General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article

Microsoft Investigating Issues with Win 10 DVD App

Posted: 17 Sep 2015 02:40 PM PDT

Windows 10

People still play DVDs?

Back in July, Microsoft released Windows 10 to the general public, providing the platform for free to customers who have a valid, "genuine" Windows license. The new platform shipped without Windows Media Center, which was last seen on Windows 8/8.1. That meant customers were forced to seek out third-party solutions, or Microsoft's own app listed in Windows Store for $14.99.

The good news about the DVD app was that many consumers could get it for free if they upgraded from Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate, or Windows 8/8.1 with Media Center. In most cases, the DVD app would automatically be installed. If not, Microsoft provided instructions on how to force the download via Windows Update.

"You must upgrade your PC to Windows 10 to get the free app," Microsoft states. "If you perform a clean install by formatting your disc rather than upgrade, you will not get the free app. You will still get the free app if you perform an upgrade and choose to delete files, apps and settings during Windows 10 setup."

Since then, many Microsoft customers have been complaining about the app's performance, citing six specific problems. Microsoft provided a notice on September 15 reporting that the company is aware of the problems and is working on a fix. For now, the company provides workarounds until the DVD app is thoroughly patched and primed for your consumption in the near future.

"We are aware that a number of people using the Windows DVD Player app have experienced issues with DVD playback," says Microsoft forum moderator Ellen Killbourne. "I want to assure you that we are actively working to fix these problems and get these fixes out to the world. While this work is underway, we would like to share some workarounds for the most common problems that we've discovered in collaboration with the community, and let everyone know that we're looking into them."

For starters, customers have reported that the video either fails to play or stutters, which Killbourne believes can be fixed by installing new video drivers. Customers are also complaining that when switching DVDs, the software doesn't recognize the second disc. Closing and re-opening the DVD Player app should fix the problem.

Another complaint sent in by aggravated customers deal with detecting any disc that's inserted into the optical drive. The solution is to remove the disc, close the software, re-insert the DVD and then re-launch the app. Some customers can get the disc to read just fine, but once it's inserted into the optical drive, Windows Store opens on the screen. The fix is a three-step process that has the user go into the Settings and modify several DVD entries.

Finally, customers are complaining that the DVD Player app will not play audio when using Dolby Digital Plus 5.1, which could be fixed by getting the latest updates from Windows Update. Customers also claim that the second screen connected via HDMI will sometimes fail, a problem that currently does not have a workaround.

"To reiterate, we are working on fixes for all of the above issues, and the workarounds we've outlined here are only temporary," Killbourne reports. "Please keep the feedback coming as we work to publish this app update."

Don't have the Windows 10 DVD Player app? You can purchase it right here for $14.99.

Crazy: Amazon Dishes Out $50 Fire Tablet

Posted: 17 Sep 2015 02:39 PM PDT

Amazon Fire Tablet

Amazon announced a number of new products on Thursday including an Android-powered tablet that costs only $49.99. That's dirt cheap compared to other tablets of the same size, and the old saying "you get what you pay for" doesn't seem to apply here. Simply called Fire, Amazon indicates that it's a high-quality tablet packed with a 7-inch IPS screen, a quad-core processor and cameras on the front and back.

"The all-new Fire features a quad-core processor, is incredibly durable, and is backed by the Amazon content ecosystem, the new Amazon Underground, and Amazon customer service with Mayday Screen Sharing. Fire sets a new bar for what customers should expect from a low cost tablet," says Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO.

The specifications reveal that the four processor cores are clocked up to 1.3 GHz. As expected, the storage aspect is rather small, 8GB to be exact, but customers can increase the capacity up to an extra 128 GB of storage thanks to a microSD card slot. The battery promises up to 7 hours on a single charge.

Additional specs provided by Amazon include a 1024x600 (171 ppi) resolution, 1 GB of RAM, a single speaker, a built-in microphone, a 3.5mm stereo jack, a VGA camera on the front, and a 2MP camera on the back, which is capable of 720p HD video recording. The tablet also has single-band Wireless-N connectivity, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a microUSB 2.0 port.

According to the company, the Fire tablet is highly durable, twice that of Apple's iPad Air 2. The device also features a new version of Amazon's Android-based Fire OS operating system: Fire OS 5 "Bellini." This platform provides an updated magazine-like user interface, a feature called Family Library, a new Amazon Underground service packed with over $10K in apps, a service dubbed as Word Runner for reading faster, and more.

"For Prime members, On Deck automatically keeps your Fire tablet current with popular Prime movies and TV shows, as well as Amazon Original Series, so you always have something good to watch," the press release boasts. "Importantly, On Deck only uses the available storage on your tablet, opportunistically in a special shadow mode. When you download something, On Deck automatically makes room for your selected content—there's no hassle of needing to clear out space yourself."

Amazon says that the new $49.99 tablet will begin shipping on September 30. Based on the low price, Amazon seemingly assumes that customers may want to purchase more than one. That said, the company is offering one free Fire tablet when five tablets are purchased together. Simply use the FIRE6PACK promo code at checkout.

For the money, customers seem to be getting a good deal. The resolution could be better, but what helps make this tablet a decent buy is its microSD card reader, which supports 128GB of storage. Amazon also provides its Mayday support service to help customers that seemingly can't figure out how to use a 7-inch tablet.

In addition to the $49.99 tablet, Amazon also announced the new Amazon Fire TV Gaming Edition set-top-box, a new Fire Kids Edition tablet, a new Amazon Fire TV with 4K Ultra HD set-top-box, a new Fire TV Stick with a voice remote, and two new Fire HD tablets with 8-inch and 10.1-inch screens. Thursday was a busy day for Amazon!

Newegg Daily Deals: A Multitude of Monitors!

Posted: 17 Sep 2015 11:03 AM PDT

Acer Monitor

Top Deal:

Having your monitor give up the ghost isn't cause for celebration, but before you scream out frustration, take a moment to appreciate that it gives you an excuse to upgrade. Silver linings and all that jazz. That 21-inch display that decided it was time to retire? Why not replace it with today's top deal for an Acer 27-inch WQHD IPS Monitor for $300 with free shipping (normally $400; additional $50 mail-in-rebate). This big size panel boasts a 256x01440 resolution, built-in speakers, an ergonomic stand, and a wallet-friendly price tag.

Other Deals:

Dell S2340M Black 23-inch IPS LCD Monitor for $110 with free shipping (normally $130 - use coupon code: [EMCAXKV23])

Dell U2414H Black 23.8-inch 8ms IPS Monitor for $210 with free shipping (normally $240 - use coupon code: [EMCAXKV24])

Asus PB287Q 28-inch 4K 1ms Monitor for $480 with free shipping (normally $500 - use coupon code: [EMCAXKV25])

LG 22MC37D-B Black 21.5-inch 5ms LED Backlight LCD Monitor for $100 with free shipping (normally $110 - use coupon code: [EMCAXKV27])

Bungled Cortana Demo Joins List of Microsoft Live Event Fails

Posted: 17 Sep 2015 10:52 AM PDT

Confusing Cortana

Satya Nadella

Live presentations are tricky business. No matter how much planning and practice goes into these things, there's no guarantee that something won't go wrong. Hey, it happens, and for Microsoft, it's not ultra rare. The latest incident involves Microsoft boss Satya Nadella trying (unsuccessfully) to interact with Cortana during a live presentation.

Nadella was giving a keynote speech at Salesforce's Dreamforce 2015 conference in San Francisco. He talked about artificial intelligence and Cortana's ability to provide analytics, but when he tried to demonstrate this functionality, Cortana acted like it was her first rodeo.

"Show me my most at-risk opportunities," Nadella said. Instead of doing that, Cortana initiated a Bing search for "show me to buy milk at this opportunity." Nadella gave it another two tries before throwing in the towel and apologizing to the crowd. Have a look:

Other than a brief moment of awkward silence, Nadella kept his composure while backstage employees came to the rescue. As they say, the show must go on, and it did.

This wasn't the first time a Microsoft demonstration didn't go exactly as planned and it probably won't be the last. Here's a look at some others:

Surface Presentation Fail

Voice Recognition Fail

BSOD Blooper with Bill Gates

Of course, it's not just Microsoft that suffers the occasional technology glitch during live demos. Here's a look at several Apple bloopers rolled into one:

Isn't technology fun?

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Microsoft to Invest $75 Million in Computer Science Education

Posted: 17 Sep 2015 09:50 AM PDT

Betting on students

Microsoft

Microsoft this week said it's committing to spending $75 million in community investments over the next five years to increase access to computer science education for all youth, especially those from under-represented backgrounds.

It's an expansion of Microsoft's global YouthSpark initiative consisting of scores of nonprofit organizations all over the world. They'll receive cash donations and other forms of support to help provide computer science education with the larger goal of preparing young people with computational-thinking and problem-solving skills.

Microsoft's investment is perhaps not the most interesting thing going on in the technology sector, though with the recent social media buzz surrounding Ahmed Mohamed, a 14-year-old student who brought a homemade clock to school and was subsequently put in handcuffs because teachers mistook it for a bomb, it's nice to see millions of dollars being poured into computer science education so that kids like Ahmed don't lose their passion for learning and tinkering.

"If we are going to solve tomorrow's global challenges, we must come together today to inspire young people everywhere with the promise of technology," said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. "We can't leave anyone out. We're proud to make this $75 million investment in computer science education to create new opportunities for students across the spectrum of diverse youth and help build a tech talent pipeline that will spark new innovations for the future."

One of the programs that's being expanded as a result of Microsoft's investment is Technology Education and Literacy in Schools (TEALS). It pairs technology professionals from various fields with classroom teachers to teach computer science in U.S. high schools. The hope is that TEALS will see a fivefold expansion in the next three years, resulting in a reach of 2,000 tech industry volunteers and 30,000 students in 700 schools across 33 states.

"Computer science is a foundational subject — like algebra, chemistry or physics — for learning how the world works, yet it's offered in less than 25 percent of American high schools," said Microsoft President Brad Smith.

That's a statistic Microsoft is hoping to change.

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Corsair, MSI Collaborate on Liquid Cooled GeForce GTX 980 Ti

Posted: 17 Sep 2015 09:08 AM PDT

Tag team

Corsair Hydro Series GFX

Corsair and MSI have teamed up to offer a liquid cooled GeForce GTX 980 Ti graphics card. They're calling it the Hydro GFX and it consists of a GeForce GTX 980 Ti from MSI with a Corsair Hydro Series H55 liquid cooler already attached. All you have to do is plug the card in and mount the external liquid cooler to your case.

According to Corsair, the Hydro GFX runs 30 percent cooler than standard cards, which allows it to run at higher clock speeds without throttling. What that translates into is a 20 percent bump in the GPU clock (1,190MHz base and 1,291MHz boost) and a 15 percent gain in overall performance.

The card is also quiet and purportedly easy to install -- Corsair says it should only take a few minutes to mount the radiator to a 120mm fan mount , slide the card into a PCI-Express slot, and plug in the power connectors. As a self-contained liquid cooler, users don't have to add coolant or perform any maintenance.

Other than the overclocked GPU and liquid cooler, the rest of the card is as you already know it: 6GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 7,096MHz on a 384-bit bus and connectivity consisting of three DisplayPort 1.2, ports, one HDMI 2.0 port, and a Dual Link DVI-I port.

The Hydro GFX will be available next month for $740 MSRP.

Update

MSI Seahawk

There's been a bit of confusion with this card and another one called the Sea Hawk, which is also a GeForce GTX 980 Ti from MSI with a Corsair Hydro Series H55 liquid cooler. Both the Hydro GFX and Sea Hawk are the same card, just one will be sold by Corsair (Hydro GFX) and the other by MSI (Sea Hawk).

We suspect pricing and the release date for the Sea Hawk will be the same as the Hydro GFX, though MSI hasn't said what it will cost or when it will come out.

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Open Source: Why the Government Must Go Open Source

Posted: 17 Sep 2015 12:00 AM PDT

The case for using open source in government

In April, it was discovered that the personal data of over 21 million US citizens was stolen from the Office of Personnel Management. I'm one of those people, and I'm pissed off.

There were lots of systemic lapses in security that led to the break-in at OPM (I won't go into detail, for sake of brevity and blood pressure), but this is an opportunity to reevaluate how we approach public-sector computing. There's no better kind of software for public institutions than free and open-source software (FOSS) when it comes to civic engagement, security, and sovereignty.

Oh, did I mention it can save money?

Regardless of political affiliation, too many people feel that the government is separate from themselves. They feel they have no voice, no way to make things work better. Call me crazy, but I believe government and public life is what we make of it.

Code for America recruits coders and assigns them to cities or states to help develop applications. Think of them like Americorps for programmers. CFA faces the problem of trying to convince a coder to work on a fellowship for half or less than what they'd make at some startup. That's a lot to ask of someone with a San Francisco apartment and a Tesla payment. (Look up rents in the Bay Area, I'll wait.)

As much as I love what they do, Code For America can't do everything themselves. Governments don't know how to, and sure as hell can't afford to do it on their own either.

With FOSS, citizens would have an opportunity to directly improve their communities by contributing code. Governments could draw upon the idle talents of the citizenry to create more effective (and less costly) services. It's civic engagement for geeks.

But what about security? Open-source projects can be quite nimble when it comes to vulnerabilities. As the saying goes, security through obscurity is not security at all.

When the Heartbleed bug was announced in April, a patch for OpenSSL was available the very same day. It's no secret how public key cryptography works, and anyone can get the source code for PGP or ciphers like Twofish or AES. But magically, nobody has broken OpenPGP. How can that be?

Anybody can audit or fix FOSS projects because (duh) the source is available to everyone. Everyone can see the bugs, and anyone can fix them. The fear of contributors introducing backdoors is mitigated by auditing and reviewing code before it is merged into the main branch of a program.

Free projects protect sovereignty too, by removing the need for license payments and allowing modification by a government to suit its needs. There's no need to pay a vendor for extended support of an obsolete system. (The OPM still has machines running XP.)

Despite this, several governments may undermine their own best interests. After Wikileaks published the text of the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), the Free Software Foundation (FSF) affirmed that FOSS is the best way for governments to preserve sovereignty in a statement condemning Article 6 of the proposed agreement's electronic services annex.

"Ensuring that government-used and -purchased software is free for anyone to review, share, and modify promotes the safety and security of the people," the FSF said.

Any government that uses proprietary software is subject to the whims of a non-state actor and that of its home government. That is not acceptable for any self-respecting sovereign state. On the other hand, a government that uses FOSS for workstations and back ends is will not be crippled by an unaddressed vulnerability, company failure, or corporate whim. It will be more secure, healthier, and more free.
Posted by Shri Krishna

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