General Gaming Article |
- Hack Causes Chrysler to Recall 1.4M Cars
- Takedown Notices to Google Has Studio's Own Links
- Newegg Daily Deals: AMD FX-6300 Vishera, Corsair 750W Power Supply, and More!
- Cougar's 230M and 250M Mice Promise Pro Gaming Performance for Cheap
- Dell Commits to Shipping Pre-Ordered Windows 10 PCs on July 28th
- Build It: Assembling the Perfect LAN Party Gaming Box
| Hack Causes Chrysler to Recall 1.4M Cars Posted: 24 Jul 2015 02:06 PM PDT Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) announced on Friday that it is currently recalling around 1.4 million U.S. vehicles that have a specific 8.4-inch touch-based radio installed. The recall is completely voluntary, however, the company insists that customers receive the software update to fix a security problem that was pointed out by a recent article written by Wired. "Customers affected by the recall will receive a USB device that they may use to upgrade vehicle software, which provides additional security features independent of the network-level measures," the company said on Friday. "Alternately, customers may visit http://www.driveuconnect.com/software-update/ to input their Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) and determine if their vehicles are included in the recall." The Wired report centers on a Jeep Cherokee and two hackers: Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek. They managed to take control of the vehicle while it was moving 70 mph in downtown St. Louis. They manipulated the dashboard functions, the breaks and so on. Even more, the laptop that was used to gain access to the Jeep Cherokee resided ten miles away from the "testing" site. "The software manipulation addressed by this recall required unique and extensive technical knowledge, prolonged physical access to a subject vehicle and extended periods of time to write code," the company added. "No defect has been found. FCA US is conducting this campaign out of an abundance of caution." Wired reports that Miller and Valasek plan to reveal a portion of their exploit on the Internet next month during the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas. That said, FCA is urging customers to get the software update to prevent hackers from taking over their vehicles. Customers that have questions should call the customer care center here in the U.S. at 1-800-853-1403. Here is the list of automobiles that are affected by the exploit: 2013-2015 MY Dodge Viper specialty vehicles Image provided by FCA |
| Takedown Notices to Google Has Studio's Own Links Posted: 24 Jul 2015 01:17 PM PDT Well this should be embarrassing. Typically media owners like movie studios and record labels cough up loads of IP addresses that lead to pirated versions of their content. These companies then request that the links be removed from Google's search engine. The result is a little message at the bottom of search results stating that Google removed content at the request of the content right holders. However, according to a report by The Next Web, several media companies are sending Google takedown notices with links that point back to content stored on their computers. For instance, Universal Pictures France is requesting that Google remove links to Jurassic World, but the movie is hosted by a BitTorrent client residing at http://127.0.0.1, which is a system's "localhost" address within Universal Pictures France. The report also points to NBC Universal, which requested that Google remove links leading back to a copy of 47 Ronkin. A list provided by the report shows fifteen addresses within the NBC Universal umbrella. Even more, Workman Publishing has them both beat, requesting that Google remove 108 links to the Life of Pi audio book that resides within Workman's own network. As the report points out, some of these submissions might be "innocent mistakes" as the media companies may be using BitTorrent to catch those who are looking for illegal copies of music, movies and so on. However, media companies seem more intent of gathering up all IP addresses that are possibly infringing on copyright and assuming Google will sort them all out. What's interesting is that companies are going out of their way to remove links of pirated material from the likes of Google and Yahoo, yet there seems to be evidence that these same companies can't keep their employees from illegally distributed copyrighted content. Perhaps said companies should put a bigger focus on the leaks rather than dish out a huge list of IP addresses that points to their own machines. |
| Newegg Daily Deals: AMD FX-6300 Vishera, Corsair 750W Power Supply, and More! Posted: 24 Jul 2015 11:13 AM PDT Top Deal: Few things are as therapeutic as building a new PC. Unfortunately, it can also be expensive, though it doesn't have to be, especially if you run with an AMD foundation. To prove it, check out today's top deal for an AMD FX-6300 Vishera for $100 with $1 shipping (normally $110 - use coupon code: [EMCAVNR22]). Computing has obviously come a long way, as we're at a point where a Benny (and a Washington) gets you a six-core desktop processor shipped to your door! Other Deals: Corsair CX750M 750W Modular Active PFC Power Supply for $75 with free shipping (normally $80 - use coupon code: [EMCAVNR23]; additional $20 Mail-in rebate) Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM 3.5-inch Internal Hard Drive for $45 with free shipping (normally $51 - use coupon code: [ESCAVNR24]) G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 32GB (4x8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory for $165 with free shipping (normally $180 - use coupon code: [EMCAVNR33]) Zalman 135mm Long life bearing CPU Cooler Blue LED for $40 with free shipping (normally $50 - use coupon code: [EMCAVNR42]; additional $20 Mail-in rebate) |
| Cougar's 230M and 250M Mice Promise Pro Gaming Performance for Cheap Posted: 24 Jul 2015 10:56 AM PDT Cheap thrills Don't have $80 or more to spend on a gaming mouse? Cougar today announced a pair of budget friendly rodents, the 230M and 250M, which carry MSRPs of $20 and $30, respectively. Despite the inexpensive price points, Cougar claims these are pro level gaming mice. Both the 230M and 250M sport ambidextrous designs. Other shared features include a 1,000Hz polling rate, Omron switches, a "gaming grade" scroll wheel with backlighting, and programmable buttons. Starting with the 230M, Cougar says it will appeal to purists who care most about quality and accuracy. That pitch translates into a 3,200 DPI sensor that's adjustable to four fixed levels (400, 800, 1600, and 3200 DPI) and, well, not much else. The 250M kicks things up a notch with half a dozen programmable buttons (including two thumb paddles), 4,000 DPI sensor that's adjustable on the fly to user configurable levels, and internal memory to store up to three different profiles. Both the 230M and 250M are available now, though their street prices are bit inflated at the moment. Newegg has the 230M listed at $25 with $1 shipping, and the 250M at $37 with $1 shipping. |
| Dell Commits to Shipping Pre-Ordered Windows 10 PCs on July 28th Posted: 24 Jul 2015 09:51 AM PDT Getting Windows 10 on day of release Microsoft will begin doling out Windows 10 on July 29 in waves, and depending on where you are in line, you may not receive the update until the next day or later. That was also going to be the case with pre-built Windows 10 PCs from Dell, though not anymore. Dell began taking pre-orders for Windows 10 systems in mid-June. At the time, the OEM said it would ship those systems out on July 29. However, I received an email from Dell today saying it's bumping up the ship date to July 28. "Dell will be one of the first OEMs shipping Windows 10 devices. Dell systems will start shipping on July 28th so customers can get their PCs first and on the same day as Microsoft's launch (July 29th)," Dell stated. The OEM also stated that it is offering free next-business-day shipping for a bunch of devices with Windows 10 pre-installed. That said, if you're willing to wait until launch day to order a system from Dell (assuming you're going the pre-built route), configuration options will more than double to nearly 70 variations. HP also has select Windows 10 systems up for pre-order that will ship out July 28th. ,"I want to clearly explain how HP will deliver new devices with Windows 10 pre-installed to customers. Right now, a customer can buy select PCs with Windows 10 directly from HP.com and it will ship on July 28, HP's Mike Nash stated in a blog post. We are offering free next-day shipping so customers will receive the device on July 29. Customers will start seeing HP devices running Windows 10 in-store at select retailers beginning August 2." As for Dell's in-store availability, the company says it will have the most configurations available from retailers on July 29, including a dozen Windows 10 solutions at Best Buy. |
| Build It: Assembling the Perfect LAN Party Gaming Box Posted: 24 Jul 2015 12:00 AM PDT This article was published in the April 2015 issue of Maximum PC. For more trusted reviews and feature stories, subscribe here. Check out our full review of the sweet Corsair case used in this build. Get some meaty gaming muscle on the go with this portable powerhouseLength of Time: 2-4 Hours | Difficulty: Medium The MissionLast month we built a portable PC featuring the Sapphire ITX Compact R9 285—an AMD Radeon GPU which is roughly on par with a GeForce GTX 960, but short enough to fit in an ITX case. To keep things evenhanded, we're going with Nvidia this month. Our Asus GTX 970 DC Mini is at a higher tier of performance and also features twice as much VRAM. (You may have heard recently that the 970's VRAM is divided into two pools, with the smaller one performing more slowly, but it's only a few percentage points different.) AMD has the Radeon R9 290, which performs about the same as a 970, but it requires a lot more power, and there isn't one short enough to fit into an ITX case. Generally speaking, these compact videocards have changed portable PC gaming a lot. Not all of the systems they go into are made equal, though, so we have to survey the landscape periodically to figure out what's hot and what's not. LAN of OpportunityOption for its modularity and low price, but we decided to go with a cube shape this time, instead of a shoebox. This makes the case easier to balance when it has an integrated handle, like we see on this Corsair Graphite 380T. Thanks to its larger dimensions in the front, the 380T can also fit a 200mm intake fan, though it ships with a 140mm unit in front (and a 120mm exhaust fan in back). You can also fit two 120mm fans on the side, or a 240mm radiator. We, of course, went with the radiator option, specifically the trusty Corsair Hydro H100i. We had one handy, and using the same brand for the CPU cooler and the case tends to cut down on incompatibility. The 380T can fit a videocard up to 11.4 inches long, but we preferred the shorty GTX 970 to give us some room to breathe. This plugs into an Asus Maximus VII Impact, which is a fancy ITX mobo that uses Intel's Z97 chipset. On CPU duty is the Core i7-4790K, which was the beefiest chip we could put in this mobo. Powering the whole shebang is a gold-rated Cooler Master V550. For storage, we have just a single SSD, since this unit is purpose-built for LAN gaming. The 380T will fit up to two 3.5-inch drives, though, and up to four 2.5-inch drives. 1. Method to the MadnessMini-ITX cases, in our experience, all tend to have a number of their own little quirks and unusual deviations. Luckily, however, they generally all make sense when placed in context. This plate, for example, craftily unscrews from the back and allows you to slide in a power supply through the rear of the case. If you're wondering why, well, it's because this case doesn't have enough room to install the PSU from the side. The 380T can take a PSU up to 180mm long, but you'll have to account for PSU cables, too, if you want to keep hold of the drive cage that's right next to it. That's why we opted for the V550 PSU, which is is 140mm long— we wouldn't recommend pushing very far past 150mm. Connect your modular cables before sliding the PSU in, too, as it's cramped on the other side. 2. Room with a ViewThe two side windows of the 380T come off just by pulling on their handles. As you can see from the topdown photo, though, the mobo is obscured, leading to some tactical considerations. For example, your CPU cooler must be attached to the mobo before they go in the case or you won't be able to screw down the cooler. You can get around it with a short enough screwdriver, but then you don't have much torque. If you're using a cooler with a radiator attached, you must pull the rad through first. Our 240mm rad also barely fit lengthwise, though the case could accommodate one that's thicker than normal. For the best airflow, we'd recommend pointing the rad's fans on the inside, blowing outward and through it. 3. I'm Your Biggest FanTo pop off the front grill , just push its upper-left and upper-right corners until you hear them click, and it's released. The stock 140mm intake fan can be replaced with two 120mm fans or one 200mm fan—the largest option will be the quietest (though you can get high-performance fans at any size). The round holes on each corner are for threading the fan's power cable back into the case. This fan lights up with a white LED, but there's a tiny switch next to the handle in the top of the case that can toggle that off. And just FYI, there's no room in front for another radiator. 4. Cool CustomersFrom the other side of the case you can see just how tightly the CPU cooler's radiator is tucked in there. The tubes also have to be oriented to go into the rad on the far end of the case. If you try to orient the tubes to come out near the motherboard, they will be obstructed by the case's exhaust fan. You could remove the exhaust fan, but you'd sacrifice a lot of airflow. And we didn't notice it at first, but a partially hidden screw also allows you to remove the drive cage, so you could install a pump and a small reservoir if you wanted to do a custom water loop. You can also get pumps that integrate their own res, but a res that small also restricts how much you can cool—you'd be able to do a GPU or a CPU, but probably not both. 5. Control FreaksYou might wonder how a Mini-ITX case could cost $150. One of the reasons is the integrated three-speed fan controller. In our scenario, we used this to control the front and rear fan. We could've plugged in the CPU cooler pump as well, but you want to either run that at full speed, or let it use PWM temperature measurements to regulate its own speed. So we plugged the pump into the spare motherboard fan header instead. The cable on the stock exhaust fan is plenty long enough to reach these connectors. There's a fat button on the top of the case with a fan icon on it, and you just press that to cycle through each speed setting. The controller itself gets juice through a SATA power connector, so make sure you've a spare before you install all your SATA-based storage devices. Our CPU cooler also uses a SATA power connector, so we'd need a second cable of that type to install more than two SATA drives.
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