General Gaming Article

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• Windows 10 Vs. Windows 8.1: The Major Differences
• Hola VPN Extension Caught Selling Bandwidth to Botnet
• Newegg Daily Deals: MSI Z97-Gaming 7 Motherboard, AMD Athlon 5350, and More!
• Rig of the Month: The Tank
• Going with Godavari? Asus Gives FM2+ Owners the Green Light with BIOS Update
• Microsoft to Crack Down on Windows Store App Pricing and Clutter
• Zotac's Zbox MA760 Mini PC Brings Four DisplayPorts to the Viewing Party
• Research Shows Overclocking is Cool Again

Windows 10 Vs. Windows 8.1: The Major Differences Posted: 29 May 2015 01:05 PM PDT With Windows 10 gearing up for a summer launch, many Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 users may be skeptical about the upgrade, despite its zero-dollar price tag. Visions of the Windows 8 rollout are still pretty fresh in our collective mind, and despite the OS's many benefits, that Start screen can still inspire hyperventilation (and possibly hives) in desktop users. Although changes in Windows 8.1 helped ease the pain, Windows 10 aims to be what Microsoft was hoping for with Windows 8: the best version of Windows to date. With Windows 10, Microsoft has opened the feedback doors to the average Joe, if said Joe is willing to be a participant in its Insider program. For the user, this should result in Windows 10 being more consumer-friendly. Sure, Microsoft is steering the boat, but Insiders have a significant hand in plotting the course. So, what are the major differences between Windows 10 and Windows 8.1? Here are seven: Charms Bar For starters, Microsoft has removed the Charms bar for desktop users. In the process, the Search app has been moved to the taskbar (see Cortana) and the Settings panel is now a Modern UI app. There's no "Devices" app in the new OS, but users can access the "Devices and Printers" section in the Control Panel. The Sharing option is still available, but only through individual apps. (As a side note, if you're in Windows 8.1 and don't want the Charms bar popping up, there's a way to disable it. Actually, you're disabling the "hot corners," which brings up the Charms Bar and the Recent Apps bar. Simply right-click the taskbar, choose "Properties," hit the "Navigation" tab, and then uncheck both options in the "Corner Navigation" section. Want them back? Just do the above and check both boxes.) For the curious, there's only one hot corner in Windows 10. The upper-left corner seems to have been disabled, but the upper-right corner can still be toggled on and off. You'll also see a reference to the Charms bar in the Navigation tab, but as previously stated, the Charms bar is not active in the desktop version of Windows 10. Notifications This is one of our favorite changes to the Windows platform. While Windows 8.1 does an OK job at providing some notifications-such as a birthday reminder or Facebook message-they're somewhat ephemeral. Windows 10 slides out a notification card at the bottom of the screen; if you miss it, you can still access it by clicking the Notifications icon that sits to the system clock. This displays the Notifications panel that is normally tucked away to the right of the screen. For instance, a click of the icon shows us a message from the Settings app regarding a mandatory system restart that take place at midnight. We have other messages, including one from Razer Synapse requesting that we download the software updates. Plus, a friend has a birthday today, and there's an Office document that needs attention before uploading to the cloud. As of Windows 10 Build 10074, the Notification panel includes several quick commands, located at the bottom of its window. There's a button for turning on tablet mode, a shortcut to the Settings app, a shortcut to the Bluetooth settings, a button for turning location on or off, a button for locking the rotation, and a shortcut to the VPN portion of the Settings app. Windows Start Screen For desktop users, this is probably the biggest change to the Windows platform. As of Build 10074, the Start screen is no longer accessible from the desktop. Instead, clicking the Start button presents a very cool Start Menu. This menu is composed of both app listings and Live Tiles. The Tiles themselves have a 3D look, thanks to a rotation animation. There are six components to the Start Menu: File Explorer, Documents, Settings, Most Used (Apps), the Power button, and the All Apps button. This latter button will pull up every installed app, whether it's from Windows Store or installed manually by the user. The Live Tile view of the Start Menu can be expanded full-screen, mimicking the Start Screen seen in Windows 8/8.1. One of the benefits of having Windows 10 is that the Modern UI apps don't take up the entire screen like they do in Windows 8.1; they can "float" on the desktop. Because of this change, the Recent Apps bar is no longer tucked away on the left in the desktop version. However, users can still expand Modern UI apps to take up the entire screen, just like desktop software and web browsers. Cortana Microsoft's popular A.I. software that graces the Windows Phone platform has finally arrived on the desktop. This Search tool, powered by Bing, resides next to the Start Menu button. There's a search box with that words "Ask me anything," with a small button with a microphone graphic on the right. Once Windows 10 is installed, Cortana will access your current location and ask for the your name. After that, Cortana will pull up various (possibly interesting) information, such as the weather, local news, and more. Ask Cortana to check out what's playing at the movies, and the tool will provide you with local listings in a browser window. Ask her to find the answer to "two times two," and she'll bring up a calculator with the answer "4." According to Microsoft, Cortana will keep track of the user's calendar, providing reminders for appointments, meetings, birthdays, and so on. The app will also provide suggestions and information deemed important to the user, as Cortana will "get to know" the user over time, making the Windows 10 experience a more personal one. Settings In Windows 10, Microsoft pulled the Settings menu from the right side of the screen and created a Modern UI app that can be opened on the desktop. This app is has nine sections: System, Devices, Network & Internet, Personalization, Accounts, Time & Language, Ease of Access, Privacy, and Update & Security. This is different from the Control Panel, which can still be accessed by right-clicking the Start button and choosing Control Panel from the menu. Virtual Desktops This new feature is ideal for users who need more than one desktop. The button resides next to the Search tool on the taskbar, and when clicked, shows every app open on the current desktop. To add a new desktop, simply click the "+" sign in the bottom right-hand corner. Presumably, users can make as many virtual desktops as they want. Virtual Desktops are ideal for users who have more applications and files than can fit on a single screen. For example, perhaps you're working full-screen on a spreadsheet and also need to have Photoshop open. If they're on separate desktops, you just hit the Windows key plus Tab to switch between the two. Project Spartan aka Microsoft Edge In Windows 10 Build 10074, this becomes the default browser. Oh, sure, Internet Explorer 11 is still around, but the company insists that users jump on the Internet using Microsoft Edge. Unless, that is, you're surfing older content, which is where Internet Explorer 11 comes in. The Edge browser is quick, sleek, and fun to use. One of Edge's cool features allows you to make notes directly on a web page. The toolset includes a pen, a highlighter, an eraser, a clip tool, and a text tool. You can save the markup to the local drive or share it with friends and family. Why is the capability necessary? Web authors may find this extremely helpful when building a site. A friend could highlight a particular item or article on a website that they find interesting, make a note, and send you the marked up page. Is Windows 10 Right For You? There are more changes and differences that could be listed, but these seven stand out the most so far. Hopefully, they'll pique your interest enough to get you thinking about making the upgrade to Windows 10 this summer. The upgrade will be free for the first year for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 users, so it would behoove you to get Windows 10 on the early side, before Microsoft stops being so generous with its software.

Hola VPN Extension Caught Selling Bandwidth to Botnet Posted: 29 May 2015 12:49 PM PDT Adiós, Hola! Whoever first said that the best things in life are free forgot to mention that there's often a catch. For users of the super popular Hola VPN extension for browsers, the cost for using the free add-on came in the form of forking over bandwidth and unknowingly being a part of a botnet. Let's back up a moment. You may have noticed that VPNs have risen in popularity as of late. There are multiple reasons -- some users want the added privacy that VPNs provide, while others are trying to sidestep regional restrictions for streaming services like Netflix, which is probably the bigger reason why VPNs are on the rise. Hola is one of the more popular VPNs (or VPN-like service) with more than 46 million users around the world because it's free, whereas many of the good ones typically charge a fee. It's also easy to use. However, it was recently discovered that there's a cost, and pretty big one at that. The service sells users' bandwidth. This ties in with how Hola operates -- instead of routing traffic through dedicated servers, it sends traffic through other users' connections, claiming to only use idle resources in the process (ExtremeTech cries foul on that claim). To be fair, Hola discloses this on its FAQ page: Hola is free for private (non-commercial) use. The only exception is Hola VPN on iOS which costs $4.99 (monthly) or $44.99 (annual) due to Apple's restrictions. Commercial use of Hola for business class VPN is available through our Luminati service. The Hola peer to peer architecture makes Hola free and secure. However, some users may prefer not to contribute their idle resources to the Hola network, and thus can join the Hola premium service which lets you use Hola without your idle resources being used in return. The bottom line is Luminati sells Hola users' bandwidth for a fee. That's fine, though Hola should be a little more upfront and clear about that. However, the bigger issue is that Hola's screening process apparently needs some work. According to Business Insider, Frederick Brennan (otherwise known as "Hotwheels"), administrator of 8chan, noted a 100x spike over peak traffic. He traced the attack to a user called "Bui" who later told him that he used Hola's Luminati service to create a botnet and carry out the attack. There might not be much sympathy for 8chan, a rule-less destination on the web that's been known to host some despicable content. But the bigger point is that Hola users unknowingly participated in a botnet. We suppose the moral of the story here is to always read the fine print.

Newegg Daily Deals: MSI Z97-Gaming 7 Motherboard, AMD Athlon 5350, and More! Posted: 29 May 2015 11:04 AM PDT Top Deal: Grand Theft Auto V. The Witcher 3. Mortal Kombat X. Batman: Arkham Knight. The list of games goes on and on and on and on, especially if you've taken advantage of Steam's many sales. It might not be a matter of when you'll have time to play them all, but when your rig will be up to the task. If that's the only thing holding you back, then why not build a new PC? You can start by checking out today's top deal for an MSI Z97-Gaming 7 Motherboard for $150 with $2 shipping (normally $190 - use coupon code: [EMCASNT55]; additional $10 mail-in-rebate. It has three PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots, eight SATA 6Gbps ports, an M.2 port, and plenty of other features. Other Deals: Seagate Expansion 5TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive for $120 with free shipping (normally $130 - use coupon code: [EMCASNW42]) 4x Cooler Master Sleeve Bearing 120mm Silent Fan for Computer Cases, CPU Coolers, and Radiators for $13 with free shipping (normally $16 - use coupon code: [EMCASNW38]; additional $5 Mail-in rebate) AMD Athlon 5350 Kabini 2.05GHz Socket AM1 25W Desktop Processor for $46 with free shipping (normally $52 - use coupon code: [EMCASNW33]) SeaSonic M12II 620W ATX12V Full Modular Power Supply for $90 with free shipping (normally $100 - use coupon code: [SSMONEND]; additional $5 Mail-in rebate)

Rig of the Month: The Tank Posted: 29 May 2015 11:00 AM PDT

Going with Godavari? Asus Gives FM2+ Owners the Green Light with BIOS Update Posted: 29 May 2015 10:46 AM PDT A BIOS update awaits AMD yesterday announced the arrival of a new APU, the A10-7870K. The new A-Series APU is part of AMD's "Godavari" lineup, which are basically extensions of Kaveri, and as we said they should serve as painless drop-in replacements on any socket FM2+ motherboard. Lest there be any doubt, Asus was quick to announce that its stable of FM2+ boards do in fact support Godavari, you just need to update the BIOS first. While not entirely a risk-free procedure, updating a BIOS these days is really simple and generally safe. Just download the latest BIOS for your Asus board to a USB flash drive and save it to the root folder, then plug it into the USB BIOS Flashback port and hit the button next to it on your mobo for three seconds until the LED begins to blink. If that's not possible for whatever reason, Asus lays out alternate ways of updating the BIOS on its FM2+ boards here. Asus has over two dozen FM2+ motherboards, and the BIOS version you need will depend on which model you own. See here for a list of boards and the appropriate BIOS version.

Microsoft to Crack Down on Windows Store App Pricing and Clutter Posted: 29 May 2015 10:21 AM PDT Microsoft's way or the highway Microsoft this week made public the changes it's rolling out to the Windows Store app certification policies in an effort to clean up the clutter and improve the overall experience for customers. As part of that process, Microsoft will keep a closer eye on app pricing to make sure that developers aren't overcharging for their software. That can be a bit tricky, especially since Microsoft in the same breath says that developers retain sole pricing discretion. In reality, that's no longer case -- developers will retain partial pricing discretion, because "if an app is priced significantly higher than other apps in its category and it is determined that users might be confused and believe (incorrectly) that the higher price is warranted based on superior functionality or value, it may be removed from the Store." Microsoft doesn't detail how that process will work. Instead, it's telling developers that "similar apps should generally be comparable in price." Ultimately this could be a good thing for consumers, though at the same time, it remains to be seen how developers will react to essentially being told, "Hey guy/gal, price your apps however you see fit, it's totally up to you! But don't overcharge or we'll yank your app from the Windows Store faster than you can say 'WTF'!" Somewhat less controversial is Microsoft's vow to eliminate app clutter by removing apps "that do not offer unique content, creative value, or utility." The example Microsoft gives is having too many flashlight apps that look, function, and feel the same. Microsoft is also requiring developers to appropriately distinguish their apps so that customers don't purchase an information title when they think they're getting a functional title. You can see examples of this above. The revised policies cover both new and existing apps.

Zotac's Zbox MA760 Mini PC Brings Four DisplayPorts to the Viewing Party Posted: 29 May 2015 09:23 AM PDT DisplayPorts gone wild Zotac is plenty experienced in the mini PC movement, and if you can conceive it, they've probably already built it or have it on a roadmap. That also means that some of its offerings are niche products -- or niche within a niche, since not everyone cares about NUC-sized systems -- like the new Zbox MA760 that broke cover ahead of Computex. The MA760 is unique to other mini PCs in that it wields a generous four DisplayPorts. That means you can connect up to four 4K displays with Eyefinity, though don't expect to game on any of them. The point of all those DisplayPorts is so that digital signage customers have plenty of flexibility for their display setups, whether it's a panoramic display or a 2 by 2 screening area. Each Zbox MA760 is equipped with an AMD FX-7600 quad-core APU with Radeon R7 graphics, two SO-DIMM slots with support for up to 16GB of DDR3/DDR3L-1600 RAM, 802.11ac WI-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, two GbE LAN ports, 7.1 channel audio, a single 2.5-inch drive bay, 3-in-1 card reader / USB 3.0 combo, and four USB 3.0 ports (including the combo port). The "Plus" model comes pre-configured with 4GB or RAM and a 500GB hard drive. Depending on what you want to use the MA760 for, my advice is to go with the barebones version and plop a solid state drive inside. I've tested previous models with hard drives and they present a clear bottleneck to overall performance. No word yet on when the MA760 will be available or for how much.

Research Shows Overclocking is Cool Again Posted: 29 May 2015 08:59 AM PDT Pushing the pedal to the metal The number of people who overclock their desktop PCs is growing, according to data found in the latest HWInsights Quarterly Report. We have no idea how HWInsights tracks such things, but apparently there was a 50 percent uptick in the annual growth of overclockers from the first quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014, and 100 percent from 2014 to 2015, Digitimes reports. HWInsights says that despite the overall desktop market stagnating, demand for high end hardware with amenities for overclockers has been rapidly rising over the past few years. "PC component makers and vendors have, over the past several years, seen their key markets - mainstream (high-volume) and gaming (high-margin) - steadily cannibalized by alternatives including tablets, notebooks and games consoles," noted Pieter-Jan Plaisier, Director, HWBOT. "With their market shares and margins under constant pressure, the healthy overclocking market represents an opportunity hardware vendors simply cannot continue to underutilize with outdated product positioning and marketing strategies." According to HWInsights, a typical mainstream overclocking system in the first quarter of 2015 averaged $1,175, and for high-end systems it was around $2,850. However, it's an ongoing cost -- overclockers tend to upgrade their hardware more frequently than the average user. The rise in overclockers is something that vendors can take advantage of, though it's not without certain challenges. While a vendor might be able to get away with shoddy hardware when it comes to sub-$500 systems, overclockers have much higher standards. It also presents a challenge in branding and marketing, as the overclocking community is very much driven by word-of-mouth testaments.

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