| Rockstar Suddenly Announces Grand Theft Auto V, Promises Trailer on Nov 2 Posted: 25 Oct 2011 09:04 PM PDT  Yes, yes, this was inevitable, but usually there's rhyme or reason to these things. Or somebody starts a nice little leak in the rumor mill's engines, and it's all old news by the time it's actually "official." Or there's a convention (think E3 or GDC) coming up. Or something! Rockstar, though, merely plastered its website the GTA V logo, promised that a trailer's going for a nice little rampage on November 2, and then quietly strode away while everybody scratched their heads. Meanwhile, Kotaku's now rumoring that it'll be set in LA. Which sounds nice enough, but why not try a new chronological setting? Like the wild west, or a 1940s detective adventure?
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| HP Testing Windows 8 On TouchPad Posted: 25 Oct 2011 03:04 PM PDT  HP seems to be rethinking its plans to get out of the consumer business with new CEO Meg Whitman at the helm. According to HP itself, it has been testing the Windows 8 developer release on the defunct HP TouchPad. This is just being done as a proof-of-concept right now, but there have even been talks of reviving the device as a Windows 8 slate.
The TouchPad was launched last summer only to be killed off a few weeks later by former CEO Leo Apotheker. HP then sold the devices at a steep discount to clear out inventory, but now they might regret that. The TouchPad ran webOS on a dual-core Snapdragon SoC that could might handle the Windows 8 Metro UI quite well. This does nothing to reduce confusion over what HP plans to do with webOS. There have been rumors that webOS could be sold, but its unlikely anyone would buy. At this point, it's looking less likely that any future HP tablet will run webOS. Any TouchPad users out there that would be into a Windows 8 upgrade? |
| BlackBerry Users Fleeing, Says Gadget Buyer Posted: 25 Oct 2011 02:44 PM PDT  Gazelle is a service that buys old gadgets, and pays out cash and gift cards, but there's one type of trade-in that's been conspicuously up in recent days. According to the company, there has been an 80% jump in people selling their BlackBerry smartphones since last week. This smashes the already high record number of sales early in the month.
There are likely two reasons for the new exodus from BlackBerry. First, and most obviously, is last week's huge server outage at RIM that left users worldwide without service for several days. RIM has offered a $100 credit for app purchases, but users are apparently unimpressed. The other factor is the release of the iPhone 4S. Gazelle also reports an uptick in Android trade-ins, but mostly from the Sprint network where there was probably a pent up demand for an iPhone. Do you think RIM can turn this around? |
| Nokia Windows Phone Devices Spotted Early Posted: 25 Oct 2011 02:26 PM PDT 
Nokia World is set to kick off tomorrow, and CEO Stephen Elop is expected to announce two phones running Windows Phone 7. However, it won't be a great surprise now that pictures of the devices have leaked. WinRumors has snagged a few screens that show off the Lumia 800 and 710 along with some details. The Lumia 800 is the device previously known as the Sea Ray. This phone is more or less a Nokia N9 with Windows Phone 7 instead of MeeGo. It has a boxy design with sharper corners. The Lumia 710 was codenamed the Saber, and sports a curvier design. There is limited information on specs, just that the devices have 512MB of RAM, and no SD card slots. The Lumia 800 and 710 are expected to launch in Europe next month, and arrive on US shores early next year. |
| How to Protect Your Boot Drive with BitLocker Posted: 25 Oct 2011 02:21 PM PDT When it comes to protecting the data on your computer, you can't do better than strong encryption. Properly encrypted, your files are safe even if a ne'er-do-well gains access to your computer, either physically or through a network. In the past, we've discussed how to use various encryption tools to encrypt individual files or create virtual, encrypted drives. Now, we'll look at how to get maximum security by encrypting your boot disk using the BitLocker full-drive encryption system that's built into Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterprise. Step 1: Assess Your System Ideally, you have a motherboard with a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip. A TPM chip securely stores cryptographic keys, which BitLocker uses to access your boot drive before Windows even loads. The TPM also detects any early boot files that have been modified, protecting you from rootkits and other low-level malware. You can check with your motherboard manufacturer to see if you have a TPM, or you can just attempt to go straight to Step 3. If you don't see a message that looks like the image below, you're good to go. Otherwise, you don't have a TPM and you'll need to continue to Step 2. 
You'll also need an additional, small partition on any boot drive you wish to encrypt in order to use BitLocker. Windows creates this extra partition by default during installation, but even if you don't have one, the BitLocker software can create it for you. Step 2: Enable USB Key Storage By default, BitLocker requires a TPM chip to work. To change this, open the group policy editor by bringing up the Run menu (press Win + R) and then typing gpedit.msc. Navigate through the hierarchy on the left side of the group policy editor, selecting the following folders, in order: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > BitLocker Drive Encryption > Operating System Drives (image below). Once you've found the right folder, double-click "Require additional authentication at startup" to edit that policy entry. 
In the policy editor, all you need to do is click the radio button marked Enabled. In the bottom‑left, a checkbox labeled "Allow BitLocker without a compatible TPM" should already be checked. If it isn't, check it. Click OK and exit the group policy editor. Step 3: Enable BitLocker The actual process of enabling BitLocker is straightforward: You can right-click a drive in Explorer and click Turn On BitLocker, or you can go to the BitLocker section of the control panel and enable it on any drive from there. As long as you've followed the previous two steps, you should see a screen asking you for your BitLocker startup preferences. If you have a TPM, you have three options. If you select "Use BitLocker without additional keys" your startup process will be basically unchanged. Someone with access to your computer will be able to get at your data, but you'll be protected from rootkits and from people accessing your data remotely. Alternatively, you can choose to enter a PIN every time you log in. If you're using the USB method, you only have access to the last option, "Require a Startup key at every startup." With this method, you'll only be able to boot your computer while you have a USB drive with a startup key inserted in the machine. 
Once you select an option, you'll be asked to insert a USB drive to use as the key, and you'll choose where to store your recovery key, which you'll need if you want to decrypt your data on a different computer, or if the TPM detects a problem. It will take some time for BitLocker to encrypt your drive, but once it's finished, your data is safe. Anyone attempting to boot from your drive without the proper key won't even get to the Windows boot screen (image above). |
| ARM Grins from Ear to Ear as Profits Double Up Posted: 25 Oct 2011 12:26 PM PDT  Chip designer ARM Holdings Plc reported results for its third fiscal quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2011, and what a quarter it was. Thanks to an insatiable demand for smartphones and tablets, as well as other sectors ARM has its fingers planted in, net profits more than doubled from last year, while revenues jumped 20 percent to £120.2 million (around US$192.2 million).
"In the third quarter of 2011, we saw a continued high level of design activity with many new customers licensing ARM technology for the first time, driven by end market requirements for smarter, low-power chips. Demand for our technology has come from a broad range of applications, from sensors to computers," ARM CEO Warren East said in a statement. "Over the last year we have seen strong growth in shipments of ARM technology-based chips, with a 50 percent increase of shipments into non-mobile markets such as digital TVs, microcontrollers and networking applications." ARM has the all the momentum of a freight train racing down the tracks. The U.K-based firm added 28 processor licenses in Q3, including 14 new customers, many of them established semiconductor companies doing business with ARM for the first time. The firm also shipped a combined 1.9 million processors in Q3. |
| Sprint Plans to Roll Out LTE-Advanced in 2013 Posted: 25 Oct 2011 12:07 PM PDT  What's that you say, Sprint doesn't even have a 4G LTE network yet? Be that as it may, the wireless carrier isn't about to let such a minor detail prevent it from looking forward to LTE-Advanced, which by the way Sprint is planning to deploy in the first half of 2013. Sprint reckons its customers will see download speeds ranging from 12Mbps to 15Mbps.
Sprint's vice president of network development and engineering, Iyad Tarazi, made the prediction during an early morning meeting at the 4G World conference, according to FierceWireless. He also said Sprint will deploy its 4G LTE network by the middle of 2012, with at least a dozen LTE devices slated for release next year. All these plans create a sort of awkward situation between Sprint and Clearwire, though Tarazi said Sprint will still support 4G WiMAX for many years to come because of existing agreements. |
| FRAPS Update Fixes Vsync Issue Posted: 25 Oct 2011 11:48 AM PDT  Whether your stayed up late and stood in line at your local Gamestop at midnight last night to pick up your pre-ordered copy of Battlefield 3 or plan to grab it on the way home from work today, there's a good chance your evening will be filled with some FPS fun. Will you also be recording your in-game exploits? That's certainly an option with FRAPS.
It just so happens there's a new FRAPS build available, version 3.4.7. This incremental update introduces three fixes, including: - Fixed recording rate being locked to a low multiple when Vsync is enabled
- Fixed unlocked recording speed after temporary slowdowns
- Fixed Alt key interference with VMware/remote desktop applications
In case you're new to FRAPS, this handy utility lets you capture video, take screenshots, and perform custom benchmarks of any game. The free versions adds watermarks and a time limit to recorded videos; the paid version runs does not, runs $37, and includes free updates. FRAPS Homepage |
| Android App of the Week: Springpad Posted: 25 Oct 2011 11:25 AM PDT We've reviewed note apps before, particularly Evernote, and celebrated the ability of cloud-aware apps to synchronize your important information seamlessly and safely between multiple devices. Springpad looks to take the classic note app to a whole new cloud-service level.  
On the surface, Springpad resembles so many note taking applications that have come before: Notes, organized in notebooks, store critical information such as web links, addresses, pictures, or audio. Springpad even offers browser extensions and "bookmarklets" for the desktop that allow you to quickly create a note from the web page you are viewing. 
Springpad's cloud services not only handle and sync your notes, but also provide enhanced details for specific types of notes such as Movies or Places. Using the "Look it up" option when adding a new note allows you to associate a note with the specific Movie, Place, Product, etc. that you want, and automatically retrieves other information such as show times, an address, and useful links. 
Springpad for Android is available as a free download from the Android Marketplace and works well with both phone and tablet form factors. Companion apps for iPhone and iPad are also available. 
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| The Kids AREN'T All Right: Majority of Youth Want Macs, Not PCs Posted: 25 Oct 2011 11:13 AM PDT  Ah, the pleasures of youth. Sunshine, summer breaks and cool Capri Suns by the poolside. It sounds like the good life, but apparently all the rays are baking kids' brains: a new report says that the majority of American youth would prefer a Mac to a PC. What has the world come to when children are actively seeking out fruit?
The 2012 Harris Poll Youth EquiTrend study polled kids ranging from 8 to 24, and found that for the most part, they liked the kinds of things you'd expect youngsters to like: Oreos, Nickelodeon, Sprite, the Nintendo Wii and so on. But the shocking bit came in the technology portion: Apple laid a clean sweep across the category, placing tops with the iPad, iPhone and Mac line of computers. We get the iPhone and iPad – they are pretty nifty – but Macs? C'mon kids, wouldn't you rather have an Origin PC with an overclocked Core i7-2700k processor than a pricey computer with no optical drive and a lack of configuration options? The Motorla Xoom and brands like HTC and HP come in second in those races, and reading between the lines, Harris expects them to stay that way in the future. "Youth of today have spending power and they also have loyalty to brands. Some of this comes from their parents, but they also make their own decisions," Youth and Education Reseach VP Regina A. Corso said in Harris' press release. "Brands who tap into this loyalty when a consumer is a tween, and nurture it through the teen years, will have an extremely loyal customer by the time the customer is a young adult. Companies need to remember that consumers do not magically appear at age 18." In other words, if Apple hooks kids now, it has them forever. What do you think: is the Mac going to enjoy a resurgence sometime in the future, or is Mac-mania a phase that the children will grow out of as they advance in years? Image credit: geeky-gadgets.com |
