| The 10 Best Kickstarter Games Posted: 19 Dec 2014 12:57 PM PST  Great games we love made possible by crowdfunding
The Kickstarter scene exploded a few years back, as gamers discovered the crowdfunding platform and began to fund various video game projects. The plethora of games seeking funding ranged from new concepts to sequels that boasted new, unique features or appealed to our sense of nostalgia. Because of Kickstarter, we have seen some amazing games that have raised millions of dollars in funding, such as Star Citizen and Pillars of Eternity. Still, other Kickstarter projects raised much more money than their originally stated goals, thanks to an excited gaming community willing to fund them. However, over the past couple of years we've seen games that received funding way above their goals, then get cancelled due to not having enough funds (or other reasons). Clang, a project headed by science fiction author Neal Stephenson, was cancelled two years after its successful Kickstarter campaign, because of financial issues. Double Fine, which had two successful Kickstarter campaigns, has stumbled with financial issues, too. Over the past two years, quite a few projects have fallen to the wayside or not lived up to the ambitions set by the developers. Despite such examples, successfully funded games have slowly made their way to the community. So, we decided to list 10 Kickstarter games, in no particular order, that we feel are the best so far. However, we narrowed our list to games that have been completed and not being sold through Early Access. But before you check out the gallery, we must give an honorable mention to Elite: Dangerous, which was recently released. It appears that it could easily make our "10 best" list but we didn't have a chance to play it before this article went to press. We will, however, consider updating this article with more high-quality AAA Kickstarter games as time progresses. Feel free to let us know which Kickstarter-backed game is your favorite in the comments below. Follow Sean on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| IBM Wants to Tap Your PC and Android Devices to Cure Ebola Posted: 19 Dec 2014 12:55 PM PST  Free app puts your Android device to work crunching data when it would otherwise be idle
Scientists are hard at work looking for a definitive cure to Ebola, and you can help. More precisely, if you're willing to donate idle time power from your PC and/or Android device, you can help the cause. How? The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has partnered up with IBM and its World Community Grid to form a volunteer computing project called "Outsmart Ebola Together," and all you need to do is install a free app. Once installed, your PC and/or Android phone or tablet will crunch data at times then they would otherwise be idle. Small computational assignments are sent out to participating devices, which the software then completes and returns to scientists. It's essentially another distributed computing project, like Folding@Home, and so far almost 3 million PCs and mobile devices used by more than 680,000 people and 460 institutions from 80 countries have contributed virtual supercomputing power this this and other WCG projects over the past 10 years. "Our molecular images of the Ebola virus are like enemy reconnaissance," said Dr. Erica Ollmann Saphire of TSRI, one of the largest private biomedical research institutes in the United States. "These images show us where the virus is vulnerable and the targets we need to hit. In the Outsmart Ebola Together project, we will be able to harness World Community Grid's virtual supercomputing power to find the drugs we need to aim at these targets." It took just one week on the grid for the Ebola project to complete what it would have taken a single PC with a single processor around 35 year to complete, Time reports. Speed is critical in this case as Ebola continues to spread and mutate. The caveat? One would presume lower battery life since idle time is now being put to work. There's also no iOS version of the free app yet, though IBM is working on it. For more information, go here. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Western Digital Expects Storage Market to Grow by Billions of Dollars Posted: 19 Dec 2014 09:34 AM PST  Cloud computing and IoT are pushing demand for more storage
Don't feel too bad for storage players as the prices of hard drives and solid state drives continue to come down -- there's still money to be made. Lots of it. By Western Digital's estimation, the global storage market will reach $38 billion by the end of this year, up from $36 billion a year ago. And that's not all -- WD sees the growth continuing into next year and beyond, with 2015 seeing $42 billion in storage sales. Home computers and PC storage applications account for nearly half of all storage sales, though WD sees enterprise customers becoming bigger buyers in the not-too-distant future, Digitimes reports. This is due to a rise in popularity among cloud-based services and the growing Internet of Things (IoT) trend. As it stands, the overall demand for storage reached 4.4 zettabytes in 2013, or 4.4 billion terabytes. A drop in the bucket compared to where things are headed over the next several years -- by 2020, that figure is expected to balloon to 44 zettabytes. WD expects enterprise demand to outpace that of PCs next by either next year or 2016. To ensure it capitalizes on however the market shakes out, WD is planning a series of product lines in varying categories, including new opportunities in cloud compouting, IoT, NAS, and personal cloud applications. Image Credit: Flickr (Dominik Bartsch) Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| U.S. Plans to Officially Pin Blame for Sony Hack on North Korea Posted: 19 Dec 2014 08:59 AM PST 
Evidence points to North Korea as the culprit behind a cyber attack on U.S. soil After investigating a major cyberattack against Sony Pictures Entertainment that resulted in the theft and subsequent leak of various data, it appears there's enough evidence to suggest that North Korea is the culprit, as was previously suspected. However, U.S. authorities have been debating whether or not to publicly accuse North Korea of the attack, fearing that doing so would play into the country's hands of seeking a confrontation. According to reports, the decision's been made. Another reason why authorities were hesitant to confront Kim Jong-un and his regime is because it could negatively affect ongoing diplomacy efforts to negotiate the return of Japanese citizens kidnapped several yars ago. Nevertheless, President Barack Obama is expected to address the hacking incident and call out North Korea during an end-of-year news conference scheduled for 1:30 PM EST today, Reuters reports. The cyberattack on Sony ranks as the biggest ever on U.S. soil. Attackers made off with a treasure trove of data, including social security numbers of actors and actresses, movie scripts, internal emails, and more. However, the attack turned particularly ugly when hackers made threats against cinemas and movie goers planning to attend "The Interview," a far-fetched comedy in which the CIA enlists a couple of dimwits to assassinate Kim Jong-un. Sony took the threat seriously, ultimately cancelling the movie's Christmas Day debut. It's unclear if the movie will release to theaters at a later date or if Sony has alternate plans for the film. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Google Delays Fiber Expansion, Keeps the Details Vague Posted: 19 Dec 2014 08:27 AM PST  Several U.S. cities eagerly await Google to announce its fiber expansion plans
Just a few locations have benefited from Google's fiber roll out, which allows for up to 1Gbps Internet service (both uploads and downloads) along with the bundling of TV service at relatively affordable price points. More cities are on the expansion roadmap, though Google has decided to postpone plans to launch its fiber service in new territories before the end of the year, the company announced. "We've been working closely with cities ... to figure out how we could bring them Google Fiber, and we're grateful for their vision, commitment, and plain old hard work," Google said in a statement, according to SlashGear. "While we were hoping to have an update for cities before the holidays, we have a bit more work to wrap up; we'll be back in touch sometime early next year." Google didn't offer up any specific reasoning for the delay into 2015, though it may have to do with wanting to put in more research into existing infrastructures before jumping in with shovels and machinery. In speaking with the Triangle Business Journal, Google Fiber director of business development, Jill Szuchmacher, likened the gung-ho approach to "getting married without having ever dated." "If there's infrastructure built, there is no reason to dig up a street," she added. AT&T has also put the brakes on its gigabit expansion, at as it pertains to cities beyond those where a commitment already exists. However, AT&T's delay is due to uncertainties with net neutrality rules, as the company wants to see what the future landscape will be like before it decides to further invest in fiber. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Newegg Daily Deals: MSI CX61 Gaming Laptop, WD Black Series 2TB HDD, and More! Posted: 19 Dec 2014 05:43 AM PST  
Top Deal: If you're really determined, you could unhook your massive desktop tower, pack it up, grab your monitor and peripherals, pack those up too, and bring your entire system with you to work, on business trips, and wherever else your mobile lifestyle takes you. Or you could resign to the fact that a laptop sure would come in handy. The problem is, you don't want to spend too much on one, yet still want a bit of gaming chops. The solution? Have a gander at today's top deal for an MSI CX61 15.6-inch Gaming Laptop for $695 (use coupon code: [EMCWHWB28]). It has an Intel Core i5 4200M processor, 8GB of RAM, 750GB HDD, and Nvidia GeForce GT 820M graphics. Other Deals: WD Black Series 2TB 3.5-inch Internal Hard Drive for $120 with free shipping (normally $132 - use coupon code: [EMCWHWB22]) Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 2.5-inch 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) for $99 with free shipping (normally $110 - use coupon code: [EMCWHWB35] ; Free USD $20 Shutterfly gift card w/ purchase, while supplies last) Corsair CX750M 750W Modular Power Supply for $80 with free shipping (normally $90 - use coupon code: [EMCWHWB37]; adittional $20 Mail-in rebate) Dragon Age: Inquisition PlayStation 4 for $53 with free shipping (normally $60 - use coupon code: [EMCWHWB44]) |
