General Gaming Article |
- Asus Invites You to Overclock and Chill with Maximus VIII Formula Motherboard [WORKING]
- FCC Filing Reveals First Pictures of Google Glass Enterprise Edition
- Plymouth University Makes Case for Pictures Instead of Passwords
- Four Weeks with Google OnHub
| Asus Invites You to Overclock and Chill with Maximus VIII Formula Motherboard [WORKING] Posted: 29 Dec 2015 11:00 AM PST Let the liquid cooling begin Asus ROG just added another high end motherboard for Skylake builds to its lineup, the Maximus VIII Formula. Based on Intel'z Z170 Express chipset, this ATX motherboard sports an LGA 1151 socket, four DIMM slots supporting up to 64GB of DDR4-3733 (OC) RAM, and exclusive CrossChill EK cooling. The folks at Asus partnered with EK Water Blocks to develop the CrossChill EK, a hybrid cooling block that offers air or liquid cooling for up to a 23C temperature reduction. It consists of a copper channel with standard G1/4-inch thread fittings, giving it compatibility with many existing liquid-cooling setups. Based on the press photos we've seen, it's a mean looking board with ROG armor, precision laser engraving, and 28 integrated LEDs for bling. Beneath all that bling is a top-tier feature-seet consisting of three PCI-E 3.0 x16 slots, three PCI-E 2.0 x1 slots, U.2 and M.2 sockets for fast storage options, two SATA Express ports, eight SATA 6Gbps ports, GbE LAN, a pair of USB 3.1 (one Type-A and one Type-C) ports, ten USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, ROG SupremeFX 2015 8-channel HD audio, integrated 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and the list goes on. This is a board that you buy with the intent of overclocking (it's not required, of course), which if you're feeling lazy can be done with a click of a button. Asus claims that its 5-way optimization scheme will squeeze the most performance while balancing efficiency if going that route. Asus didn't say when its ROG Maximus VIII Formula will be available or for how much, but in vague terms, we suspect it will arrive soon and cost a lot of pretty pennies. |
| FCC Filing Reveals First Pictures of Google Glass Enterprise Edition Posted: 29 Dec 2015 10:08 AM PST First look at Google Glass 2.0 Google's head mounted display appropriately called Google Glass never did quite make it to store shelves as originally planned. Instead, Google shut down its Glass Explorer program in favor of taking the technology in a new direction, and we now have our first glimpse of what's in store for Google Glass 2.0. The folks at 9To5Google have been closely following the Google Glass project since its inception and they recently spotted an FCC filing for the newest version of the headset, which Google is calling Enterprise Edition. It doesn't look all that different from the Explorer Edition, though it sports some hardware upgrades and is foldable, the latter of which addresses an oft-requested feature. While still a work in progress, the Enterprise Edition of Google Glass sports an Atom processor, better battery life, improved wireless performance with the addition of a 5GHz Wi-Fi band, better heat management, and faster overall performance. Some of the tweaks to the design are subtle but welcome. One of them includes the relocation of the power button from inside the back of the headset. There's also an LED that comes on when the camera is being used, which should help address privacy concerns. It's also said to be waterproof. 9To5Google says the Enterprise Edition glasses will only be made available through Glass for Work startups, which will be able to load their own proprietary software before distributing them to employees. It doesn't appear that Google has any plans of bringing the new glasses to home consumers. |
| Plymouth University Makes Case for Pictures Instead of Passwords Posted: 29 Dec 2015 09:47 AM PST Rethinking password security A new study by Plymouth University suggests that using a combination of pictures and one-time numerical codes could be more secure and easier to use than today's commonly used multi-factor methods that rely on passwords. The new multi-level authentication system is called GOTPass. One of the advantages is that it doesn't require potentially costly hardware systems or accessories like USB authenticators. Instead, users would choose a unique username and dray any shape on a 4x4 unlock pattern, which isn't unlike your typical smartphone lock screen. They would then be shown four random themes with 30 images each and be required to pick a single image from each one. Once that's been taken care of, future login attempts would consist of the user typing in their username and drawing their unlock pattern. They'd then be shown a screen with 16 images containing two of their selected pictures, six associated distractions, and eight random decoys. After selecting the two correct images, the user would be given a randomly generated eight-digit code to log into their account. It's basically a new take on two-factor authentication, but without additional hardware. And though it sounds like a complicated process, it's pretty easy after the initial setup. It's also more secure, the study says -- in a series of security tests involving 690 hacking attempts, there were 23 break-ins using this method. Only eight of those were genuinely successful, with the other 15 "achieved through coincidence." "Traditional passwords are undoubtedly very usable but regardless of how safe people might feel their information is, the password's vulnerability is well known. There are alternative systems out there, but they are either very costly or have deployment constraints which mean they can be difficult to integrate with existing systems while maintaining user consensus. The GOTPass system is easy to use and implement, while at the same time offering users confidence that their information is being held securely," PhD student and study lead Hussain Alsaiari said. Expect to see more of this kind of thing as companies look for more secure methods than simple password input. Companies like Google and Yahoo (Account Key) have been testing alternatives, and according to a survey earlier this year, most people are open to the idea of moving on from passwords as a whole. |
| Posted: 29 Dec 2015 12:00 AM PST One router to rule them all?Google's OnHub wireless router went on sale a few short months ago with a lot of hype. Google positioned the OnHub as the one router that would replace all routers, solve all your Wi-Fi woes, and never go down or skip a beat. Best of all, Google promised the best range and speeds. After four weeks with the OnHub, and countless device connections, disconnects, and wild usage, here's what we've found. First things first: The OnHub is not for those who want to dive deeply into router/NAT settings. You can't access any settings typically found in routers, such as port for MAC address filtering, setting wireless channels, or VPN setup. You can't even set your broadcast power. If you're looking for advanced router features, you'll have to look elsewhere. As a matter of fact, you can't even attach more than one Ethernet device without adding a switch to split up the single LAN port. There's a lone USB port on the OnHub, but it's currently disabled. So, who exactly is OnHub for? According to Google, OnHub is for those people who just want working, stable Wi-Fi. You may have already read how easy OnHub's setup is. In this circumstance, Google succeeds marvelously; there's not much to do. You download the OnHub app on your smartphone, connect to the OnHub, and set up a Wi-Fi device name and password. That's essentially it. Anyone can set up an OnHub and get their connection up and running in under five minutes. Until recently, we've used several brands of routers: NetGear, ASUS, D-Link, you name it—the usual suspects. We've become accustomed to getting into the settings and modifying wireless channels to make sure we're not in a crowded space. With OnHub, Google won't let you do any of that. Instead, OnHub connects to Google cloud services and uses constantly updated algorithms to determine the best settings for your specific environment. We can't tell for sure what's happening on Google's end, but we'll take its word for it for now. In order to test OnHub, we brought it into a 2,000 square-feet house, with three residents. That, however, wasn't enough to stress the OnHub, so we loaded Google's little tube with 33 simultaneously connected devices. That's right—33 devices. For advanced users, Google allows customization of settings such as dynamic/static IP addresses, port forwarding, and UPnP. For many people, these settings will be all they ever need; for advanced users, OnHub's options are severely lacking. Google promises that OnHub devices will receive continuous updates over time, so there's always a possibility that your OnHub router will offer more advanced options. But as of now, you're going to have to seek other options if you want real configurability. Testing We wanted to see how the OnHub fared with range and wireless throughput. Previous to the OnHub, our network was using an ASUS RT-AC87U, which was fast in its own right. Everyone's environment is going to be different, but our 2,000 square-feet house is a pretty standard design. The OnHub was placed near the rear of the house in one corner, which is actually the worst-case scenario, as you should always try to place your router in a central area to get the best coverage. But we wanted to put the router through a bit of punishment. Multiple devices were connected: phones, laptops, desktops, tablets, a Nest thermostate, and four Nest cams. The result? There wasn't a single spot in the house where our devices couldn't reach the OnHub with full bars. At the opposite corner of the house were a Nest cam and a laptop, and both were able to connect and remain connected to the OnHub without drops. Transfer speeds remained relatively quick. On the 5GHz band, our laptop managed to get a respectable 45MB/sec speeds on the downlink, and 42MB/sec on the uplink. The ASUS managed to connect but offered worse performance: 32MB/sec and 31MB/sec, respectively. In close proximity, however, the performance of the two routers switched: the ASUS peaked out at 65MB/sec down throughput and 67MB/sec on the uplink. The OnHub fell short of the ASUS at 54MB/sec and 56MB/sec. When we were on the ASUS router, there were times when devices would drop off. Connecting to the router would cause a limited connection; the device would establish a wireless connection but wouldn't be able to obtain an IP. This didn't happen very often, but it happened enough times that it was annoying. The OnHub didn't exhibit this behavior once, and we felt it was much more reliable—enough to load up the OnHub with more than 30 devices without issue. So, essentially, what you're getting with the OnHub is a more reliable, long distance wireless connection at a slight cost to speed. The OnHub's more reliable connection to devices is probably more important, since having no connection means you're getting 0MB/sec. Wi-Fi without worryThe ideal situation for us was using the OnHub in bridge mode, so that we could use a more advanced router to do routing duties. In our case, connecting the OnHub to a product like the pfSense gateway is the ultimate solution. As for the OnHub itself, it's a really good first shot by Google at creating a simplified and easy to manage solution. All options—what few there are—are managed entirely on your phone. The OnHub is fast, stable, and good at giving you a sense of reliability. In the four weeks that we've used the OnHub, it's never crapped out on us or given us anything unexpected. Google claims that the OnHub is smart. It uploads connection data to Google in an effort for Google to fine tune the OnHub using analytics, to better suit your personal setup. We don't know what exactly is being uploaded, but we do know as of right now, Google is doing something right. If you already have a router with good NAT and LAN management features but gives you wireless issues, you can get an OnHub to serve purely as an access point. This setup defeats the entire intent behind the OnHub, but for advanced users, it works well. For the rest, who just want Wi-Fi that works, the OnHub does the job well. If and when Google updates the OnHub with more advanced features, we'll take a second look. |
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