General Gaming Article

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• Newegg Daily Deals: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H LGA 1150 Mobo, Asus 23.6-inch LED Monitor, and More!
• Microsoft's Promises a Windows 10 Update for All Lumia Windows Phone 8 Devices
• Asus Likely to Outship Gigabyte in Motherboard Business in 2014
• JPR: Nvidia, Intel See Graphics Market Share Gains in Q2
• U.S. Department of Energy Invests $425 Million into Faster Supercomputing Technologies
• How to Download YouTube Videos
• BlackBerry Classic Now Available to Pre-Order, Releases December 17
• Microsoft's 'Skype for Web' Plugin Lets You Make Calls in Your Browser

Newegg Daily Deals: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H LGA 1150 Mobo, Asus 23.6-inch LED Monitor, and More! Posted: 14 Nov 2014 01:24 PM PST Top Deal: We're fast approaching the final days of 2014, and boy what a year it's been. You've worked hard, save up your pennies, watched as games were released that your Barton 2500+ just can't handle, and paid your dues. Now it's time to treat yourself with a brand new build! If you need help getting started, check out today's top deal for a Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H LGA 1150 Motherboard for $130 with free shipping (after $20 mail-in-rebate). It has an M.2 onboard connector, built-in Killer Networking, eight SATA 6Gbps ports, and tons of other amenities. Other Deals: Samsung 850 Pro Series 2.5-inch 128GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive for $99 with free shipping (normally $110 - use coupon code: [EMCWWWF96]) Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1866 (PC3 15000) Desktop Memory for $65 with free shipping (normally $91 - use coupon code: [EMCWWWF227]) WD Red 6TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5-inch NAS Hard Drive Bare Drive for $270 with free shipping (normally $290 - use coupon code: [EMCWWWF226]) Asus 23.6-inch 2ms Full HD HDMI LED BackLight LCD Monitor for $110 with free shipping (normally $160 - use coupon code: [EMCWWWF43]; additional $20 Mail-in rebate)

Microsoft's Promises a Windows 10 Update for All Lumia Windows Phone 8 Devices Posted: 14 Nov 2014 01:11 PM PST No Lumia Windows Phone 8 device left behind This time around, Microsoft isn't repeating its past mistake and will instead do Lumia phone customers a solid by committing to a Windows 10 update for all Lumia Windows Phone 8 handsets. Microsoft made the promise in response to a customer's question on Twitter. The customer said he was interested in buying a Lumia 930 phone but wanted to know if it would get the update to Windows 10. "We plan to upgrade all Windows Phone 8 devices to Windows 10," Microsoft responded, with a smiling emoticon for good measures. It's not clear when Windows 10 will be finished and ready for deployment, though it's nice to know beforehand that Microsoft won't leave its customer base out in the cold a second time. Microsoft made that mistake when it announced that Windows Phone 7 owners wouldn't be getting an upgrade to Windows Phone 8 due to a kernel change (to Windows NT). Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Asus Likely to Outship Gigabyte in Motherboard Business in 2014 Posted: 14 Nov 2014 12:37 PM PST Winning the shipment war, but losing profit Asus and Gigabyte have been engaged in a cutthroat shipment war with one another, each trying to ship more motherboards than the other. As we approach the end of the year, it looks like Asus will edge ahead of Gigabyte and ship around 2 million more motherboards in 2014, however that victory will come at the expense of a declining profit, which is not something that Gigabyte will have to contend with. An aggressive price-cutting strategy helped Asus ship six million motherboards in the third quarter, thereby widening the gap between it and Gigabyte. According to Digitimes, Asus is confident it will ship at least 5.6 million more boards in the fourth quarter, finishing the year at around 22 million motherboard shipments. Meanwhile, Gigabyte is on pace to ship less than 10 million motherboards in the second half of the year, which will have the company remaining flat at around 20 million units for 2014. If only counting shipment figures, Asus wins, though the victory comes at the expense of profit. While Gigabyte's profits will be roughly the same as last year, Asus is expected to see a sharp decline, dropping from NT$5 billion ($162.34 million) in 2013 to NT$4 billion ($129.87 million). Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

JPR: Nvidia, Intel See Graphics Market Share Gains in Q2 Posted: 14 Nov 2014 12:17 PM PST Nvidia wins big in graphics AMD and Nvidia now share an equal slice of the graphics market, according to the latest data from Jon Peddie Research (JPR), the industry's research and consulting firm for graphics and multimedia. It took a strong second quarter for Nvidia to put itself on even ground with AMD -- JPR notes that Nvidia increased its graphics shipments by 12.9 percent sequentially in the second quarter of 2014, while AMD's shipments declined 7 percent. Now both firms own a 14.1 percent chunk of the overall graphics market, tied for a distance second place behind Intel, which dominates the category with a 71.8 percent share. Intel's total shipments for the quarter jumped 11.6 percent sequentially, helping it to increase its share of the overall market by nearly 2 percentage points. However, JPR's market share data doesn't paint a complete picture of the landscape. The company's findings include discrete and inegrated graphics (CPU and chipset) for Desktops Notebooks, netbooks, and Chromebooks x86-based tablets PC-based commercial (POS), industrial/scientific, and embedded applications JPR doesn't include data from x86 game consoles, handhelds (like mobile phones), x86 servers, ARM-based tablets, or ARM-based servers. That means several Tegra-based devices aren't getting counted, nor are AMD graphics chips used in the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U -- no small omission with the tens of millions of gaming consoles that have been sold to date. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

U.S. Department of Energy Invests $425 Million into Faster Supercomputing Technologies Posted: 14 Nov 2014 11:50 AM PST Two big investments into next generation supercomputers The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Friday two new High Performance Computing (HPC) awards worth a combined $425 million. One is for $325 million, which will go to the department's Oak Ridge and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories to build two state-of-the-art supercomputers, and the other $100 million is going to further develop extreme scale supercomputing technologies as part of FastForward 2, an R&D program. "High-performance computing is an essential component of the science and technology portfolio required to maintain U.S. competitiveness and ensure our economic and national security," said Ernest Moniz, U.S. Secretary of Energy. "DOE and its National Labs have always been at the forefront of HPC and we expect that critical supercomputing investments like CORAL and FastForward 2 will again lead to transformational advancements in basic science, national defense, environmental and energy research that rely on simulations of complex physical systems and analysis of massive amounts of data." Both awards leverage IBM's Power Architecture combined with Nvidia's Volta GPU and Mellanox's Interconnected technologies. The stated goal is to advance key research initiatives for national nuclear deterrence, advance technology in general, and promote scientific discovery. Summit, the name of the supercomputer being built at Oak Ridge, is expected to offer a five-fold increase in performance over the current leading system, Titan. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

How to Download YouTube Videos Posted: 14 Nov 2014 10:08 AM PST Four different ways to download your favorite clips Streaming YouTube videos can quickly eat up your precious cellular data plan. In fact, most people don't watch videos on the go because of limited data plans. A way around this is to download videos onto a PC, then copy them to your mobile device. We've rounded up four ways to download YouTube videos and chosen our favorite of the bunch. Kibase Step 1: Go to www.kibase.com and click YouTube Downloader.  Step 2: On your YouTube video, right click, then select Page Source. Step 3: Select and copy all the HTML text (Ctrl+A to select the text and Ctrl+C to copy it). Step 4: Paste the text into the white box labled Step 2 and then click Submit. Your video will begin downloading to your computer as an MP4 file. Note: To change the format of the video, uncheck the Start Downloading the video file automatically when it is ready box before you click Submit.  You will then be moved to a new page showing you different format options you can choose from. Keepvid Step 1: Go to www.keepvid.com and copy and paste your YouTube link into the search bar. Step 2: You will be prompted to download Java for Windows, if you don't have it already installed on your computer. Step 3: Your browser will ask if you want to run Java on www.Keepvid.com; click Run This Time. Step 4: You will be given a set of resolutions and formats to choose from. Select the one you want, and the video will begin downloading. Note: The blue download button leads you to an ad for freeware, so don't click it! Clip Grab Okay, some of this guide will be pretty obvious. In short, you'll need to download the .exe and navigate through the installer, dodging freeware prompts.  Step 1: Go to www.clipgrab.com and click Free Download. Step 2: The first piece of freeware that you'll be prompted to install is Conduit. Click I do not accept and then click Next. Step 3: The next adware you'll be prompted to install is PureLeads. Again, click I do not accept and then click Next.  Step 4: Double click on Clip Grab and launch the program. Once it's launched, copy your YouTube link into the search bar in the Search Tab. Step 5: Click the Downloads tab to pick and choose what video format and resolution you want for the video. Next, click Grab This Clip and your video will begin downloading. Freemake There is a ton of freeware bundled into Freemake, so watch out. It's not hard to accidently install a random add-on or an extra toolbar. Step 1: Go to www.freemake.com and click the green Download Now link to download the .exe file. Step 2: Select your language and click OK to continue the installation process.  Step 3: Click Custom installation (advanced) and uncheck Install Search Protect.  Step 4: Click Custom installation and uncheck the Install PureLeads box. Step 5: Click Custom installation and uncheck the Install browser plugins (Chrome, Firefox) box. Step 6: Select the drive to install Freemake on and then click Next to begin the installation. Step 7: Launch Freemake and copy a YouTube URL to your clipboard using Ctrl+C. After this, you can select the video format you want to download the video as, by clicking on the different formats on the bar at the bottom of the application.  We've used all of these methods to download YouTube videos, and we like Kibase the best, as it's easy to use and it requires no extra installation of add-ons or .exes. A close second would be Keepvid because it only requires a Java for Windows installation. The other two download methods, Clip Grab and Freemake, use .exe programs to snatch your videos from YouTube. They also come with extra freeware you'll need to navigate through, which is annoying, but they do allow you download YouTube videos a few different formats that Kibase and Keepvid don't offer, which include AVI and WMV. Again, if you don't want to deal with .exes or downloading any extra installers to your PC, then Kibase is the way to go.

BlackBerry Classic Now Available to Pre-Order, Releases December 17 Posted: 14 Nov 2014 09:22 AM PST BlackBerry goes back to its roots BlackBerry, or the company formerly known as Research In Motion (RIM), is trying to become the comeback kid by returning to its roots. The BlackBerry Classic, now available to pre-order for $499 (CDN) or $449 (USD), is a departure from BlackBerry's recent attempts to compete in the mobile market with more traditionally styled smartphones and is a throwback to old school BlackBerry devices, but on a modern platform. "BlackBerry Classic is a new smartphone that builds upon the extremely successful and iconic BlackBerry heritage," BlackBerry explains. "Our loyal customers asked us for a very specific phone and we answered with BlackBerry Classic: a familiar design inclusive of the beloved classic navigation keys and physical keyboard, with the speed and powerful performance of BlackBerry 10." The Function keys and trackpad are two things BlackBerry brought back with the Classic. It also has a 3.5-inch square-shaped touchscreen (720x720 resolution) powered by a Qualcomm S4 Plus SoC and 2GB of RAM. According to some recently leaked specs, it also has 16GB of internal storage, microSD card slot, 8MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, NFC support, 2515mAh battery, and a few other odds and ends. BlackBerry said in a blog post that initial quantities will be limited, so "act fast" if you want to be among the first to own the Classic handset. Even if you do, you'll still have to wait a few weeks -- the BlackBerry Classic is slated to release on December 17, 2014. It's also worth pointing out that BlackBerry's only offering a GSM version at present, which means it won't work on Verizon, Sprint, or U.S. Cellular. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Microsoft's 'Skype for Web' Plugin Lets You Make Calls in Your Browser Posted: 14 Nov 2014 08:45 AM PST Make browser-based calls via Skype using a new plugin If for whatever reason you don't want to download and install Skype to your PC but are still interested in making calls through the service, you now can (or soon will be able to). Microsoft today introduced Skype for Web, a beta plugin that allows you to make Skype calls from your browser without having the download and install the full software package. You can also use it to send and receive chat messages. "Skype for Web makes it quicker and easier than ever before to connect with friends, family and colleagues around the world, for free – directly from Skype.com," Microsoft announced in a blog post. "It's perfect if you prefer using the web rather than an app: perhaps you're sitting at a computer that doesn't already have Skype downloaded. Or maybe you're on the go and using an internet café or hotel computer whilst on vacation where you can't download Skype at all. Using Skype for Web makes it more convenient to get to your conversations." At present, Microsoft says Skype for Web works with Internet Explorer, Chrome (on Windows only), Firefox, and Safari web browsers. It may also work on alternative browsers, though these are the ones Microsoft has tested for functionality. Microsoft's slow playing the roll out, similar to how Google does with its new services (like Inbox by Gmail). For right now, Skype for Web is being made available to a "small number of existing and new users" before gradually rolling out to a worldwide audience in the coming months. To see if you've been chosen, look for an invite when you sign in to your Skype account on Skype.com. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

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MMORPG News

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• Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn: The Long Wait, An Era’s End
• World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor Review in Progress #1
• Skyforge: Beta Gameplay Footage and Livestream
• World of Warcraft: Blizzard Reveals DDOS Attacks on Servers
• WildStar: Digesting Drop 3
• Skyforge: Tune In Tonight for an Exclusive Livestream of Closed Beta
• WildStar: WildStar’s Gambit and the Community’s Power

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn: The Long Wait, An Era’s End Posted: 13 Nov 2014 03:07 PM PST Victor fleshes out some translated information from a Japanese interview held at the FFXIV London Fanfest and reminsces about the time before A Realm Reborn.

World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor Review in Progress #1 Posted: 13 Nov 2014 03:24 PM PST There's nothing that kills procrastination on writing an article more than the fact that the game you're supposed to be writing about is, well let's just say "non-functioning". Yes, I'm talking about the latest World of Warcraft expansion, Warlords of Draenor and, yes, it's been one of those days.

Skyforge: Beta Gameplay Footage and Livestream Posted: 14 Nov 2014 05:41 AM PST We sit down with Development Director Eric Demilt of Obsidian Entertainment to talk and play their new MMORPG Skyforge, currently in technical closed beta and launching in 2015. The game is in technical beta, and its framerate and crashing are due to this. As Eric says, it's nowhere near optimized yet, but they wanted to show people what they were working on. Enjoy!

World of Warcraft: Blizzard Reveals DDOS Attacks on Servers Posted: 12 Nov 2014 05:09 PM PST In what is becoming sadly normal on a game's launch day, Blizzard has confirmed that World of Warcraft servers are under DDOS attack from an outside source that is resulting in server disconnects and lag rendering the Warlords of Draenor expansion unplayable by many. Blizzard is undertaking a series of fixes in order to return server stability and will be keeping the community informed.

WildStar: Digesting Drop 3 Posted: 11 Nov 2014 06:16 PM PST Earlier this week, WildStar's Drop 3 finally hit live servers. It's been three long months, but the Mysteries of the Genesis Prime are now open for us to explore. For many of us, the release marks the start of Carbine's road to recovery. But does this latest update really tick all the boxes?

Skyforge: Tune In Tonight for an Exclusive Livestream of Closed Beta Posted: 13 Nov 2014 09:11 AM PST Tonight, at 8pm ET (5pm PT, 12am CET), we'll be going live with Eric Demilt, Development Director of Skyforge from Obsidian and Allods Team. Get an early look at the technical alpha, how the combat works, and ask tons of questions of Eric... plus, we just might have some beta keys to give away! Don't miss it!

WildStar: WildStar’s Gambit and the Community’s Power Posted: 12 Nov 2014 02:32 PM PST WildStar is going through a time of transition. There's no way around it. Server populations have been on the decline. Key Carbine team members like Jeremy Gaffney, Chris Lynch, and Stephan Frost left for various reasons and that was before NC Soft let roughly 70 people go. The update timeline was officially stretched. About a month ago, the Shade's Eve Halloween event and the Christmas event, Winterfest, would not be held at all. Megaservers were announced and implemented.

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