| No BS Podcast #234: Windows 10, Oculus Rift, Haswell CPUs Posted: 09 Oct 2014 12:31 PM PDT We play around with Windows 10 technical preview on the show Brett Puttman and Scott Moschella from our video production crew join us on episode 234 of the No BS Podcast to talk about Windows 10 (we play around with the technical preview in the podcast), the state of broadband in the US, Oculus Rift Crescent Bay, Intel's CPUs, and the appeal of Apple products. Brett and Scott are techie guys who, in the course of their work, deal with Apple devices a lot. They have some pretty interesting insight into the Apple universe, and technology in general.   
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| Microsoft Refutes Surface Pro 3 Rumor, Says Tablet is Here to Stay Posted: 09 Oct 2014 11:24 AM PDT  News of the Surface Pro 3's demise have been greatly exaggerated
It's not too often that Microsoft addresses rumors and speculation floating through cyberspace, so the fact that it stood up in defense of its Surface Pro 3 tablet amid talk that it's planning to cancel the product line is telling. Straight and to the point, Microsoft took to its Surface blog to reiterate to businesses (and anyone else) that it's not planning to discontinue the Surface Pro 3. Period. "Businesses can buy with confidence. We are here to stay," Microsoft stated. "At Microsoft, we believe in the future of mobile computing, and with Surface, we have brought a unique perspective to market that meets the needs of many mobile professionals, businesses, educational institutions, and government organizations." It was Digitimes that threw the rumor out there suggesting that weak sales prompted Microsoft to rethink things and ultimately decide to scrap its Surface product line. The site also cited financial losses of around $1.7 billion attributed to Microsoft's first- and second-generation Surface tablets. Microsoft responded in a long-winded blog post saying that Surface Pro 3 is "off to a strong start with both individuals and businesses." Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| iBuyPower Now Taking Pre-Orders for $399 SBX Console Posted: 09 Oct 2014 11:03 AM PDT  Built for PC gaming and entertainment, but don't call it a PC
Valve kind of dropped the ball on the whole Steam Machine initiative when it decided to delay the platform's official launch until next year so that it could have additional time to tweak the controller. The fallout from that decision is that third-party hardware partners are left holding Steam Machine designs that are ready to go now. What's a company to do? Drop the Steam Machine nomenclature and roll with what you have. For iBuyPower, that means announcing the SBX Entertainment System. "What we really wanted to do was make an impact in the living room. We wanted to really show the world that the power of desktop gaming machine can be experienced in the living room in a totally seamless way," said Darren Su, Co-founder and VP of iBuyPower. "All preconceptions of what entertainment in the living room should and can be, are out the door." Let's cut the crap and get straight to the point -- the SBX is, for all intents and purposes, a PC in console digs. However, iBuyPower doesn't want you to view it like every other desktop that's out there. "All aspects of design and hardware are optimized for a gaming experience that sheds away legacy PC overhead. Make no mistake about it, this is not a PC," iBuyPower says. Alrighty then. Whatever you decided to call it, you can configure the SBX to boot directly into Steam Big Picture mode, or any other configuration. The system handles games, media, streaming, and more. It's also Steam OS ready, iBuyPower says. Pricing starts at $399, which gets you the SBX Raw. That includes an AMD Athlon 740 CPU, 4GB of DDR3-1600 memory, Radeon R7 250X graphics card, 500GB hard drive, 802.11ac, and 3-year warranty. You'll have to add your own operating system. The $459 configuration tosses in an Xbox 360 controller, while the $549 SBX Plus adds both the controller and Windows 8.1. Finally, there's a $699 model that doubles the RAM to 8GB and swaps out the 500GB HDD for a 1TB HDD. It too comes with an Xbox 360 controller and Windows 8.1. All four configurations are available to pre-order now. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Newegg Daily Deals: Intel 730 Series 240GB SSD, Asus GeForce GTX 780 GPU, and More! Posted: 09 Oct 2014 10:43 AM PDT |
| IDC: Lenovo Retains Top Spot in PC Shipments, Apple Edges Asus for Fifth Place Posted: 09 Oct 2014 09:32 AM PDT  PC shipment decline not as bad as forecast
The numbers are in and according to International Data Corporation (IDC), Lenovo is still the top supplier of PCs in the world with a 20 percent share of the market in the third quarter of 2014, up from 17.17 percent in the same period a year ago. Meanwhile, Apple managed to claw its way into the top five chart by overtaking Asus for fifth place with a 6.3 percent share of the market, up from 5.7 percent a year ago. Sandwiched in between Lenovo and Apple are HP (No. 2, 18.8 percent, up from 17.5 percent), Dell (No. 3, 13.3 percent, up from 11.9 percent), and Acer (No. 4, 8.4 percent, up from 7.4 percent). All five of the world's top PC suppliers saw gains in market share over the last year, while the "others" category that Asus now belongs to saw a decline to 33.1 percent, down from 39.7 percent. Made aware of the news, Lenovo issued a statement crediting its ability to stay on top for 6 consecutive quarters to a strong game plan. The Chinese OEM is also quick to point out that it's growing other parts of its business, such as tablets and smartphones. "Reaching the 20 percent mark in global PC share is a great milestone for Lenovo – and we got there even faster than expected. While others have been looking for a game plan that works, we have been executing ours and the results speak for themselves," Lenovo chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing said in a statement. "Not only have we reached another record high and solidified our PC leadership position for the 6th straight quarter, but we have diversified our business at the same time. We are number 2 in the growing PC+tablet market and number 3 in global tablet sales and servers. And we will soon be number 3 in worldwide smartphones. Even as our revenues approach $50 billion, Lenovo has remained consistent AND nimble." According to IDC, worldwide PC shipments totaled 78.5 million units in the third quarter of 2014, which represents a 1.7 percent year-on-year decline. IDC called it a "sizable improvement" compared to its forecast of a 4.1 drop. IDC's data includes desktops, portables, ultraslim notebooks, chromebooks, and workstations; they do not include handhelds, x86 servers, or tablets (iPad or tablets with detachable keyboards running either Windows or Android). Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| AT&T Agrees to Pay $105 Million to Settle "Cramming" Lawsuit Posted: 09 Oct 2014 09:10 AM PDT  Settlement will lead to consumer refunds
AT&T this week agreed to pay out $105 million in fines and refunds to settle "mobile cramming" charges against the company. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the settlement is the largest ever with a prominent mobile phone carrier. As part of the settlement, AT&T will pay the FTC $80 million to provide refunds to customers, $20 million in penalties, and a $5 million penalty to the Federal Communications Commission. "I am very pleased that this settlement will put tens of millions of dollars back in the pockets of consumers harmed by AT&T's cramming of its mobile customers," said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. "This case underscores the important fact that basic consumer protections – including that consumers should not be billed for charges they did not authorize - are fully applicable in the mobile environment." Cramming is the practice of billing customers for unauthorized third-party charges. These come in many forms, including ringtone charges, text messages containing love tips or horoscopes, and other types of services or information that may not have signed up to receive. During its investigation, the FTC found that AT&T had received "very high volumes of consumer complaints" that had to do with unauthorized third-party charges -- more than 1.3 million calls in 2011 alone. In some cases, the cramming charges accounted for 40 percent of the bill. Making matters worse, AT&T's bill structure made it difficult to know that third-party charges were being placed, the FTC says. On the first page of printed bills and summary section of online bills, consumers would only see a total amount due and due date. On other pages, the fees would be listed simply as "AT&T Monthly Subscriptions," which made it seem like charges were part of services provided by AT&T. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Seagate Wins $800 Million Verdict Against Western Digital Posted: 09 Oct 2014 07:49 AM PDT  Minnesota Supreme Court sides with Seagate
After coming out victorious in an appeals court last year, Seagate again has reason to celebrate a legal victory as the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld the previous $630.4 million arbitration award levied against rival Western Digital. The initial award was issued on January 23, 2012, and continues to accrue interest at 10 percent -- as of October 8, 2014, the total award with interest is worth about $800 million. Seagate originally sued Western Digital over the theft of eight separate company trade secrets by one of its former employees. This final ruling in Seagate's favor is a big win for the company, as it can't be appealed. "We are very pleased with the Court's decision that was released today," said Steve Luczo, Seagate Chairman and CEO. "Protecting our intellectual property is essential to maintaining a fair competitive position in the market. We applaud the Court for recognizing not only the importance of protecting intellectual property but the merits of our case. Today's decision resolves this longstanding litigation in Seagate's favor." The arbitration award accounts for $525 million of the $800 million that Western Digital now owes. The remaining $275 million is due to pre-award interest (around $105.4 million) and interest accrued on the principal amount of the award from January 24, 2012 through the date that it's paid. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
