| How the Steam Machines Are Losing Steam Posted: 28 May 2014 05:38 PM PDT Steam hardware vendors are getting the short end of the stick with delays There may have been an Internet aww released when Valve officially said the Steam controller will "realistically" be delayed until 2015, but for those with skin in the game, the news couldn't be worse. 
The Steam Machines have been delayed until 2015. According to numerous Steam Machine hardware vendors, official Steam Machines wouldn't be sanctioned by Valve unless the PCs are shipped with the Steam controller. When you do the math, this essentially means the Steam Machines themselves are delayed from their projected Q4 2014 release until some unspecified time in 2015. While that may be disappointing to hear from a consumer's standpoint, it is the Steam Machine hardware vendors that are getting the short end of the stick. Valve officially unveiled its 13 Steam Machines back in January at CES 2014. While no specific release date was announced, one hardware vendor told us it got the impression Steam Machines would be on sale that same quarter, or Q1 2014. With this in mind, many of these hardware vendors have been prepping their Steam Machines for Valve's then impending launch, but the launch period has been dragged out so long now that it will be easily beyond one year from what they were originally lead to believe. This essentially means that many of these hardware vendors have been sitting on finished hardware for several months. 
Valve has been infamous for their "Valve Time" (i.e., multiple project delays) But it gets even hairier. One Steam Machine OEM who asked not to be identified described the whole ordeal as "a huge mess," adding, "It's a joke of a situation." When outlining the reasons for the complaints, the vendor listed ordering and sitting on inventory (GPUs, CPUs, etc.) as a main factor, and when you couple this with the fact that these computer components quickly depreciate in value over time, it turns out to be a major loss of investment that OEMs have to absorb. For instance, imagine forking over $500 for a GeForce GTX 680, but by the time the Machine launches, the graphics card is worth $350 street. Our contact reminded us that unlike Valve, OEMs make no revenue off of Steam game sales. "Here's another situation Valve doesn't realize," the person fumed, "because we've been planning with [several retail outlets] to launch this thing, every time Valve has delayed the controller, we have had to go back and say 'oh, whoops… it's not happening now.'" "We're pretty upset" they said, adding "I can imagine [the other Steam Machine OEMs] are too." "Maybe we have our heads in the wrong place," they said, adding, ''but Valve isn't treating partners like partners." |
| Google Has Made Its Own Self-Driving Vehicle Posted: 28 May 2014 05:19 PM PDT  Look mom, no steering wheel
Google has been building its own self-driving cars and testing them. According to Google's official blog, the company has created prototypes that do not have a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, or brake pedal. The reason for the removal of these parts is that Google expects the software and sensors to do all the work. In its approach to the self-driving car, Google focused on designing a very basic vehicle that can get you from one destination to another at the push of a button. Safety was a focus for the company and that is obvious considering that there are sensors that remove blindspots and are capable of detecting objects in all directions up to a distance the size of two football fields. The inside of the vehicle itself is spartan. There are two seats, a space for the passenger's items, a screen that will show the route, and buttons to start and stop the car. For now, however, the car's speed has been capped at a slow 25mph. Google plans to build around 100 of the prototype vehicles and could start a small pilot program in California over the next couple of years. In the meantime, the company will have its safety drivers test the early versions later this summer. Would you want to be chauffeured around in a self-driving car? Follow Sean on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Samsung Announces New Health Monitoring Module Simband Posted: 28 May 2014 04:03 PM PDT  Open source design for health monitoring
For those who are health-conscious, Samsung is developing a new health monitoring device called Simband, an open reference sensor module. Working with the University of California, San Francisco (USCF) and IMEC, Simband will be capable of gathering vital diagnostic information. The concept behind Simband is that the device will be able to monitor and gather a person's vital information and relay it back to the user in a simplified manner. Heartrate, bloodflow, respiration, and even hydration will be some of the things tracked constantly by the device through the use of optical sensing. Optical sensing, or Photoplethysmography, is an optical technique that uses lights to measure vitals such as a person's pulse. What is really interesting, though, is that the Simband will be an open platform. Information gathered by Simband, and devices based on it, will be uploaded to the cloud that can then be accessed by developers and partners in order to create new applications for Simband. No date for when the Simband will be available was provided. Follow Sean on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Surface Pro 3 Unboxing and Overview Video Posted: 28 May 2014 02:22 PM PDT The third time might just be the charm for Microsoft's laptop/tablet hybrid A bigger/sharper screen, the option for beefier specs, and an improved keyboard cover herald Microsoft's new Surface Pro 3. With the new Surface, the Redmond-based company has both tablets and laptops (specifically, the Macbook Air) in their sights. In our video below, Maximum PC Managing Editor Alaina Yee unboxes the Surface Pro 3 and walks us through the new sleek hybrid. The Surface Pro 3 we have features a 12" 2160x1440 screen, Core i5-4300U 1.9GHz chip with Intel HD Graphics 4400, 8GB DDR3/1600MHz, 256GB SSD, USB 3.0 port, Mini DisplayPort, 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0, and Windows 8.1 Pro, and weighs 1.76 pounds. For this particular model, the pre-order price is $1300, but cost will vary depending on your configuration. (Choices range from a Core i3 chip with 4GB RAM and a 64GB SSD to a Core i7 chip with 8GB RAM and a 512GB SSD.) Look for our full review in our September 2014 issue! |
| Acronis Disk Director 12 Adds Support for Windows 8 and 8.1 Posted: 28 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT  Handy disk management tool for manipulating partitions
Acronis on Wednesday rolled out Acronis Disk Director 12, the newest version of its disk management and data manipulation software. Disk Director's 12 core library support was developed by Acronis Labs, the company's $10 million high-tech R&D center launched in 2013. Using the provided tools, users can partition, format, manipulate, clone, install, share, convert, boot, span, merge, split, resize, copy, and move data or disk partitions without losing files. "Since it first hit the market 13 years ago, Acronis Disk Director has been a leading disk management tool and has remained a must-have for technical users who want the most complete disk partitioning and data manipulation solution available," said Nat Maple, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Global Consumer Business, Acronis. "But data protection needs have evolved dramatically over the last decade. With most computers now shipping with one large single partition hard drive, the most basic form of data protection available is to create different logical partitions for the operating system and your personal data, protecting your data in the case of an issue or infection of the operating system." The new version offers extended Windows support, including for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, along with earlier versions going back to Windows XP. It also supports newer Unified Extensible Firmwar Interface (UEFI)-based BIOSes. Acronis says Disk Director 12 users can create bootable media and boot into a recovery environment on UEFI systems. Acronis Disk Director 12 is available now for $50 MSRP; three-license packs are available for $80 MSRP. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Controller Tweaks Prompt Valve to Delay Steam Machines Until 2015 Posted: 28 May 2014 08:45 AM PDT  Valve wants to perfect its wireless prototype controllers before launching Steam Machines
Well now, this is certainly a bummer. While we hoped to be testing out an avalanche of Steam Machine releases this year, it doesn't look like that's going to happen. Instead, Valve just announced that Steam Machines probably won't officially launch until next year, which buys the publisher time to tweak its wireless prototype controllers. Valve wants to make sure the controller is up to par before moving forward. "We've been getting emails from the Steam community asking us how our in-development Steam Machines are coming along. It's great that you're excited about it, and we know you appreciate it when we keep you in the loop on stuff like this, so we wanted to give you all a quick update," Valve stated in a blog post. "We're now using wireless prototype controllers to conduct live playtests, with everyone from industry professionals to die-hard gamers to casual gamers. It's generating a ton of useful feedback, and it means we'll be able to make the controller a lot better. Of course, it's also keeping us pretty busy making all those improvements. Realistically, we're now looking at a release window of 2015, not 2014," Valve continued. Valve considers the controller to be a core part of the Steam Machine experience. In fact, the controller was one of a three-part unveiling last year, the other two being Steam OS and of course the Steam Machine itself. Hardware vendors can probably forge ahead with Steam Machine-like boxes, but in the past, they've told us that Steam Machines won't be officially launched until the controller is ready. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Nvidia's Dual GPU GeForce GTX Titan Z Graphics Card Arrives Posted: 28 May 2014 08:26 AM PDT  Two-headed beast from Team Nvidia is ready to hit the town
We're getting bombarded with press releases from boutique builders and graphics card makers announcing the availability of Nvidia's GeForce GTX Titan Z, and with good reason. Today is the day Nvidia is launching the dual-GPU Titan Z, which brings tons of pixel pushing power to the gaming and high-end graphics scene. If you really want to make a statement (and a dent in your bank account), you can grab two and rock a quad-SLI rig. "GTX Titan Z is the fastest and most advanced graphics card we've ever made. A technical masterpiece, designed from top to bottom for record breaking performance, the innovatively-designed GTX Titan Z has 12 GB of 7Gbps video memory, a 12 phase power supply with dynamic power balancing, full speed double precision support, 5,760 CUDA cores, and two GK110 GTX Titan Black GPUs to power 3840x2160 resolutions," Nvidia says. According to Nvidia, the double-precision computational power of multiple GTX Titan Z-accelerated systems now eclipses that of multi-million dollar supercomputers, and does it while using a fraction of the power and space. Pretty impressive. You have to pay to play in this kind of high-end territory with an MSRP that sits at $2,999. Expect to see custom cooled models going for even more. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Asus PB287Q is a 28-inch 4K Ultra HD Monitor for Prosumers and Gamers Posted: 28 May 2014 07:45 AM PDT  A 4K monitor with a 1ms refresh rate (gray-to-gray)
The transition from Full HD 1080p to 4K Ultra HD is moving along at a steady pace. Those interested in being an early adopter already have several models to choose from; add one more to the pile. Asus today introduced the PB287Q, a 28-inch monitor with a 4K Ultra HD (3840x2160) resolution and fast 1ms refresh rate. According to Asus, the PB287Q is intended for prosumers and gamers. You can coax a 60Hz refresh rate out of the PB287Q, provided you use DisplayPort 1.2. If you're fine with 30Hz, you can hook it up using either of the two HDMI ports, the second one of which provides MHL support to charge your mobile device and/or display mobile content on the monitor. The monitor itself is slim and ergonomic with a stand that provides swivel, title, pivot, and height adjustments. It's also VESA mount compatible in case you'd rather plop it on your wall. Other features include a true 10-bit panel, 100,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 170 degree (H) / 160 degree (V) viewing angles, 3.5mm earphone output, 3.5mm audio input, Picture-in-Picture (PiP) support, Picture-by-Picture (PbP) support, and several proprietary Asus technologies. The Asus PB287Q will be available around the middle of June for $649 MSRP. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Maingear Now Offering Nvidia GeForce GTX Titan Z Graphics Card Options on All Desktops Posted: 28 May 2014 06:50 AM PDT  Systems sporting a Titan Z start at $4,292
Boutique builder Maingear is now letting users configure desktops with Nvidia's dual-GPU GeForce GTX Titan Z graphics card. The GPU option is available across Maingear's entire line of desktops, including the SHIFT, F131, Vybe, Rush, and Force. Not for the faint of wallet, pricing starts at just under $4,300 for a Vybe H81 equipped with a Titan Z, though if you're going that route, we suggest making a few upgrades. The least expensive configuration with a Titan Z comes with a Gigabyte GA-H81M-HD3 motherboard, Intel Core i3 4330 processor, 8GB of Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600 RAM, 500GB Seagate Barracuda HDD (7200 RPM), 24X DVD burner, and Windows 8.1 64-bit. If you're spending north of four grand, you might as well go the extra mile and upgrade to a solid state drive, faster processor, and perhaps twice as much RAM. And you certainly can -- Maingear offers a litany of customization options. The Titan Z rocks 5,760 cores and 12GB of onboard memory for 8 TeraFLOPS of performance. Not only will it happily handle today's 4K displays, but Nvidia says it's primed for next-generation 5K monitors (whenever those might come out) and multi-monitor gaming setups. Head over to Maingear to configure (or just window shop) a Titan Z gaming desktop. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Newegg Daily Deals: Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit, Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p Gaming Laptop, and More! Posted: 28 May 2014 06:10 AM PDT |
Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's 
