| The 10 Best Source Engine Games Posted: 18 Jun 2014 04:08 PM PDT  Celebrating 10 Years of Source Engine with 10 Source Games
It's hard to believe that Valve's Source engine is turning 10 years old this month. We still remember being amazed at the Half-Life 2 tech demo shown back in 2003 at E3 and how we marveled at the huge leap in graphics as the notorious G-man appeared looking extremely lifelike. While the Source engine's focus was primarily made for first-person games, it hasn't stopped modders and developers from creating side-scrolling, RTS, top-down shooters, and puzzle games too. Over the years, Valve has improved and updated the engine for anyone wishing to use it. From the Source Filmmaker to better authoring tools, Source is a versatile engine that has allowed developers to create games on a wide variety of platforms. So we decided to celebrate the engine's tenth anniversary by choosing what we think are the 10 best Source games out there and list them in chronological order. We have to admit, it was tough considering that there is a 10-year span to choose from. As a result, we chose only one game for each franchise that made it on our list. Let us know what you think of our list and tell us what your favorite Source engine game is. Follow Sean on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Amazon Fire Phone Debuts as AT&T Exclusive, Available to Pre-Order Now Posted: 18 Jun 2014 12:20 PM PDT  At long last, Amazon has its own smartphone
Well, it's official -- Amazon today introduced Fire, its first smartphone. Fire also happens to be the only smartphone with "Dynamic Perspective" and "Firefly," a couple of new technologies Amazon is excited about. Before we get to those, let's get some essentials out of the way, starting with price ($199 with a two service agreement, or $27 per month with AT&T Next) and availability (like it did with the original iPhone, AT&T inked a deal to be the exclusive carrier). Getting back to Amazon's newfangled technologies, Dynamic Perspective uses a new sensor system to respond to the way you hold, view, and move Fire. This allows you to tilt, auto-scroll, swivel, and peek to navigate menus and access shortcuts with one hand. It also opens the door to a new level of immersion in games, as well as ties in with the Amazon Shopping app. Firefly is Amazon's buzzword for being able to recognize things in the real world, such as web and email addresses, phone numbers, QR codes, movies, musics, and more, all with a simple press of the Firefly button. "Fire Phone puts everything you love about Amazon in the palm of your hand—instant access to Amazon's vast content ecosystem and exclusive features like the Mayday button, ASAP, Second Screen, X-Ray, free unlimited photo storage, and more," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. "The Firefly button lets you identify printed web and email addresses, phone numbers, QR and bar codes, artwork, and over 100 million items, including songs, movies, TV shows, and products—and take action in seconds. We invented a new sensor system called Dynamic Perspective that recognizes where a user's head is relative to the device—we use it to offer customers a more immersive experience, one-handed navigation, and gestures that actually work. And this is only the beginning—the most powerful inventions are the ones that empower others to unleash their creativity—that's why today we are launching the Dynamic Perspective SDK and the Firefly SDK—we can't wait to see how developers surprise us." Moving on to the hardware, the Fire sports a 4.7-inch HD display with a 1280x720 resolution, 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU with Adreno 330 graphics, 2GB of RAM, 13MP rear-facing camera, 2.1MP front-facing camera, 32GB or 64GB of onboard storage, micro USB 2.0 port, 3.5mm headphone jack, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, NFC support, GPS, and a few other odds and ends. Fire comes with free cloud storage for all Amazon content, including photos taken with the handset, and one year of Amazon Prime membership. You can pre-order the Fire now; it will be available on July 25, 2014. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Newegg Daily Deals: Intel Core i5 4440 Haswell, Zalman 92mm CPU Cooler, and More! Posted: 18 Jun 2014 10:02 AM PDT |
| F-Secure Points Angry Finger at Microsoft, Wants Windows XP to Die Already Posted: 18 Jun 2014 09:28 AM PDT  "[Microsoft] should try and kill this beast!" - F-Secure on Windows XP
It's not cockroaches that would survive a nuclear war, but Windows XP, the legacy operating system that simply refuses to give up the ghost. Officially, Microsoft ended support for XP back in April, but companies still have the option of paying for continued security updates. Security firm F-Secure isn't real pleased with Microsoft's handling of XP or the fact that so many businesses and users are still running the OS. F-Secure's chief security researcher Mikko Hypponen lashed out at Microsoft and Windows XP during a roundtable event at the company's labs in Finland. "I can't wait for Windows XP to die. I'm glad Microsoft stopped shipping updates. I'm mad at Microsoft for shipping updates after end of support, it should try and kill this beast. But it's not dead yet," Hypponen said, according to The Inquirer. Hyponnen is peaved that around 20 percent of the PC market still runs Windows XP. His issue is with the lack of security compared to newer operating systems. "We should be getting rid of these old systems," Hyponnen said. "Why didn't [businesses] take up to this two years ago? It's surprising how slow governments are and also large companies everywhere. [It's] going to take a while to get rid of this headache and I can't wait." Hyponnen also talked about Android, noting that F-Secure manages 100,000 malware samples every day, many of which target the mobile OS. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Asus Expects a Rebound in Traditional PC Sales is Around the Corner Posted: 18 Jun 2014 09:04 AM PDT  Asus chairman isn't sweating the impact of tablets on traditional PCs
Mobile devices like tablets and smartphones took a toll on traditional desktop and laptop PCs, but they were never going to replace them entirely. Tablet growth has slowed considerably, and with Microsoft recently ending support for Windows XP, many in the industry expect to see a rebound in traditional PC shipments. According to Asus chairman Jonney Shih, traditional PC shipments will rise significantly in the second half of this year. Shih revealed his prediction at the company's 2014 shareholders meeting on Tuesday, Digitimes reports. The way Shih sees it, consumers are interested in tables for entertainment and PCs for work. Asus isn't picking one side over the other. As demand for mobile and traditional PCs overlap, the company will launch new products for each sector, including new smartphone models, tablets, and PCs. The company will also continue to cater to the DIY and pre-built markets -- Asus is currently the largest supplier of branded motherboards with 10.4 million mobo shipments in the first quarter. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| BlackBerry Inks Deal with Amazon to Offer Android Apps on BB10 Handsets Posted: 18 Jun 2014 08:39 AM PDT  Can Amazon fix BlackBerry's app problem?
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and for BlackBerry, that means opening up your ecosystem to run Android apps -- some of them, anyway. BlackBerry announced today that Amazon Appstore will be available with the launch of the BlackBerrry 10.3 operating system this fall. The deal will give BlackBerry users access to more than 240,000 Android apps, including popular titles like Netflix, Pinterest, and Minecraft. "Making the Amazon Appstore available on BlackBerry 10 devices will help BlackBerry continue to meet two essential needs: greater app availability for our smartphone users and enhanced productivity solutions for enterprises," said BlackBerry Executive Chairman and CEO John Chen. "We've listened to our customers and have taken this important step to deliver on their needs, while executing on our strategy." BlackBerry has tried various different strategies up to this point to try and regain relevance in the mobile space. However, consumers have continued to show a much stronger preference for Android and iOS. By tapping into Android, BlackBerry has a shot at reclaiming lost customers. The other upside for BlackBerry is that this deal frees itself up to focus on enterprise applications. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Lian Li Adds PC-B16 and PC-A61 to Mid-Tower Case Lineup Posted: 18 Jun 2014 08:16 AM PDT  A pair of brushed aluminum mid-tower cases
If it's a mid-tower enclosure you're after, your options just grew by two. That's because Lian Li this week announced the release of its PC-B16 and PC-A61, both of which are mid-tower cases sporting brushed aluminum, modular 5.25-inch drive cages, and removable hard drive bays. Both also offer plenty of elbow room -- 59.7L for the PC-B16 and 57.5L for the PC-A61 -- with the former putting additional focus on keeping things quiet. The PC-B16 goes about promoting silent operation by using sound absorbing foam on the side panels, top panel, and lockable front door. It also comes with three 120mm fans -- two in front, one in back, along with room for up to two 140mm or 120mm fans on top. Minus the sound absorbing cotton, the same is true of the PC-A61. These cases can fit CPU coolers up to 170mm (6.7 inches) in height, power supplies up to 280mm (11 inches) in length, and graphics cards up to 420mm (16.5 inches). You'll also find 30mm (1.2 inches) of clearance behind the motherboard tray for cable management. The PC-B16 and PC-A61 will be available this month in the U.S. Pricing will be $239 for the PC-B16B (black), $199 for the PC-A61A (silver) and PC-A61B (black), and $239 for the PC-A61WX (internal black w/ window). Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
