Latest News - Page 2634

Renown custom PC maker DG Lee has created a custom mini-ITX build centered around AMD's new Radeon R9 Nano that hits an amazing 10TFlops of performance.

With AMD's Radeon R9 Nano small form-factor GPU releasing this week, the company has launched a promotional #MakeItNano campaign where enthusiasts compete by making their own custom chassis builds, with the winner snagging an R9 Nano. To inspire competitors and wow PC owners across the globe, AMD conscripted DG Lee to create a striking mini-ITX build to house AMD's mini powerhouse GPU. The results are nothing short of amazing.

The SFF PC is called the "Unprecedented High-Density Teraflops Machine", and packs a serious performance punch in a beautiful stylish design. The compact chassis measures 166mm x 244mm x 188mm size and houses a single 4GB R9 Nano GPU at 8.9 TFlops, which is combined with the monstrous 1.4 TFlops generated by Intel's 18-core Xeon E5-2699 V3 processor to hit a grand total of 10 TFlops in performance speeds. The team actually wanted to pack in two Radeon R9 Nanos and initially targeted a blistering 20 TFlops... but technical problems held them back and AMD only wanted to showcase a single-card build.

Court documents gleaned from Halo composer Martin O'Donnell's case against Bungie and Activision reveal that Destiny's story arc was "significantly changed" from the original, and strongly hints that Activision is responsible.

When the first chapter of Destiny's five-part franchise launched in 2014, gamers found that it wasn't the intergalactic opera they were expecting. The story elements were (and still are) very light and players finally understood what kind of series Activision and Bungie have created--the kind of piecemeal bits that can be strewn out over a decade of releases. But Destiny wasn't always like this.

The court papers of Martin O'Donnell's lawsuit against Bungie show that the game went through a phase of "substantial revision" which led to the first year-long delay. "Although Destiny as planned for release in September 2013, the story was substantially revised beginning August 2013, requiring a new release date of March 2014 and edits to much of the work previously completed," the documents read. "After a brief vacation/sabbatical in early fall, o'Donnell returned, worked on the story and recorded dialogue, but wrote no additional music. For reasons unrelated to O'Donnell's performance, the release date was again moved, to September 2014."

Fujitsu has announced that it has developed a new wireless communications receiver, which is capable of massive transfer rates of up to 20 gigabits per second. The receiver is tiny enough that it will fit into a smartphone, super-powering data transfer rates.

The new chip would make smartphones and tablets capable of transferring 4K or even 8K video virtually instantly, with 8K resolution videos featuring 16x the resolution of 1080p. Fujitsu is calling its new chip the world's first compact 300GHz receiver, thanks to its insanely fast wireless communication abilities.

Fujitsu's new chip is smaller than 1 cubic centimeter, where it combines both a receiver-amplifier chip as well as a terahertz-band antenna. Because the chip has high sensitivity, transmissions ranges are much shorter - just 1m away. A Fujitsu spokesperson said: "It is the first time such a highly sensitive terahertz band receiver has been made small enough to fit into a current-generation cellular phone". The company hopes to have the chip being built commercially in 2020.

There's an Android app going around that is holding people ransom, but not before it snaps a picture of the user. Adult Player is a porn app that secretly takes a picture of the user through their front-facing camera, after which it locked the users device and demands $500 to unlock it again.

Adult Player has not been approved by Google Play, and can only be downloaded from a website. US security firm Zscaler says that Adult Player's ransom message sits on the smartphone's screen at all times, reappearing if the smartphone is rebooted. Zscaler said: "This ransomware acts as a porn app named 'Adult Player' and lures victims who assume it is a pornographic video player". Zscaler added: "When the victim starts using it, the app silently takes a photo of the victim, which is then displayed on the ransomware screen, along with the ransom message. The app demands a ransom of 500 USD".

Zscaler says this is the second porn-focused ransomware they've discovered and is particularly nasty as it pops up once a smartphone has been rebooted. It completely locks the user out of the own smartphone, forcing users to pay the $500 to remove the block from their smartphone. Adult Player can be removed, but Zscaler says that it is quite difficult to do so. The security firm added: "The ransomware is designed to stay stagnant on screen and does not allow the the victim to uninstall it. Rebooting the device does not work in such cases as ransomware app becomes active immediately after reboot, which leaves no scope for the victim to get into device "settings" and uninstall the ransomware".

Warner Bros. executives are keenly awaiting their biggest release of the 2016 blockbuster season 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' and have apparently issued a few notes on the films rough cut which amount to featuring more of the caped crusader and less of Krypton's last son, which might rankle star Henry Cavill, and it's director Zack Snyder.

According to Heroic Hollywood, the company has been so enamored with Ben Affleck's portrayal of Batman, they've issued the directive to feature his character more hevaily, which is apparently "blowing Henry Cavill's Superman right off the screen." Such is the studio's love affair with Affleck's Batman, they've already greenlit a stand-alone film which will be written, directed and star the actor.

'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' will be released in 3D and 2D cinemas as well as IMAX screens on March 25th 2016 worldwide.

Audio company V-MODA has unveiled the Crossfade Wireless Over-Ear headphones, a hybrid audio device that supports both wired and wireless listening.

The headphones can maintain a wireless Bluetooth signal up to 33 feet away, with 12 hours of continuous listening. V-MODA also supports a dual-diaphragm 50mm driver, and plugging in a cable immediately switches off all electronics so zero latency can be achieved. The built-in hidden microphone supports phone calls and voice recognition, whether connected to a PC and notebook or smartphone.

"As an avid analog purist, for years I said I would not make a wireless headphone; instead, we decided to make our best over-ear wired headphone yet featuring the best wireless mode," said Val Kolton, CEO of V-MODA. "After years of R&D, we can proudly say that Crossfade Wireless is versatile enough to be the everyday audio weapon of choice for music professionals, audiophiles, gamers and savvy consumers, alike."

The Raspberry Pi is one of the niftiest little inventions that can power a zillion different gadgets, but it's always been missing one important thing: a display. Now that's all changed with an official 7-inch touchscreen display specifically tailored for the device.

The 7-inch display has an RGB resolution of 800x400 at 60FPS, with 24-bit color and a 10-point capacitive touchscreen set at a 70 degree viewing angle. The Pi attaches to the display via a DSI ribbon cable and is compatible with the following models: Raspberry Pi 2 Model B, Raspberry Pi Model B+, and the Raspberry PI Model A+. In order to use the display all devices need to be running the latest version of Raspberian OS.

The form factor is a slim and lightweight 194mm x 110mm x 20mm, fitting the overall modular DYI theme of the Raspberry Pi and features holes for attaching the Pi to the metal backing. Custom color frames are also available for extra visual flair.

Anytime Apple is reported to be involved in the development of a product, the rumor mill tends to go into overdrive. It looks like Apple's reported development of a car, which is expected to be semi-autonomous and electric, has created a large buzz.

"We believe the auto industry represents a significant opportunity for Apple, but we also expect Apple to be deliberate as always in its product development and testing," said Gene Munster, an analyst from Piper Jaffray, in a recent analyst note.

It was first predicted an Apple vehicle prototype around 2020, but despite Apple's recent hiring spree, trying to go from concept to real-world prototype in such a short time is rather unlikely. Instead, it could take at least a decade before Apple ends up with a drivable vehicle on the road:

If you're a hardcore gamer on the go, Razer has a solution that it believes will suit you perfectly. Enter the Razer Orochi, a notebook gaming mouse which features 8,200 DPI through the help of a 4G laser sensor, Razer Chroma RGB lighting and 60 hours of non-stop battery life.

With added Windows 10 support, this mouse is being released with double the battery life of its predecessor and it has Bluetooth 4.0 partly to thank for this. If you're looking to use it wired or need a charge, there is also an included 3.28 foot braided USB cable on offer.

The mouse measures up at only 3.9(L) x 2.64(W) x 1.38(H) inches in stature and requires two AA batteries to operate.

Pre-built computer systems are certainly gaining traction in this day and age, seeing companies like iBUYPOWER, CyberPower PC, Alienware, Origin PC and ASUS alike push some high-end products direct to customers, whether they are straight from the factory or out of a building workshop.

Adding to the plethora of recent releases is the ASUS ROG G11, offering up a powerful Intel Core i7-6700 processor, up to 32GB or DDR4 RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 video card coming complete with Windows 10.

With storage space options that include a 3TB hard drive and 256GB PCIe SSD, these releases are certainly catered towards those with a little cash to spare and no time or knowledge about building a system for themselves. Saying that, buying pre-built certainly isn't a totally negative thing, just the same way people spend money on workshops to modify cars - it all depends what you want as a computer enthusiast!

According to a banner on Japanese sites that some members of NeoGAF spotted, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain sales have been quite good: smashing through 3 million units since its release last week.

The hype around the game has been nothing but massive, with Hideo Kojima's very public departure from Konami being a large part of this hype. Not only that, but it has been seven years since the release of Metal Gear Solid IV: Guns of the Patriot, which was an exclusive to Sony and its console at the time; the PlayStation 3. We also just reported earlier tonight that sales of the PS4 version of the game have been smashing the Xbox One version, nearly 3-to-1.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is available right now for the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and PC.

Each day is another day we move closer to Skynet activating, with NASA saying that it has found a new material that is capable of self-healing from a bullet being shot at it within two seconds. Insanity.

The US space agency has said that the discovery has far-reaching applications, where it could be used on spacecrafts so that they could take a few hits from micro asteroids that would otherwise cause catastrophic damage, or down to 'self-healing' military equipment - you know, Terminators. NASA says that when one or both of the polymer layers were punctured, oxygen entered and mixed with an ingredient inside the gel called tributylborane.

When this reaction takes place, it caused the liquid center to solidify and heal the wound. NASA researchers told IFLScience: "Within seconds of coming into contact with the atmosphere, it goes from a liquid to a solid".

Star Wars fans - book your flights now. Disney and Lucasfilm have announced that the eagerly awaited world premiere of 'The Force Awakens' will play in France, 24 hours ahead of its release in other countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom and over two days ahead of the United States.

In France, new release films traditionally hit screens on Wednesdays, a standard which Disney is happy to retain. This means that French super-fans could potentially see the film ten times before the United States get to view a frame. You know what to do, super fans.

'The Force Awakens' slams into theatres on December 16th in France, December 17 in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom and December 18 in the United States.

Canon has just hit a huge milestone, with its new 250-megapixel APS-H CMOS sensor that has set a new world record for resolution in its size. The new sensor is capable of shooting images at a mindblowing 19,580 x 12,600.

The 250-megapixel sensor is so powerful, that Canon says it can distinguish lettering on the side of a plane from 18km (11 miles) away. The new APS-H sensor is bigger than APS-C, but smaller than full frame, and is "primarily used on Canon's legacy EOS-1D line of DSLRs", reports The Verge.

Canon's new super-powered sensor has a quick signal readout speed of 1.25 billion pixels per second, with the Japanese giant saying that it has good noise performance even with the immense pixel count. Not only can the 250-megapixel camera shoot those insane 19,580 x 12,600 images, but it can also shoot video that is around 30x sharper than 4K, albeit at 5FPS. Canon says that the technology can be used in "specialized surveillance and crime prevention tools, ultra-high-resolution measuring instruments and other industrial equipment, and the field of visual expression".

Now that Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is here, we can see what the first-week sales numbers are like. GfK Chart-Track, a market research company that tracks sales of multiple forms of media across the UK and Ireland, has MGS V: The Phantom Pain coming in a third-best in first-week sales of any game released in 2015.

The company announced: "It also marks the series' return to the top of the All Formats chart for the first time since 2008". But more importantly, how are the sales between the consoles? The company wrote on its blog: "PS4 takes a commanding 72% share over Xbox One which has 22%, while PS3 edges to a 3% share over Xbox 360 with just 2%".

In a very surprising move, Ubisoft has just announced that it is set to construct a massive 10,000-square-meter indoor theme park in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The theme park, according to Jean de Rivieres, Senior Vice President of Ubisoft Motion Pictures: "Ubisoft's intention for this park is to immerse people in reactive worlds where they can interact with each other and become the heroes of their own life-sized game. Ubisoft will produce all digital media for the rides, and help design guests' journey into the park to ensure the visitors' experience is at its best".

The studio is working with Malaysian theme park developer RSG, which will both run and own the mark. Ubisoft on the other hand, will have creative control over the park, which is expected to open its doors in 2020.

It looks like AMD are confident in their position in the market, even with NVIDIA scooping up most of the discrete GPU market with 82% being GeForce products. But, AMD's position could be a good one with DX12 now out, and developers jumping into the new Windows 10 exclusive API.

AMD's Head of Global Technical Marketing, Robert Hallock, took to Reddit, where he said: "You will find that the vast majority of DX12 titles in 2015/2016 are partnering with AMD. Mantle taught the development world how to work with a low-level API, the consoles use AMD and low-level APIs, and now those seeds are bearing fruit".

Even though AMD can only talk about Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, which is one AAA game, and a benchmark in Ashes of the Singularity, it feels a bit rushed to have AMD claiming this. But, Hallock could be eluding to unannounced titles that we haven't heard about yet.

Early next month, EA will unleash the Star Wars Battlefront beta, and while registration isn't open just yet, some people are scamming foaming-at-the-mouth gamers with fake beta sign-up sites.

Of course, these sites are just total traps, which has seen Electronic Arts Community Manager, Matthew Everett, taking to Reddit. Everett said: "Registration has not been made available yet. Do not be fooled by fake beta sign-up sites. Our beta registration will live on our official site here: starwars.ea.com. I will also be sure to post a link once it is available".

Star Wars Battlefront launches on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC on November 17 while the beta arrives sometime in "early October".

If you have bad internet and are thinking about buying a disc version of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain on PC, don't bother.

It looks like Konami has shipped retail PC DVD-ROMs of MGSV with only a single 8.8MB installer file, meaning you still have to download the full 20GB+ game via Steam. This is a pretty harsh roadblock to PC gamers with terrible internet speeds and one has to wonder why the Japanese publisher didn't just nix physical PC releases altogether.

While this is pretty frustrating, this kind of thing is nothing new. A lot of companies ship "physical" games with a download key to use on Origin, Steam, etc. Using this method the publishers are saving money packing in downloads via digital distribution networks like Steam rather than shipping the required 2-3 DVD discs required to fit the full game.

We have had one of AMD's new Radeon R9 Nano cards for around a week now, and we've only just gotten into testing it after testing out 4-way Fury X cards in a bunch of different games and resolutions.

Well, we just so happened to throw our R9 Nano into our system and straight away went to GPU-z, which said it was an 'AMD Radeon R9 Fury series' video card. But what happens when you throw in the full-blown Radeon R9 Fury X in? It works in Crossfire with the R9 Nano, that's what. The same goes for the normal R9 Fury, which also works in Crossfire with the super-small R9 Nano.

We can't share performance numbers on the R9 Nano until later this week, but we think that our review is going to be something worth reading, that's for sure.