Samsung's new 3440x1440 display has FreeSync and 100Hz

Anthony Garreffa | Displays & Projectors | Aug 27, 2016 9:50 AM CDT

Samsung has just teased its upcoming 34-inch monitor, with the CF791 featuring a 3440x1440 native resolution and a refresh rate of up to 100Hz. Samsung's upcoming CF791 display will also have support for AMD's FreeSync technology.

Samsung says that the VA panel in its new display offers better contrast, and reduced light leakage when compared to IPS panels, especially when it comes to curved displays. The upcoming CF791 is "the most curved in the world" according to Samsung, with a curve of 1500R. Samsung is using quantum-dot technology, with Samsung explaining that the shift to quantum-dot allows them to reproduce 125% of the sRGB gamut.,

Radeon owners will want to enjoy AMD's FreeSync technology on the Samsung CF791, since it will offer 3440x1440 at 100Hz with FreeSync on top, offering a super-smooth UltraWide gaming experience. Another nice touch is that Samsung has made the monitor "bezel-less" on three sides, with the CF791 looking mighty sharp with its looks.

Continue reading: Samsung's new 3440x1440 display has FreeSync and 100Hz (full post)

Battlefield 1 beta will run for eight days

Sean Ridgeley | Gaming | Aug 26, 2016 11:30 AM CDT

An e-mail from developer DICE's PR outfit sent out to press confirms the Battlefield 1 open beta will run from August 31 through September 8, for a total of eight days. If you've signed up to Battlefield Insider, you can get in one day early, as recently confirmed (again) by @Battlefield.

As previously reported, the beta will feature both Conquest and Rush modes on the Sinai desert map. Rush won't be the usual fare, with 24 players supported and the inclusion of "telegraph posts" that can be destroyed by attackers or used by defenders to call in artillery strikes.

Continue reading: Battlefield 1 beta will run for eight days (full post)

Ubisoft focuses on fixing The Division, delays DLC

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Aug 26, 2016 1:46 AM CDT

Ubisoft had expected to push out The Division's upcoming 'Last Stand' DLC later this year, but the company has had a change of heart - and a change of plan, by delaying Last Stand until "early 2017", while it fixes on "improving the core gameplay experience". Is this a new Ubisoft? What the hell is happening?!

In a post on The Division's official website, the team said that the upcoming v1.4 patch arriving in October would be filled with bug fixes, game balancing adjustments, and other improvements. Ubisoft was also expected to release The Division's next expansion dubbed Survival with the v1.4 patch, but the company has decided against that and will instead release them separately.

The Division's third expansion 'Last Stand' has been pushed back from late 2016 to early 2017, with Ubisoft explaining: "With Update 1.4 in the works, it has become clear with your feedback and our own observations that our priority should now be on improving the core gameplay experience. This new schedule will not only enable us to strengthen the core experience before adding new content, but also continuously improve it by allowing for more production time to ensure the quality of future updates as well".

Continue reading: Ubisoft focuses on fixing The Division, delays DLC (full post)

Huawei unveils its new high-end Honor 8 smartphone

IFA 2016 - Huawei, the third biggest mobile phone manufacturer, launched a new phone today in Stockholm, Sweden. Honor 8 is the top of the line Honor series phone, tho we can't say it's a flagship cause that title still belongs to Huawei P9.

However, with the dual camera system, the Honor 8 is quite similar to P9. Our source from Huawei tells us they wanted to make a cheaper phone with all of the P9 characteristics and one difference - they fixed all the problems the P9 has. This is where Honor 8 comes in. At first glance, the Honor 8 looks and feels like a premium phone. Its glass back gives it a fancier look and you get to choose between four colors - white, black, gold and dark blue.

The Honor 8 has a 5.2-inch full HD display and two 12-megapixel rear-facing cameras, but you won't see the Leica logo which is the case with the P9. Inside, we have Huawei's own Kirin 950 octo-core processor, 4GB of RAM and a 3,000 mAh battery. For comparison, the P9 has the same battery capacity, 3GB of RAM and a faster Kirin 955 processor.

Continue reading: Huawei unveils its new high-end Honor 8 smartphone (full post)

'Suicide Squad' creator blasts film critics

Ben Gourlay | Celebrities & Entertainment | Aug 25, 2016 10:10 PM CDT

Despite disappointing critics across the world, 'Suicide Squad' has been an unmitigated box office success, passing a $500 million haul mark in just 13 days, and well on the way to $600 million. And at the end of the day - that's all that matters.

Speaking out against the bad press, Suicide Squad comic creator John Ostrander said "First of all, I want to say I am not disparaging any of the critics. I do have problems - whether it's the Squad or not - when a critic comes in with an agenda already. They are not looking at the movie for what it is. I have read several of the reviews that were just fine, even not that keen on it. As long as they were looking at it honestly, that's fine. When somebody comes in with an attitude, "I'm sick of superhero movies," "I am not going to give them a break," "it has to be a masterpiece to get a good word out of me," I don't think that's right or fair. There were plenty of fans who did not like it, and well that's fine and they are right to their opinion even if they are wrong. I know the box office isn't an arbiter of what's good or bad, but you have to take a look at how much money Squad has made so far. I think it has done really well."

Warner has two major DC Comics films set for release in 2017, including 'Wonder Woman' and 'Justice League'.

Continue reading: 'Suicide Squad' creator blasts film critics (full post)

WhatsApp to share user data with Facebook

Sean Ridgeley | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Aug 25, 2016 1:04 PM CDT

WhatsApp gets cozier with parent company Facebook today as it updates its privacy policy as part of a long-term plan. At some point in the months ahead, the company will begin sharing its user data with the social media giant for monetization and feature purposes. If you'd like to (mostly) opt out, follow these instructions.

Feature-wise, agreeing to the new terms will mean notifications from other services you use, like your bank when a fraudulent transaction comes up, or your airline when a flight is delayed. It also means better friend suggestions and more relevant advertising.

Continue reading: WhatsApp to share user data with Facebook (full post)

Domino's Pizza begins testing drone delivery

Sean Ridgeley | Drones | Aug 25, 2016 11:36 AM CDT

Domino's Pizza is about to begin testing drone delivery, starting in New Zealand, where aviation laws passed this month allow for such a service. Parterning with drone company Flirtey, the plan is to launch the service to the public later this year, marking the first commercial drone delivery service worldwide.

"With the increased number of deliveries we make each year, we were faced with the challenge of ensuring our delivery times continue to decrease and that we strive to offer our customers new and progressive ways of ordering from us," says Domino's Group chief executive and managing director, Don Meij. "Research into different delivery methods led us to Flirtey. Their success within the airborne delivery space has been impressive and it's something we have wanted to offer our customers."

Meanwhile, New Zealand Transport Minister Simon Bridges says he's in full support of the service.

Continue reading: Domino's Pizza begins testing drone delivery (full post)

'Quite a few' of THQ Nordic's new games are from THQ IPs

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Aug 25, 2016 10:05 AM CDT

A good portion of THQ Nordic's unannounced games will be based on renowned THQ IPs--anyone want Darksiders 3 or a new Titan Quest?

'Quite a few' of THQ Nordic's new games are from THQ IPs

Ever since Nordic Games bought up key properties from THQ and became THQ Nordic, games across the globe were elated to know some of their favorite THQ series--like Titan Quest, Darksiders and Destroy All Humans--would live on despite the publisher's untimely demise. Now company CEO Lars Wingefors teases that "quite a few" of THQ Nordic's upcoming games are based on classic THQ IPs.

"Since we acquired the THQ brand, we have come to realize just how big that name actually is," Wingefors said in a recent interview with MCV.

Continue reading: 'Quite a few' of THQ Nordic's new games are from THQ IPs (full post)

PS4 Slim: 1.84 TFLOPs, HDD swapping, no 4K or HDR

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Aug 25, 2016 9:10 AM CDT

On September 7, Sony is expected to unveil a new thinner and cheaper PS4 model alongside the 4K-ready upgraded PS4 Neo. Now we have our first look at the new so-called "PS4 Slim" model.

PS4 Slim: 1.84 TFLOPs, HDD swapping, no 4K or HDR

Since Sony's new PlayStation 4 Slim model and its accompanying DualShock 4 model have been confirmed as real, we can now start treating the leaked info from console owners as facts. Twitter user Shortman84 has a leaked PlayStation 4 Slim console and the new DualShock 4 controller (model CUH-ZCT2), and has revealed key information about the system and what to expect from the new PS4 hardware revision.

The owner reveals that the PS4 Slim features everything we'd expect in a new revision: it's thinner, runs cooler and quieter, and has a few features shaved off to lower the price despite retaining the basic functionality of current PS4 models. The new DualShock 4 controller has some nice surprises too, including more efficient battery life and a new mode that boosts response times. Check below for a full list of the info we've gleaned so far.

Continue reading: PS4 Slim: 1.84 TFLOPs, HDD swapping, no 4K or HDR (full post)

No Man's Sky concurrent players tanks by 90% on Steam

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Aug 25, 2016 8:19 AM CDT

Steam gamers are ejecting escape pods from No Man's Sky crashing ship, likely due the game's notorious over-hyped and underwhelming content.

No Man's Sky concurrent players tanks by 90% on Steam

When it launched just weeks ago, No Man's Sky peaked at an incredible 212,620 simultaneous users, making it the biggest Steam release of 2016 in concurrent players. Since then the game has been bleeding players left and right.

According to SteamSpy and SteamDB, just two weeks later after its launch, No Man's Sky's concurrent Steam playerbase has dropped by 90% to just 19,336 players. Just four days ago we reported on a 78% drop in No Man's Sky Steam gamers, and it will be interesting to see how many more players jump ship in the coming weeks.

Continue reading: No Man's Sky concurrent players tanks by 90% on Steam (full post)