Razer has been having difficulty convincing original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to support its modular PC concept. However, Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan has stated that the company is still working on Project Christine.
Maximum PC inquired whether or not Project Christine was dead and received a response from Tan who said, "Project Christine is a work in progress – which is why we called it a concept project in the first place. We do believe that for Project Christine to be a success, it will require global OEMs to come together to push innovation in the PC forward instead of obsessing over short term profits. Like the many other projects within Razer, we take a long term view on innovation and Project Christine is definitely still in the works."
When asked for names of OEMs the company has approached, however, no answer was provided.
Is Razer wasting its time and resources on Project Christine? Or is the concept of an easy-to-upgrade PC an idea the company should continue to pursue?
Razer gave thin and light gaming a major kick in the pants when it introduced its Blade laptop last year. It earned a 9 verdict (and our respect) in our review of the $2,000 model, which offered up impressive gaming performance in a package measuring just 13.6 inches by 9.3 inches by 0.66 inches (that's 0.05 inches thinner than a dime when you stand it up) and weighing 4.1 pounds. This year's refresh upgrades the 14-inch QHD+ territory (3200x1800), so what do you do with 'old' models? Apparently you try offloading them on students for a 20 percent discount.
For a limited time, K-12 and higher education students can receive a discount code good for 20 percent off the purchase of one Razer Blade 2013 laptop. The code doesn't apply to the Pro model, nor does it work with the 2014 model Razer Blades.
Last year's Razer Blade laptops start at $1,800 and include a 14-inch display with a 1600x900 resolution, Intel Core i7 4702HQ processor, 8GB of DDR3L-1600 memory, Nvidia GeForce GTX 765M graphics, 128GB hard drive, 1.3MP webcam, built-in stereo speakers, backlit anti-ghosting keyboard, three USB 3.0 ports, HDMI output, Killer Wireless-N 1202 (802.11n + Bluetooth 4.0), 70Wh battery, and Windows 8.1 64-bit.
There's also a $2,000 model with a 256GB SSD and a $2,300 SKU with a 512GB SSD. The 20 percent discount should work with any of the three configurations.
If you're interested, you can register for your discount code on Razer's website.
Red tape stands in the way of finding out if millions of E.T. cartridges are buried in New Mexico
E.T. may have hitched a ride to another galaxy after phoning home in the 1980s, but the search for unsold Atari 2600 cartridges loosely based on the Extra-Terrestrial's Hollywood hit continues. Legend has it Atari dumped up to 20 truckloads of cartridges, consoles, and other electronics into a New Mexico landfill site, which is where many believe most of the 3.5 million unsold copies of E.T. for the Atari 2600 ended up. After all these years, production company Lightbox Entertainment decided to dig up the landfill as part of a documentary, but environmental concerns could delay the project.
According to CNET, Lightbox's excavation plan was approved by city officials in Alamorgordo last June. However, environmental officials have the final say and they decided to reject the plan last month. Jim WInchester, a spokesperson for the New Mexico Environment Department, claims that Lightbox has yet to submit a new proposal.
So, is it game over for E.T.'s resurrection? Not quite. According to an AP report, Lightbox is insisting that the search hasn't been halted. The company is working with a local waste-management consultant who filed an excavation permit and is working with the New Mexico Environment Department to address their concerns.
E.T is considered to be one of the worst games of all time. It was only allowed a short window for development, and while it quickly sold 1.5 million copies piggybacking on the success of Steven Spielberg's film, sales came to a screeching halt, resulting in a $500 million loss for Atari.
Dual front fans give graphics cards a steady stream of cool air
Corsair just expanded its Obsidian Series of computers cases with the 450D, a mid-tower chassis sporting a familiar brushed aluminum design but with increased attention on airflow. There are two 140mm AF140L intake fans behind the aluminum mesh grill on the front that provide direct airflow to where a graphics card would be, and a rear 120mm AF120L fan to expel hot air.
If more cooling is needed, there are five additional fan mounts throughout the chassis. Alternately, you can go the liquid cooling route with room for up to a 360mm radiator in the roof (not many mid-towers support radiators that large), a 280mm radiator in front, and a 240mm radiator on the floor. In other words, you have options to play it cool.
"From day one, our Obsidian Series has made our case lineup a force to be reckoned with." said George Makris, Product Manager at Corsair. "With Obsidian 450D we've now added a mid-tower case that has outstanding air cooling capabilities, but can house lots of water cooling parts, too."
Other features include dust filters throughout, modular and tool-free 3.5-inch/2.5-inch drive mounts, two front mounted USB 3.0 ports, thumbscrews for the side panels and seven expansion slots, center-post standoff to hold the motherboard in place during installation, cable routing holes, and rubber grommets.
Desktop-grade performance in a tablet-friendly form factor
Remeber Plextor? The company built a reputation for itself during the era of optical drives, and as times have changed, so has Plextor's product lines. Plextor still builds optical drives, but its newest product is the M6M, a performance oriented mSATA solid state drive (SSD) that promises desktop-class performance in a smaller package suitable for NUC-style PCs, thin laptops, and tablets.
The M6M family uses Toshiba Toggle NAND flash memory chips paired with Marvell's server-grade 88SS9188 controller. Plextor builds its own firmware in-house. The combination of the three results in sequential read and write speeds of up to 520MB/s and 440MB/s, respectively, and random 4K read/write speeds of 94,000 IOPS/80,000 IOPS.
"The M6M is all about real-world performance. We've optimized this compact SSD to deliver the best possible computing experience. We used the latest generation of components, then included a new version of True Speed for even smoother long-term operation, and focused on increasing the random speeds to give the fastest everyday operating performance," said Product Manager, Yaping Zheng.
Plextor also infuses its M6M series with True Protect technology to support advanced data integrity checks, and 256-bit AES full disk encryption.
The new drives will be available in the second quarter of this year in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB capacities.
Security outfit Avast Software has spent the past two years developing GrimeFighter, a deep cleaning utility for PCs that's now available. According to Avast, what sets GrimeFigther apart from other PC cleaning software is that it follows through with its promise to increase PC performance when it's finished scrubbing your system. It's also unique in that it doesn't ask users what components should be analyzed.
"Most PC-cleanup utilities don't really improve performance – some actually slow down PCs," said Avast Chief Executive Officer Vince Steckler. "Since they run in Windows, they are unlikely to find problems with files and registry entries that are locked, protected, or otherwise hidden. Ironically those are the ones most often robbing users of performance and stability. With Avast GrimeFighter, we didn't want to introduce another me-too product – we wanted to eliminate the problem of slow PCs."
GrimeFighter works its magic by booting into Linux, which allows it to detect and remove files that can't be detected while Windows is running. There's also a bit of cloud play at work. Results of various scans are uploaded to the cloud, allowing Avast to build an intelligence database that, in theory, should result in better results over time. In addition, Avast says GrimeFighter can detect hardware components that are in danger of failing.
You can download GrimeFighter and scan your PC for free. To actually use the program, you need a license, which runs $25 $40 per year.
Back in the early days of computing, cavemen would build their PCs inside of stone enclosures. They needed to use stone because it was the most popular material at the time, and also to protect from saber-toothed tigers who delighted in the taste of silicon. Fast forward to today and we no longer need to worry about saber-toothed tigers stealing our components, so it's increasingly difficult to find a case made out of stone. Instead, we have much fancier enclosures, such today's top deal for a Corsair Carbide Series 500R Mid-Tower for $80 with free shipping (normally $110 - use coupon code: [EMCPGHE36]; additional $20 mail-in-rebate). It's made of steel with molded ABS plastic accents. A single 200mm fan and three 120mm fans are included to keep your components breathing, and if you need more, there are a total of 10 fan mounts.
WildStarhas a lot going for it. I might tell you it is the new RIFT, which was the new World of Warcraft, which was the new EverQuest, and I'd almost feel done for the day. Now, I don't buy an MMO and subscribe to it unless I intend to play it regularly for at least three months, and I rarely subscribe to multiple MMOs. Since WildStar is coming out in a year already packed with solid MMO releases, I'd like to consider at the pros and cons of the game in relation to the rest of the industry through the eyes of an MMO veteran.
"When your character in Elder Scrolls Online reaches level 50," ZeniMax says, "the journey isn't over." This is good news for those of you concerned about Elder Scrolls' elder game, and creative director Paul Sage has authored a lengthy blog post that spells out the current post-50 options.
Said options include solo or duo PvP, small group PvP, large group PvP, solo or duo PvE, four-person group PvE, and 12-person group PvE. Sage also talks up ESO's first adventure zone, an area called Craglorn that is built for a four-person group despite being the size of a standard PvE zone.
News of the Oculus-Facebook buyout may have saddened gamers -- including Minecraft maestro Markus "Notch" Persson -- but EVE Online developer CCP is taking the corporate high road.
The company, which is polishing a virtual reality action title called EVE: Valkyrie that will be co-published by Oculus, put a positive spin on the future of the Rift without mentioning the $2 billion Facebook acquisition. "We're very excited for our friends and colleagues at Oculus," CCP told Engadget. "We share their vision about the future of VR and gaming and are looking forward to participating in the consumer launch of the Oculus Rift with Eve: Valkyrie."
En Masse has added a new wrinkle to its TERA cash shop. The next time you log into the free-to-play fantasy brawler, you'll receive a pack of five federation bills for your trouble. You'll get five more on each subsequent login "for a limited time," and En Masse will be "introducing more and more ways to get them" in the future.
The bills aren't tradeable, but you can share them across all the characters on your account. They're used at exclusive merchants in towns spread throughout Arborea to purchase "some of those rare items no longer available anywhere else" as well as "plenty of other goodies and treats."
If you're a fan of KOG Games'Elsword or Grand Chase -- or better yet, both -- then this morning's character launch will be of interest. The studio is bringing Grand Chase character Elesis, who happens to be the sister of title character Elsword, over to the game named Elsword. There's some wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff in there, we're sure.
According to the release, Elesis marks Elsword's first female melee character and a rare crossover promotion for the genre: "Elesis fights with steel and fire. [...] Starting her attacks by swinging her wicked fire-imbued Claymore, she gestures with her off hand for a flame-lash from below, all the while continuing to chain a sinister salvo of fire and blade attack combinations. [T]he more she attacks, the more powerful she becomes!"
We spoke to KOG Games about today's new roster addition. Read on!
Right now is the calm before the Elder Scrolls Online storm, the holding of one's breath before it can be released next week. I won't be playing it but I'm happy for those of you who will, since a major new MMO release is always a cause for celebration and energizes the larger community.
However, I have one question today that I'd like to put out to those of you who were in the beta test, either extensively or during one of the weekends: Is ESO in a good shape to launch? Did it get adequate testing? Are the bugs fixed or is it an insect-lover's paradise in there? Is it being pushed out the door firmly but prematurely due to a fixed date or is it sailing gracefully on its own steam with no major reservations? Do you take the devs' words that launch will be a polished, lag-free experience?
Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Interested in MechWarrior Online? Got a spare 11 minutes and 43 seconds? Then you'll want to watch the latest Ask the Devs vlog which covers a wide range of topics relating to the sci-fi MMO's ongoing development.
Topics include recent jump-jet changes, the game's achievement system, design challenges on the Banshee, and more. The full video clip is embedded after the cut. If you're unable to view it, there's a transcript on the official MWO forums via the links below.
Seasons don't fear the reaper, nor does Iron Man or the Thing or Squirrel Girl. Phoenix is probably on a first-name basis with the reaper at this point. And Marvel Heroes doesn't want you to fear the reaper either, as the game is running a special event dubbed Don't Fear The Reaper. No, the event will not involve Romeo and Juliet being together in eternity, but it will instead feature increased rewards from a variety of challenges while also offering increased experience and item find rates.
X-Defense, Terminals, Midtown, and Holo-Sims will all feature enhanced rewards on a rotation schedule from now until April 1st. The bonus reward changes every few hours, giving you reason to change what you're doing, and the entire game will benefit from improved experience gain and item find rates while the event is running. Check out the announcement for the exact schedule of rewards so you can be ready to fly -- which might not be all that different from normal, come to think of it.
So why is Facebook shelling out two billion dollars to buy up the company making the Oculus Rift VR headset? "We're going to focus on helping Oculus build out their product and develop partnerships to support more game," says Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg. "But this is just the start. After games, we're going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences. Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face -- just by putting on goggles in your home."
The Oculus team members likewise posted a picture of themselves rolling around in piles of money a dev blog explaining the partnership: "It gives us the best shot at truly changing the world. It opens doors to new opportunities and partnerships, reduces risk on the manufacturing and work capital side, allows us to publish more made-for-VR content, and lets us focus on what we do best: solving hard engineering challenges and delivering the future of VR."
If you're looking for the Do Not Like button, there still isn't one.
You remember Tyrael, right? Tall guy? He was in your class in high school? Glowing wings coming out of his back, divine embodiment of justice, enjoyed smiting evil? He was in Diablo III, remember? Anyway, he's got a new gig; he's showing up in Heroes of the Storm now. Yeah, still doing what he loves, slicing up demons. You do what you're good at, right?
The trailer showing off Tyrael doesn't offer a picture of how he'll play but does serve as a nifty little glimpse into how the game will both look and feel. You can check the trailer out just past the cut if you haven't gotten enough Diablo III action already with the expansion release.
"We have been asked feedback on things that are at a very early stage of creation (if not only on paper) and there's a real interaction between us and the designers/developers," council member Flavilandile wrote. "Yes, it doesn't means that in the end what we suggest will be implemented, but there's is a real interaction and I feel that they are listening to us when we voice our concern on a topic."
"I'm enjoying it, having fun. Though I'm hard pressed to say we're having the impact we might. The dialog I expected (perhaps unrealistically) is there, but it is more limited than I would have liked," council member IronClan added.
For the full range of testimonies, check out the post on the official site.
Reputation in Star Trek Online doesn't just give material rewards; higher reputation is directly tied to new abilities and enhancements for both ships and captains. Season 9 is already improving and renovating the system for advancing in reputation, and that means the developers are taking a closer look at the existing system as explained in the latest development blog. That examination showed off some real issues with the extra powers for veterans compared to new characters at the level cap. It came down to the simple fact that the setup was not viable forever, and as more reputations came in, the gap in power would start becoming sizable.
So what does it mean? A new setup for the various reputation powers. Starting with Season 9, powers will be renamed to Reputation Traits, with all captains receiving four slots for Ground Traits, four slots for Space Traits, and four slots for active abilities. These slots can be reallocated at any time, as well, letting you choose from a wider pool of tricks as your reputations advance. Take a look at the latest development blog for details on how the existing abilities will be changing to be more powerful with the new system.
Perfect World Entertainment has a new trailer out for its upcoming Swordsman martial arts MMO, this time focusing on the title's backstory and luscious visuals.
As in any classic RPG, you start in an innocent village that comes under attack by a sinister foe. Barely escaping with your life, you begin to train in one of the 10 schools and investigate said foe while leaping on top of buildings and being all wire-fu on the world.
Check out the short trailer after the jump and let us know what you think!
We've got a hodge-podge of topics for today's episode, ranging from new game announcements to beta transitions to why modders might be a bit grumpy this week. Also, we brought Jef on the show today to help us catch up on a particular sandbox that might actually be coming to the west this year. So the sky's the limit for this discussion -- all we need are your ears!
Get all of our opinions and analysis on the most important stories of the past week right here on Massively Speaking, the industry's leading MMO podcast. And if you have a comment, question, or topic for the podcasters, send an email to podcast@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air!
Get the podcast: [RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly. [iTunes] Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. [Stitcher] Follow the podcast on Stitcher Radio. Listen here on the page:
Are you ready for the launch of The Elder Scrolls Online? The earliest access starts in just five days. But if you've got the five-day headstart, when can you actually log in? When can you first enter the game on launch day? The answer, as outlined in the new launch FAQ on the site, is 7:00 a.m. EDT on March 30th for 5-day early access, 7:00 a.m. EDT on April 1st for 3-day early access, and 7:00 p.m. EDT on April 4th for the full launch.
There's more useful information in the launch FAQ, as well. Beta participants will not need to re-download the client, and the full retail patch can be downloaded as early as March 27th. You will be able to upgrade to the game's Imperial Edition following the launch, but the Explorer's Pack requires a pre-order. For any other questions you might have, take a gander at the full FAQ to make sure you're ready to go when the servers open up.
Are you interested in diving into Albion Online's closed alpha that launched today? If so, zip on over to the official site; the cross-platform sandbox offered a limited number of keys for this test run, and you can still sign up for a chance at a testing spot even if you missed out on the giveaway.
Testers will see new updates that include customizable player housing which can affect player stats, new guild functionality including customizable coats of arms and searching for guild tools, a local marketplace for trade, and an in-game mail system. Players can also choose from more male avatars as well as the new female avatars. Get a glimpse of house building as well as the other updates in the video below.
Defiance announced its fifth DLC pack today, Arktech Revolution, and with it a host of changes to make good guys stronger and bad guys nastier.
On the player side of things, Defiance will be increasing the EGO rating cap, adding in new EGO perks, scaling up weapon damage, modifying weapon damage types, and throwing in armor plates for added defensive capabilities. Over at enemy H.Q., mobs will become more difficult with new enemy difficulty tiers and skills introduced into the game.
Arktech Revolution will also contain expert co-op maps, dynamic event scaling, and tweaks to how consumables work.
EVE Online griefers have grabbed their share of headlines during the game's first decade, but rarely have the masses gotten a chance to witness them in action. Now you can, though, thanks to a player named Erotica 1 who has publicized an audio recording of a "Bonus Round" scam being carried out via voice chat.
Jester at EVE News 24 has the full story as well as a link to the Soundcloud file. It's worth noting that portions of the audio are NSFW due to graphic language.
Even though Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen isn't slated to arrive until 2017, Visionary Realms continues to update its website with various featurettes. The latest such focuses on the Taurokian, a "planned playable race" that is known for its "strength, speed, and frenzied charging ability" that is often used "to gore large formations of troops."
If you're counting at home, Taurokians are Pantheon's sixth playable race, and you can read all about them by clicking below.
The dust has barely settled on the Battle for Lion's Arch: Aftermath release, but ArenaNet is already releasing blog posts to discuss Guild Wars 2's April 15th feature pack. What's a feature pack? Well, it's exactly what it says on the tin: We'll be getting a big chunk of gameplay updates, quality-of-life improvements, and balance tweaks that don't fit into the living world or have story components. I usually refer to this stuff as "stuff," but "feature pack" definitely sounds more classy.
As I write this, we've gotten posts on three of the topics locked up in the official feature pack site's nifty little sidebar doodad: one covering updates to the trait system; another to outline balance changes for runes, sigils and professions; and another to talk about swapping critical damage percentage for a new attribute called Ferocity. I have a lot to say about traits, but I'm also going to spend some time speculating on the next two blog posts in the lineup. There's nothing I love more than making half-baked predictions.
Razer CEO Confirms Project Christine Continues 
A sweet deal for students
Red tape stands in the way of finding out if millions of E.T. cartridges are buried in New Mexico
Dual front fans give graphics cards a steady stream of cool air
Desktop-grade performance in a tablet-friendly form factor
Give your PC a deep cleaning
Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's 
So why is Facebook shelling out two billion dollars to buy up the company making the 
