English (U.S.) users. Google says systems will be receiving the updated version of Chrome OS over the next several days. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Spotify Hits 10 Million Paid Subscriber Milestone Posted: 21 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT Streaming music service grows its paid membership amid increasing competition Today is a day of celebration for Spotify, the spunky streaming music service that just crossed the 10 million paid subscriber milestone. Including freeloaders, Spotify is home to more than 40 million active users across 56 markets. That's not too shabby for a service that first launched in 2008, and has only been available in the U.S. since late 2011 (first as an invite-only and then to everyone by the end of September). "We've had an amazing year, growing from 20 markets to 56 as people from around the world embrace streaming music. 10 million subscribers is an important milestone for both Spotify and the entire music industry," said Daniel Ek, CEO and Founder, Spotify. "We're widening our lead in the digital music space and will continue to focus on getting everyone in the world to listen to more music." Spotify shared some other interesting statistics, including the fact that Eminem is the most streamed artist of all time. The most streamed song on Spotify, however, is "Wake Me Up" by Avicii. Since launching in 2008, Spotify users have created over 1.5 billion playlists -- collectively, Spotify users are adding 5 million more each day. What this all translates into is over $1 billion going ro rights holders, Spotify says. The challenge for Spotify going forward is to make money, and do it at a time when competition is getting fierce. If reports turn out to be true, Apple will end up acquiring Beats Audio, which is home to Beats Music. Citing a financial report by PrivCo, Businessweek says Spotify has lost $200 million since it was founded. Hitting 10 million paid subscribers is a step in the right direction, but it may not be enough. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Lenovo Continues to Have Midas Touch, Posts Record $38.7 Billion Revenue for Full Year Posted: 21 May 2014 07:52 AM PDT Lenovo expanded its position as the No. 1 PC supplier in the world The good times keep rolling for Lenovo, the company that continues to defy the odds with record growth. This time, Lenovo posted revenue of $38.7 billion for its full fiscal year, up 14 percent compared to a year ago and the highest it's ever been. In fact, Lenovo broke records all around, including pre-tax income of $1.01 billion, up 27 percent year-over-year and record full year earnings of $817 million, up 29 percent. "Lenovo had a truly outstanding year," the OEM noted in what might be the world's largest understatement. The Chinese OEM increased its lead in PCs sales by adding 2.1 points of market share to hit a record 17.7 percent for the full year. That represents a 5 percent annual jump at a time when the industry average is an 8 percent decline. In terms of PCs sold, Lenovo moved 55 million computers, plus 9.2 million tablets and 50 million smartphones. "The record sales and profits that we delivered last year prove that Lenovo can grow and deliver its commitments, no matter the market conditions," said Yuanqing Yang, Lenovo Chairman and CEO. "Not only did we strengthen our leading position in PCs, but we gained three points in tablets by quadrupling sales volume and became the fastest growing major smartphone company in the world. This demonstrates our capability to manage both businesses that are already mature, as well as those that are shifting to maturity." Lenovo has figured out how to outpace the market, and in a big way. The company increased its laptop PC shipments by 12.9 percent, which flies in the face of an industry average decline of 5.8 percent. Meanwhile, Lenovo's desktop PC shipments jumped 6.8 percent year-over-year against an industry drop of 3.1 percent worldwide. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Newegg Daily Deals: MSI R9 280 Gaming 3GB Graphics Card, AMD FX-6350, and More! Posted: 21 May 2014 06:06 AM PDT Top Deal: We can all stop shaking our angry fist Bitcoin minters, Litecoin miners, and every other type of virtual coin miner that caused a shortage of AMD graphics cards. Stock is again available, and best of all, prices are back where they should be. Heck, there are even deals to be had. Just look at today's top deal for the MSI R9 280 Gaming 3GB Graphics Card for $200 with free shipping (normally $250 - use coupon code: [EMCPEHW233]; additional $30 mail-in-rebate). Other Deals: AMD FX-6350 Vishera 3.9GHz Socket AM3+ 125W Desktop Processor for $120 with free shipping (normally $140 - use coupon code: [EMCPEHW26]) Intel 730 Series SSDSC2BP480G4R5 2.5-inch 480GB SATA 6Gb/s MLC Internal Solid State Drive for $390 with free shipping Corsair HX Series HX850 850W ATX12V 2.3 80 Plus Gold Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply for $120 with free shipping (normally $150 - use coupon code: [EMCPEHW36]; additonal $20 Mail-in rebate) Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit for $90 with free shipping (normally $100 - use coupon code: [EMCPEHW53])

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