| Nvidia to Bring Back Overclocking of GTX 900M Series GPUS Posted: 20 Feb 2015 02:39 PM PST  No more clockblocking with March update
Last week, Nvidia released a driver update that removed the ability for consumers to overclock their GeForce GTX 900M Series GPUs. The reason for this, the company explained, was that, "GeForce notebooks were not designed to support overclocking." Since then, there has been a general outcry from PC enthusiasts who might wish to overclock, or underclock, their mobile GPUs. In response, Nvidia has decided to restore the ability to overclock the GTX 900M series with a driver update that will be available in March. "As you know, we are constantly tuning and optimizing the performance of your GeForce PC," said an Nvidia customer care representative in a support forum thread. "We obsess over every possible optimization so that you can enjoy a perfectly stable machine that balances game, thermal, power, and acoustic performance. Still, many of you enjoy pushing the system even further with overclocking." The representative continued, "Our recent driver update disabled overclocking on some GTX notebooks. We heard from many of you that you would like this feature enabled again. So, we will again be enabling overclocking in our upcoming driver release next month for those affected notebooks." For those who would like to overclock their GPU, but are not willing to wait for the new driver, the representative added that consumers can revert back to driver version 344.75. Follow Sean on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Newegg Daily Deals: CyberPower Intelligent LCD Series 600W UPS, Thermaltake 700W PSU, and More! Posted: 20 Feb 2015 01:32 PM PST |
| Microsoft Gifts Dropbox Users 100GB of OneDrive Storage for One Year Posted: 20 Feb 2015 01:09 PM PST  More free storage
Like an overzealous patron at a gentlemen's club who just inherited a fortune, Microsoft can't help but to make it rain. Free storage, that is. It was only a week ago that Microsoft offered up 100GB of free OneDrive cloud storage for a year for signing up for Bing Rewards, and now Microsoft is taking aim at Dropbox users with a similar deal -- 100GB of free OneDrive cloud storage for a year simply for verifying their account. Unlike previous offers, however, this latest giveaway isn't limited to Dropbox users living in the U.S. -- this one's good for all Dropbox users regardless of where they call home. To qualify, Dropbox users will have to register with OneDrive and save a "Get Started" PDF file to their Dropbox account. Once that's done, the 100GB of free OneDrive space will appear. These offers aren't of any real benefit to paid Office 365 subscribers who receive unlimited storage as part of their subscription. At the same time, it doesn't hurt to take advantage of thse offers anyway, which can serve as insurance in the event that they stop subscribing. I applied both the Bing Rewards and Dropbox offers to my account and it currently shows 10.2TB. Even though I have unlimited storage through my Office 365 subscription, the storage space is doled out in 10TB increments on an as-needed basis. With this latest promotion, it would seem that Microsoft is trying to poach Dropbox users over to OneDrive, though that isn't necessarily the case. The two companies recently teamed up to improve integration between Office and Dropbox. If you're a Dropbox user want to claim your 100GB of OneDrive storage, go here. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Graphics Porn (February 2015): Space Engine, Skyrim, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and More Posted: 20 Feb 2015 12:34 PM PST  Showcasing the sexiest, most photogenic game screenshots this side of the Internet
We're celebrating February with a gallery full of amazing screenshots. As always we've got a few obligatory Minecraft and Skyrim screens, but we've also got shots from newer games like Dragon Age: Inquisition and Ultraworld. Some supremely helpful folks over at /r/GamerPorn have again volunteered their work for this month's edition of Graphics Porn. Whether you've been following our handy-dandy guide on how to capture beautiful-looking game screens or simply print-screening some beautiful wallpaper-worthy game moments, we want to be able to share your captured works of art with the world. If you think you can do better than the pictures submitted below, please email your screenshots to mpcgraphicsporn@gmail.com so we can show them off. Make sure to include the name of the game, a title for the screenshot, and a description of what's happening on-screen. |
| Misinformed Comcast Rep Told Customer Data Caps are Mandated by Law Posted: 20 Feb 2015 12:31 PM PST  Better fact check whatever you Comcast agent tells you
It's getting increasingly difficult not to get pissed off every time Comcast makes the news. This is one of only two companies that's been voted "The Worst Company in America" more than once by readers of Consumerist (Electronic Arts being the other), and it's because of the negative experiences that customers report, like a woman who received a bill addressed to "Super Bitch." Way to keep it classy, Comcast. These incidents aren't as rare as they should be, and if Comcast's agents aren't insulting their customers, they're spreading misinformation, like the Comcast rep who recently told a customer that data caps are mandated by law. This came to light when a Comcast customer posted to Reddit that he called in to cancel service after being charged $120 in overage fees. He recorded the conversation and posted a one minute clip of the exchange. Here's how it went. "If you don't mind me asking, what is the reason why you would want to disconnect your service," the Comcast support agent asked. "Your outrageous data usage plan that is completely archaic and unnecessary," the subscriber answered. "I am apparently in a trial market for it, it's not everywhere, and I've been getting charged for going over my data cap and I'm going to find somewhere where that's not going to happen to me." "Okay I understand, but every Internet service provider has a data cap. It is mandated by law," the agent replied. The Comcast subscriber did the only that was appropriate in that situation, which is to laugh at the claim and set the agent straight. ArsTechnica contacted Comcast about the incident, and lo and behold, the cable giant confirmed that its agent was misinformed and in need of training. "This representative is wrong," Comcast said. "There is no law requiring ISPs 'to have data caps' and Comcast discontinued having a cap in May 2012. We are currently conducting trials of a more flexible data usage plan in a small number of markets, and this representative's statements are not consistent with the training and messaging we provide. We will work to retrain this representative and will reach out to the customer to clarify this information." It's been less than five months since Comcast vowed in a blog post to fix its customer service. Unfortunately, it looks like the company is aiming for a record third "Golden Poo" award the Consumerist instead. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Lenovo Apologies for Superfish Scandal, Offers Uninstall Instructions Posted: 20 Feb 2015 08:21 AM PST 
World's top PC supplier admits it "messed up" Lenovo took to Twitter to issue an apology over Superfish, the visual search software it installed on consumer laptops and desktops without permission, and has posted instructions on how to remove it. Initially Lenovo issued a statement saying that it installed the software with good intentions and that there's nothing to be concerned about from a security perspective, though evidence points to the contrary. "We're sorry. We messed up. We're owning it. And we're making sure it never happens again," Lenovo posted to Twitter, along with a link instructing users how to remove the program and its digital certificate. The problem with Superfish is that it worked as adware by inserting ads into searches performed on Internet Explorer and Chrome (Firefox appears to be unaffected). Furthermore, it left a gaping security hole on users' systems that could allow for man-in-the-middle attacks. After news spread of the nefarious software, Lenovo tried to downplay the issue, saying that its relationship with the Superfish "is not financially significant" and its only goal was to "enhance the experience for users." In the same breath, Lenovo said it understood the concerns and had stopped preloading Superfish in January. One of our readers sent us an email to dispute Lenovo's claim, saying that "their statement that says they stopped pre-loading Superfish in January is false -- my laptop (a Y40-80) was manufactured on February 9, 2015, and included Superfish and its root certificate." It appears Lenovo got caught with its hand in the cookie jar, so to speak, and is now hoping that an apology and a bit of humility will win back the trust that helped it become the world's number one supplier of PCs. "We messed up badly here," Peter Hortensius, Lenovo's chief technology officer, told Bloomberg in an interview. "We made a mistake. Our guys missed it. We're not trying to hide from the issue -- we're owning it." It's not enough to simply uninstall Superfish, as it leaves behind a root certificate that must also be removed (manually). Lenovo's instructions linked above detail how to perform both. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
