| Microsoft Trying to Boost Surface Sales Through iPad Trade-in Program Posted: 13 Sep 2013 03:36 PM PDT 
Redmond is offering a minimum of $200 for "gently used" iPads Microsoft is currently running a limited-time iPad trade-in offer, allowing people to bring in their "gently used" iPad 2,3,or 4 into select Microsoft retail outlets across the U.S. and Canada and walk out with a Microsoft store gift card worth a minimum of $200. While the offer has been live for well over a week now, the good news is that there's still plenty of time left. Of course, Microsoft is not doing this to gain an entry into the electronics trade-in market. It is simply trying to prop up sales of its own Surface tablets at the expense of its most high-profile competitor. Redmond, in fact, wants to get that iOS-running tab out of your hands first and foremost, and if you choose to use the gift card toward the purchase of a brand new Surface RT or Pro slate, all the better. Valid until October 27, 2013, the offer is only available offline and that too in select Microsoft retail locations in Canada and the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). As for eligibility, all 2nd-, 3rd- and 4th-generation devices are eligible as long as the device is in good shape and you still have the power cord. Also, the device can't be password protected. In case you are actually considering trading in your old iPad for a Surface RT or Pro, please bear in mind that Microsoft is slated to unveil its next-gen Surface tablets on September 23, 2013 at a special event in New York — so it'd be wise to wait until then. Image Credit: TechnoBuffalo Follow Pulkit on Google+ |
| Top 13 Scary PC Games Posted: 13 Sep 2013 03:25 PM PDT  Thirteen scary games for your Friday the 13th
Horror gaming on any platform is addictive once you've endured your first fright. You always come back for more. You become a slave to the adrenaline rush, or if you're like us, the macabre visuals and otherworldly ambiance. But it's tough to weed out what's worth your time from the Slenders and the Flash abominations out there. That's why we've done the legwork for you, bringing you thirteen of the scariest PC games we can find and including links to trailers for each title. Whether you like wandering around in the dark or combating Lovecraftian horrors, we've got tricks and treats for you on ths list. Pack a fresh pair of undies and ready your WASD keys for some abuse, because these games will try your patience and test your nerves. Take the plunge with us and try not to be terrified. What's your favorite horror game? Or are you too chicken to play this genre? Let us know in the comments below! |
| Audio Guru Ray Dolby Dies at Age 80, Leaves Behind a Legacy Posted: 13 Sep 2013 08:40 AM PDT  Sound pioneer passes away
It's always with heavy hearts what we pass along the news of a technology pioneer's passing (it happens more often than we like), and so it goes today with the announcement that Ray Dolby, a billionaire American inventor and founder of Dolby Laboratories, died Thursday at his home in San Francisco at the age of 80. Dr. Dolby was living with Alzheimer's Disease and also had been diagnosed in July with acute leukemia. "Today we lost a friend, mentor and true visionary," said Kevin Yeaman, President and CEO, Dolby Laboratories. "Ray Dolby founded the company based on a commitment to creating value through innovation and an impassioned belief that if you invested in people and gave them the tools for success they would create great things. Ray's ideals will continue to be a source of inspiration and motivation for us all." Dr. Dolby was born in Portland, Oregon in January 1933. He and his family would later move to San Francisco, and from 1949 to 1957, he worked on a number of instrumentation projects at Ampex Corporation where he spearheaded the development of the electronic aspects of the Ampex videotape recording system. It was in 1965 that he founded Dolby Laboratories, and since then, he's racked up a number of presigious awards and honors, including Silver (1971) and Gold (1992) medals from the Audio Engineering Society. In all, Dolby Laboratories has been awarded 10 Academy Awards and 13 Emmy Awards for various groundbreaking achievements during the company's past 48 years. Outside of Dolby Laboratories, Dr. Dolby and his wife were active in philanthropy efforts. Most recently, the couple helped open two centers of science, research, and patient care, the Ray and Dagmar Dolby Regeneration Medicine Building at the University of San Francisco's Stem Cell Center and the Brain Health Center at California Pacific Medical Center. Dr. Dolby is survived by his wife, Dagmar, his sons, Tom and David, their spouses, Andrew and Natasha, and four grandchildren. Rather than send flowers, his family asks that donations be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 1060 La Avenida Street, Mountain View, CA 49043, or the Brain Health Center, c/o CPMC Foundation, 45 Castro Street, San Francisco, CA 94117. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Intel Upgrades NUC with Haswell, Faster Graphics for 4K Output Posted: 13 Sep 2013 08:10 AM PDT  Bigger performance, same small box
We liked the idea of Intel's original NUC (Next Unit of Computing), which delivered a full-fledged computing experience in a tiny chassis that you could hold in the palm of your hand. Freezing issues plagued earlier versions, and while we had success swapping out the mSATA SSD to alleviate the issue, it didn't solve the problem for everyone. Intel has since supposedly solved the issue, and just in time to launch an upgraded model built around Haswell. The new NUC Kit (D54250WYK) sports a 4th Generation Intel Core i5 4250U processor soldered onto the motherboard and sitting underneath an active fan and heatsink cooling solution. The 4250U is a dual-core chip with Hyper Threading support. It runs at 1.3GHz (2.6GHz Turbo), has 3MB of cache, and a friendly 15W TDP. Upgrading the CPU also bumps up the integrated graphics to Intel HD 5000 with a 200MHz base frequency (1GHz Max). You're not going to be doing much high-end gaming at high resolutions with the visual quality settings cranked up, but certainly some gaming isn't out of the question. 
There's also a DisplayPort (version 1.2) on the new model for driving 4K displays, which we're starting to see emerge. Other features include two SO-DIMM slots supporting up to 16GB of DDR3-1600/1333 memory, HDMI 1.4 output, a GbE port, four USB 3.0 ports (two each in the front and back), two USB 2.0 ports (internal header), and an infrared sensor on the front panel, among a few other tidbits. No word on when the upgraded NUC will be available to purchase or for how much. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Powercolor Reinvents the Cooling Fan Using Double Blade Technology Posted: 13 Sep 2013 06:59 AM PDT  Better airflow, less dust
Arguably the least sexy part of any PC build or component is the cooling fan. Sure, some are flashier than others with colorful and/or specially curved blades, LEDs, and variable speeds, but it's not something most people get excited about. Powercolor may change that by introducing its patented thermal solution called "Double Blades." Using Double Blade technology, Powercolor promises increased cooling performance and less wear and tear on the fan due to dust. Just as it sounds, Double Blade technology involves adding a second, smaller fan blade to each larger one. The purpose is to centralize airflow and ultimately improve thermal performance. "This exclusive design adds an extra fan blade attached to the original one; the extra fan can absorb airflow into the center and increase airflow up to 20 percent compared to the traditional thermal design," Powercolor says. 
In addition, Powercolor says its Double Blade design can prevent dust from depositing at the bearings and settling at the bottom of the fan, prolonging the life of both the fan and the videocard, assuming these end up on GPU coolers. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Newegg Daily Deals: G.Skill Ripjaws 16GB DDR3-1600 Notebook RAM, Asus 23-inch LCD, and More! Posted: 12 Sep 2013 11:28 AM PDT |
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