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8K Association nails down consumer 8K TV specs: up to 8K 60FPS

Anthony Garreffa | Displays | Sep 3, 2019 10:12 PM CDT

The 8K Association (8KA) has announced the official performance specifications for consumer 8K-capable TVs, with a bunch of industry players making up the 8KA in companies like AUO, Hisense, Panasonic, Samsung , and TCL.

8K Association nails down consumer 8K TV specs: up to 8K 60FPS

If you want to have an 8K consumer-focused TV on shelves, you'll need the 8KA logo which can only be stamped on if you meet the minimum specs in resolution, frame rates, luminance, and codec/interface support.

8KA Executive Director Chris Chinnock said the new spec-backed certification program will be a "critical step in the growth in next-generation video technology". 8K TV makers will need to meet the new 8KA technical specifications which stand as:

Continue reading: 8K Association nails down consumer 8K TV specs: up to 8K 60FPS (full post)

Elon Musk says SpaceX has 'Area 59' with tech 8x better than Area 51

Anthony Garreffa | Science, Space, & Robotics | Sep 3, 2019 8:57 PM CDT

Elon Musk has some choice words for conspiracy theorists: SpaceX has better technology than Area 51 -- the super-secretive US base where supposedly aliens and associated alien technology is hidden from the world.

Elon Musk says SpaceX has 'Area 59' with tech 8x better than Area 51

During the recent World Artificial Intelligence conference in Shanghai, China, Musk talked about the possibilities of the US government being in contact with aliens, and hiding it from the public. Musk doiesn't think that's the case, with the Tesla and SpaceX founder saying: "There are people out there who think we have found aliens. Trust me, I would know: We have not".

This is when the Area 51 and Area 59 mentions happened, with Musk saying: "People ask me if I have been to Area 51. Ok, please. SpaceX actually has area 59 and it's eight better than area 51".

Continue reading: Elon Musk says SpaceX has 'Area 59' with tech 8x better than Area 51 (full post)

China lunar rover finds weird 'gel-like' thing on far side of the moon

Anthony Garreffa | Science, Space, & Robotics | Sep 3, 2019 7:28 PM CDT

China has found something bizarre and very strange on the far side of the moon, with its Yutu-2 rover discovering a tiny crater on the moon with material of an unusual color and consistency.

China lunar rover finds weird 'gel-like' thing on far side of the moon

The discovery was discussed in a new paper published by Chiense researchers, on Chinese-language site Our Space. The discovery was pretty much by accident, with the Yutu-2 rover scheduled for power down during the lunar night in late-July but then something strange was spotted.

The team spotted a crater near the Yutu-2 on its image preview of the "strange-looking substance", which led the team to scanning it with the Yutu-2's optical and near-infrared spectrometer. Still, they had no idea what they were looking at apart from reporting the material is "gel-like" and isn't a color that is seen on the lunar surface.

Continue reading: China lunar rover finds weird 'gel-like' thing on far side of the moon (full post)

Android 10 will hit ALL Pixel smartphones starting September 3

Anthony Garreffa | Mobile Devices | Sep 3, 2019 6:28 PM CDT

It looks like Google will be pushing out Android 10 to all Pixel smartphones starting September 3, with what used to be called Android Q (Android 10 doesn't sound as good) spreading from the original Pixel through to the new Pixel 3a.

Android 10 will hit ALL Pixel smartphones starting September 3

Google's upcoming Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL should ship with Android 10 out of the box, and should be announced any day now. We should see Android 10 eventually hit other smartphones like the Galaxy S10 and Note 10 families of phones, but there's no ETA on that just yet.

There have bene betas of Android 10 (well, Android Q) on Huawei, LG, Nokia, and OnePlus smartphones so we should see something soon. Android 10 is filled with improvements and upgrades, including my favorite (something I love on my Android Q-powered Pixel 3 XL) -- system-wide Dark Mode.

Continue reading: Android 10 will hit ALL Pixel smartphones starting September 3 (full post)

Dave Bautista is playable in Gears of War 5

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Sep 3, 2019 4:40 PM CDT

Dave Bautista wants to play Marcus Fenix in the new Gears of War movie, but instead he'll star in Coalition's upcoming Gears 5.

Dave Bautista is playable in Gears of War 5

Today wrestling alum and Guardians of the Galaxy actor Dave Bautista confirmed he'll be a playable character in Gears of War 5, leading to much fanfare across the Xbox userbase. The Coalition says they tapped parts of Bautista's The Animal WWE persona as inspiration for his in-game character, and made custom armor specced right from the games. The team also gives strong hopes that the ex-bodybuilder could play Marcus in the upcoming film.

"Adding Batista to Gears 5, we started with the fantasy of 'Batista as Marcus,' putting Batista into Marcus' armor, and starting with Marcus' script. Then we added elements of "The Animal" Batista into his voice performance and onto his look by adding his signature Hollywood shades to his character. Batista was great in the booth and I can't wait for Gears and Batista fans alike to stomp some Swarm as The Animal," The Coalition's Rod Ferguson said.

Continue reading: Dave Bautista is playable in Gears of War 5 (full post)

Modder makes Ryzen-powered Gamecube SFF PC

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Sep 3, 2019 3:56 PM CDT

A modder packs a fully-fledged SFF PC into a Gamecube, complete with a Ryzen 5 processor.

Modder makes Ryzen-powered Gamecube SFF PC

Just for fun, Redditor ellio3 made a small form factor Mini-STX PC out of an old Gamecube chassis. The PC cube's specs include a Ryzen 5 2400G and 16GB of 3200MHz RAM and a roomy 1TB M.2 SSD all fastened to an ASRock A300M-STX motherboard.

Although the components were crammed into the small case with hardly an millimeter to spare, the build apparently doesn't get astronomically sizzly, sitting at roughly 30C idle and 80C under intense load. There's a CPU fan at the top and two Noctua NF-A4x10 fans--one for exhaust, and one for intake. Ellio3 was also able to use the Gamecube's original dust filter too.

Continue reading: Modder makes Ryzen-powered Gamecube SFF PC (full post)

Ghost Recon Breakpoint's roadmap shows 1 year of content

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Sep 3, 2019 2:54 PM CDT

Like all of Ubisoft's games, Ghost Recon Breakpoint will have an expansive roadmap of post-release content to keep players engaged.

Ghost Recon Breakpoint's roadmap shows 1 year of content

Ghost Recon Breakpoint comes out next month and Ubisoft is already showing off what's next for the game. Breakpoint's first year will include three big episodes that're staggered in seasonal releases across October 2019 through September 2020.

Each episode promises a hefty amount of content like new Adventures, which are basically robust story-based expansions; a new class; special events like the Terminator: Dark Fate cross-over; new faction missions; and two new raids. Some content like the adventures can only be sampled by free players, and to play the full version you'll need the Year 1 Pass.

Continue reading: Ghost Recon Breakpoint's roadmap shows 1 year of content (full post)

Doom 2016 gets demastered with old-school graphics

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Sep 3, 2019 2:09 PM CDT

What if Doom 2016 was made in in the 90s? Then you'd have this nifty mod that rips and tears like its 1993.

Doom 2016 gets demastered with old-school graphics

Introducing Doom 4 Vanilla, a new mod that basically demasters id's beloved 2016 shooter complete with weapons and enemies straight from the maws of rebooted hell. The mod is standalone but is also compatible with open-source Doom versions, and was made inside of Doom II. It brings that visceral old-school look and blends it with the chaotic fast-paced flow of Doom 2016, all without any jumping or crosshairs.

Doom 4 Vanilla is built around one simple premise: "Doom 2016...the way 1993 did it." You can download it here and check below for more info:

Continue reading: Doom 2016 gets demastered with old-school graphics (full post)

Switch SNES games might be part of tomorrow's Nintendo Direct

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Sep 3, 2019 1:42 PM CDT

Tomorrow's Nintendo Direct is a 40 minute showcase of Switch's 2019 games, but we could also get some SNES surprises, Switch Lite info, and more.

Switch SNES games might be part of tomorrow's Nintendo Direct

After lots of rumors, Nintendo today confirmed a Direct will be held tomorrow at 6PM EST/3PM PST. The main event will highlight games releasing immediately in 2019 including mainline first-party titles like Luigi's Mansion 3 and Pokemon Sword/Shield (probably Overwatch and the newly leaked AC4 port on Switch).

Apart from big new releases, a there's anticipation that Switch Online could evolve with SNES games. The Switch Lite is out this month, the time is right, and we could see SNES games arrive on Switch Online as soon as December to bolster subscription rates.

Continue reading: Switch SNES games might be part of tomorrow's Nintendo Direct (full post)

Geekbench 5 released, includes new CPU and GPU benchmarks

Anthony Garreffa | Software & Apps | Sep 3, 2019 9:03 AM CDT

Primate Labs has just announced its latest Geekbench software, with Geekbench 5 now released including a boat load of new features and tweaks.

Geekbench 5 released, includes new CPU and GPU benchmarks

Geekbench 5 kicks things off with a brand new CPU benchmarking suite that tests your system based on what its respective workload would be, with these including augmented reality and machine learning. Geekbench 5 also boosts the "memory footprint of existing workloads to more accurately account for the effect memory performance has on CPU performance".

The new Geekbench 5 CPU Benchmark also packs new modes of multi-threaded benchmarks, with the new software also better capturing the performance of different multi-threaded applications on personal computing devices.

Continue reading: Geekbench 5 released, includes new CPU and GPU benchmarks (full post)

Control is the new Crysis: requires 18GB of VRAM at 8K and $2500 card

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | Sep 3, 2019 8:42 AM CDT

I've been spending my time diving into the performance, visuals and technological side behind Remedy's latest masterpiece; Control, and I have to say -- it's one of, if not the best-looking game of all time thanks to RTX.

Control is the new Crysis: requires 18GB of VRAM at 8K and $2500 card

Control is powered by Remedy's latest in-house Northlight engine, a finely-tuned sandbox engine used in Quantum Break but with a totally new coat of paint thanks to RTX. Powering the game with a GeForce RTX 20 or RTX SUPER series graphics card unleashes almost an entirely new game (at least visually) but cranking it to 4K and beyond really begins to pull on every last transistor of that Turing GPU.

8K monitors aren't a mainstream thing yet, but they're on the market -- with the Dell UP3218K monitor. Dell's UP3218K is a true 8K monitor offering 7680x4320 natively, 4x the pixels of a 4K monitor at 3840x2160.

Continue reading: Control is the new Crysis: requires 18GB of VRAM at 8K and $2500 card (full post)

Xbox Bodywash goes on sale Down Under, to clean your down under bits

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Sep 3, 2019 5:23 AM CDT

Australian gamers might want to jump on some exclusive Xbox body wash and deodorant, something I just told my wife to keep a look out for at the shops, as Woolworths is now selling for $4 each.

Xbox Bodywash goes on sale Down Under, to clean your down under bits

Xbox ANZ teamed with Lynx on the new anti-perspirant, deoderant, and bodywash -- with Lynx known in the US as Axe. Micorosft explains the smell of its Xbox products as: "Lynx Xbox is a fresh scent of pulsing green citrus, featuring top notes of kaffir lime and winter lemon, aromatic herbal middle notes of mint and sage, and woody bottom notes of patchouli and clearwood".

"Containing a range of natural essential oils, the Xbox Lynx range comes with a sleek new look and features a body spray, deodorant, and shower gel".

Continue reading: Xbox Bodywash goes on sale Down Under, to clean your down under bits (full post)

Antec Striker open-frame chassis now available, costs $249

Anthony Garreffa | Cases, Cooling & PSU | Sep 3, 2019 4:38 AM CDT

Antec's super-interesting Striker case is now available for sale, coming in at $249 the new open-frame Mini-Tower will make your gaming PC look ridiculously awesome.

Antec Striker open-frame chassis now available, costs $249

It has been designed from the ground up by Antec for enthusiasts building water-cooled gaming PCs, with a super-unique form and structure the graphics card is placed at the front of the PC. This might sound strange, but wow does it look awesome.

Not only that, but we have not just high-end looks but the build quality Antec has here with the Striker is great as well. Antec is using 4mm tempered glass panels that will tease your rig to the world, with aluminum and steel structure providing high durability.

Continue reading: Antec Striker open-frame chassis now available, costs $249 (full post)

Xiaomi will soon release phones with 108MP camera sensors

Anthony Garreffa | Mobile Devices | Sep 3, 2019 12:33 AM CDT

We knew that Xiaomi would be releasing a new smartphone with a huge 108-megapixel camera sensor, but now it seems we're to expect four new devices with these crazy 108MP sensors.

Xiaomi will soon release phones with 108MP camera sensors

XDA Developers has spotted four new devices with codenames of "tucana," "draco," "umi," and "cmi" which will all reportedly feature the new 108MP sensors. Xiaomi teamed with Samsung on designed the new Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX sensors, and will be the first mobile camera sensor over 100MP.

The crazy 108MP sensor would be capable of snapping photos at a huge 12,032 x 9024 -- far exceeding anything else on the market. We should expect these new 108MP sensors inside of smartphones in the coming months, and more so in 2020 and beyond.

Continue reading: Xiaomi will soon release phones with 108MP camera sensors (full post)

Samsung Galaxy Fold pre-registrations open once again

Anthony Garreffa | Mobile Devices | Sep 2, 2019 11:45 PM CDT

Samsung is ramping up in re-releasing its Galaxy Fold foldable smartphone, re-opening the pre-registrations for the Galaxy Fold in the US.

Samsung Galaxy Fold pre-registrations open once again

This is just pre-registering and not pre-ordering to make it clear, so you won't need to spend any money to secure yourself Samsung's new Galaxy Fold smartphone. You will pre-register to get your name into the hat, and then pre-orders should kick off on Samsung's official site soon enough.

We shouldn't have to wait too long for the re-release of Samsung's new Galaxy Fold smartphone, after its hit-and-miss launch a few months ago seeing its global launch cancelled and delayed.

Continue reading: Samsung Galaxy Fold pre-registrations open once again (full post)

TRIGGERED: Facebook testing the REMOVAL of Likes from the platform

Anthony Garreffa | Internet & Websites | Sep 2, 2019 11:09 PM CDT

Facebook is considering the removal of the Like counter from the News Feed, in something TechCrunch reports is to "protect users' from envy and dissuade them from self-censorship". Mmmhmm.

TRIGGERED: Facebook testing the REMOVAL of Likes from the platform

Jane Manchun Wong, a "reverse engineering master", noticed Facebook is prototyping the hidden Like counts within the Facebook app for Android. TechCrunch reached out to Facebook for clarification, with the site reporting that Facebook confirmed it is "considering testing removal of Like counts. However it's not live for users yet".

Instagram recently did this, and being Facebook-owned it makes sense that Facebook would follow suit. Instagram started the testing of hiding its Like counter in Canada, but spread quickly to Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Ireland, and Japan. I'm in Australia and can confirm the Like counter is hidden.

Continue reading: TRIGGERED: Facebook testing the REMOVAL of Likes from the platform (full post)

Gears 5 has one map that its 50x bigger than any Gears of War map

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Sep 2, 2019 9:44 PM CDT

Gears 5 will be the biggest Gears of War game yet, with studio boss Rod Fergusson teasing Gears 5 rocks a map 50x bigger than any map in any previous Gears game.

Gears 5 has one map that its 50x bigger than any Gears of War map

The news comes direct from a PAX panel over the weekend, with Fergusson talking about Gears 5 and what to expect. One of them is Jack, a new companion bot that will float around helping you out by cloaking players for example, a totally new gameplay element unseen in Gears of War.

The 50x bigger map comes in handy when it's the biggest Gears of War game yet, given that it's now an open-world game with RPG elements this isn't the Gears game your Daddy knew.

Continue reading: Gears 5 has one map that its 50x bigger than any Gears of War map (full post)

2 x AMD EPYC 7742 for $13,900 annihilate $52,000 worth of Intel Xeons

Anthony Garreffa | Processors | Sep 2, 2019 9:11 PM CDT

AMD's kick ass new EPYC Rome CPUs are here and boy are they throwing Intel around like a rag doll, with ServeTheHome setting a new world record on a dual-CPU rig using two AMD EPYC 7742 processors.

2 x AMD EPYC 7742 for $13,900 annihilate $52,000 worth of Intel Xeons

STH compared the dual AMD EPYC 7742 chips against four Intel Xeon Platinum 8180M processors, which battles out the 64C/128T processor from AMD against Intel's best 28C/56T offering with some very, very surprising results. The AMD system is not only much cheaper, but it is also faster.

This means that STH ran benchmarks with 128C/256T of power from AMD and its EPYC 7742 processors, while the quad-CPU rig from Intel packed just 112C/224T in comparison, but cost over 3x as much.

Continue reading: 2 x AMD EPYC 7742 for $13,900 annihilate $52,000 worth of Intel Xeons (full post)

Gears 5 'player initiated combat' was inspired by BioShock Infinite

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Sep 2, 2019 8:42 PM CDT

Gears 5 is right around the corner iwth its release pegged for next week, and it is the largest game in the franchise with its push into being an open-world game and packing RPG elements for the first time.

Gears 5 'player initiated combat' was inspired by BioShock Infinite

In a recent interview with Rod Fergusson, the studio boss of Gears 5 developer The Coalition, it was unveiled that the game took inspiration from BioShock Infinite. Fergusson had his hands in all of the Gears of War games, but did leave Epic Games in 2012 to join the ranks of Irrational Games -- the company that made BioShock Infinite.

Fergusson explained: "We were saying we want to challenge expectations of player choice. What are ways that we can give the player more choice? And so one way is player-initiated combat. I learned that lesson from BioShock Infinite".

Continue reading: Gears 5 'player initiated combat' was inspired by BioShock Infinite (full post)

Homeworld 3 announced, original developers and artists involved

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Sep 2, 2019 8:21 PM CDT

In a huge surprise at PAX West on the weekend, Gearbox Publishing and Black Bird Interactive (BBI) announced Homeworld 3. Homeworld 3 is being crowdfunded through Fig, with the announcement trailer below:

Homeworld 3 announced, original developers and artists involved

Homeworld 3 will return to its roots, not only in terms of gameplay and its world -- but BBI consists of the original Homeworld developers and artists, as well as a "dream team" of games industry veterans who worked on the Homeworld Remastered Collection at Gearbox Publishing.

Gearbox teases that Homeworld 3 will be a "gripping continuation of the story, fully 3D combat, and the classic RTS elements you expect".

Continue reading: Homeworld 3 announced, original developers and artists involved (full post)

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