Latest News - Page 2777

Digital Storm has just taken the wraps off of its new Eclipse PC, a new small form factor PC that is "designed to offer a premium gaming experience at an affordable price" with its $699 starting price.

The new Eclipse PC has a small footprint of just 15 x 4 x 14 inches, so it can be used on most shelves either laying down or standing up. The chassis that Digital Storm have used is constructed of reinforced plastic with a steel body. Every pre-built Eclipse comes with a full-sized video card and Intel processor.

There are four levels of system to choose from, with each level including 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3 RAM and Windows 8.1 as its operating system, with the first three systems including a 1TB 7200RPM HDD and optional optical drive. Starting at $699 we have an Intel Pentium processor, AMD Radeon R7 260X 2GB GPU and H97 chipset motherboard. For $200 more you can upgrade to the R9 270X 2GB and Intel Core i3 4350 processor. For $999 you get the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 2GB and Core i5 4590 processor, while the $1299 option bumps it up to the GTX 970 and Core i5 4690K while offering a Z97 chipset, 120GB Samsung EVO SSD, 1TB 7200RPM HDD and a DVDRW drive.

Sweden may have finally dropped The Pirate Bay off the map earlier this week, but Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) wondered why the Obama Administration wasn't able to remove the "illegal enterprise operating out of Sweden" even sooner.

Sen. Whitehouse Googled "pirate movies" and quickly found a link to The Pirate Bay via Google, apparently leaving him frustrated.

"There are ways in which these companies could go to court and try to knock this stuff down," Sen. Whitehouse recently said. "There are ways in which prosecutors can have discussions with companies about aiding and abetting offenses, and being accessories to offense. There's a lot that can be done in this area, it seems to me."

An injunction has been served on Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi, and the company cannot import or sell its products in India. Ericsson has sent Xiaomi six requests for communications over the past five months, and Xiaomi is now waiting for an official statement from the Delhi High Court.

"Our legal team is currently evaluating the situation based on the information we have," said Manu Jain, head of Xiaomi India, as the company will explore all legal options available. It would be a disaster if Xiaomi cannot resolve any problems with the Indian government and continue to sell its smartphones to a large market.

Xiaomi is delaying wide-scale expansion in the United States and other critical markets, with India one of the company's major foreign markets. The Xiaomi Redmi Note has proven to be extremely popular in India, frequently selling out in retail stores, according to reports.

Major technology companies want to hire hackers to help identify potential software vulnerabilities before products are released - and real cybercriminals are able to exploit any problems. The "bug bounties" program is being embraced by Facebook, Mozilla, Google and other major Silicon Valley companies, providing thousands of dollars to help identify bugs.

"The trajectory we're on now is completely unsustainable," said Vikram Phatek, NSS Labs CEO, when discussing the current cybersecurity landscape. "There will not be a person in the country who will not have a compromised computer if this goes on. We are ripe for having a major catastrophe."

Despite some resistance from companies weary of paying outside sources to identify security flaws, trying to prevent cybersecurity data breaches will remain a major effort. However, compromising widely used software is a lucrative effort for cybercriminals, with more money seemingly available on the black market.

The Sony PlayStation 4 game console has continually outsold the rival Microsoft Xbox One since both were launched in late 2013 - and while the race is tightening - Sony believes year two will be a bigger success. Sony has learned it takes a bit of time for each new console platform to mature, which could open the floodgates even further.

"I really believe it's year two when you tend to see those titles come through that start to define the whole generation," said Fergai Gara, Sony UK executive. "The best is yet to come on PS4. We've seen a brilliant start with the mega-franchises, like the FIFAs, Call of Duties, and the Assassin's Creeds, but we've also seen some strong new IPs launch - the likes of Destiny and Watch Dogs. But I think that the ones that are truly to define the generation are probably still to come, to be honest."

Consumers are spending money on gaming hardware and video games, so both Sony and Microsoft should be able to enjoy success in 2015.

The 'iRobot Roomba' was released in 2002, changing the way that many consumers cleaned their household floors. This product enabled you to sit back and relax while a 'robot vacuum' did the work for you, cleaning your floors in specified zones fenced off with electronic signals.

We've just received a press release from Think Cleaner, claiming that their new Wi-Fi add-on for the robot vacuum cleaner will allow consumers to control their Roomba vacuum by "simply swapping out Roomba's face-plate for ours [Think Cleaner's]", this is said to enable you to control your Roomba anywhere in the world through their free application or web interface.

Other features include; giving your vacuum the ability to send you alerts via push notifications, start its cleaning cycles when you leave the house and even tell you when the cleaning is finished. You'll also be able to seamlessly link to existing home automation systems and technology, this includes devices such as the Apple HomeKit - allowing for more control options.

Google has released an early Christmas present for Android users, with Android 5.0.1 factory images for the Nexus 9, Nexus 7, and Nexus 10 last week. Now the Nexus 6 and Nexus 4 smartphones can enjoy those same images.

You can grab the Nexus 6 Android 5.0.1 factory image here, while the Nexus 4 Android 5.0.1 factory image can be obtained here. Android Central has a great guide on manually updating your Nexus device before you use these factory images, something we definitely recommend. It shouldn't be long until Google pushes these updates over-the-air (OTA) but until then, you've got some factory images to play with.

Qualcomm is reportedly letting go of a decent chunk of its worldwide staff, with 158 jobs in San Diego being cut, and up to 100 elsewhere around California. On top of that, we have around 600 jobs in total being let go from Qualcomm's global workforce.

Then, a nice source pointed us in the direction of a thread on Reddit by "lgotlaidoff" who said "Just got fired today. Upto 1500 people to be fired in coming weeks. The "600" number that they are talking in media is pure BS".

A spokesperson from Qualcomm said in a statement: "We regularly evaluate our businesses to determine where efficiencies can be obtained and priorities addressed. On occasion, that requires we adjust the size or skill mix of our work teams in order to shrink or eliminate some projects and start and grow new projects". The layoffs will begin on February 11, 2015 according to a filing by the company with the California Employment Development Department.

According to Jon Peddie Research and Fool.com, NVIDIA is now pulling away from AMD in total market share - further claiming that "there's no question that NVIDIA has gotten the better of AMD" over the past four years of production.

NVIDIA have gathered 70 percent of the recent Add-in Board (AiB) market share, marking themselves above their average cruising rate of 60 percent as seen through the graph above. In a bid to get back to 50/50 and retaliation to NVIDIA's powerhouse GeForce GTX 970 and 980 cards, AMD have started cutting the retail pricing of their latest models starting around October 2014. However, with new 9 series cards rumored for release by NVIDIA - we're interested to see how the Q4 results will report.

There have been rumors of new AMD video cards on the horizon, however they certainly won't be ready before the end of 2014. Does this mean that AMD are currently 'on the rocks' with a poor-looking 2014? The Fool article released a strong statement, claiming that "the only thing keeping AMD afloat today, besides the hope that the future will be brighter, is its deal to supply the game consoles with SoCs" adding that "all AMD has is hype, and that's just not enough".

Microsoft really made a name for itself with the Flight Simulator games, but after last year's free-to-play Microsoft Flight, all has ended for the game.... until now. Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition is coming, thanks to Dovetail Games.

You've probably never heard of Dovetail Games, but they're the developer who released Train Simulator, and are now working on the re-release of FSX. The company secured the rights to develop games using Microsoft's flight simulator technology, with the deal including the rights to re-release FSX on Steam. You might think this is ages away, but Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition is coming soon, very soon: December 18, to be precise - or, a week from now.

Dovetail explains the game: "Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition delivers an authentically accurate aerial experience for simulation enthusiasts and those with a passion for all things flight. Pilots can climb into the cockpits of over twenty aircraft, from commercial and fighter jets to single-engine private planes and helicopters. More than 80 missions will test players in a variety of ways, including search and rescue challenges, test pilot scenarios, races and more. The game features updated multiplayer functionality, Windows 8.1 support and over 24,000 airports, delivering a beautiful, connected world and vast horizon begging to be explored".

As traditional mail is becoming a less needed service, Royal Mail has stepped up in a bid to stay ahead of the 'rat race' - offering consumers the ability to 3D print and ship various objects from their local offices.

Paired up with 3D-printing company iMakr, Royal Mail using their services to install brand new printers in their New Cavendish Street delivery office in London, set to enable both custom designs and pre-made product designs to be ordered by consumers. These products can be ordered online by any end-user and have them shipped directly to their address or picked up directly from the office.

Mike Newnham is Royal Mail's Chief Customer Officer, sharing his thoughts on this business advancement he commented: "3D printing is an emerging technology that has many applications and offers an innovative way to create unique or personalized objects. It can be prohibitively expensive for consumers or small businesses to invest in a 3D printer, so we are launching a pilot to gauge interest in 3D printing".

Artificial intelligence is reportedly being designed by Facebook engineers to ask users if they would 'really like to post this photo' when out drinking with their friends. This "deep learning" system will be implemented to analyze photos and other Facebook actions, identifying some later-embarrassing posts and urging you not to publish them for your own good.

Facebook's Chief of Artificial Intelligence Research Lab, Yann LeCun, explained this technology as somewhat of a second (sober) conscience, stating that you should "imagine that you had an intelligent digital assistant which would mediate your interaction with your friends and also with content on Facebook". He went on to explain that the warning message could read something similar to "uh, this is being posted publicly. Are you sure you want your boss and your mother to see this?".

Deep learning is said to be a focus of large-name companies in this day and age, boasting big names like Facebook and Google who are heavily researching into this realm of artificial intelligence. Google's purchase of AI start-up Deepmind was their first large foray into the field, of which spawned a computer science research partnership with the well-known Oxford University.

According to an image posted on Instagram by Stephen Lunsford, who starred in MTV's 'Teen Wolf', he is working with Crystal Dynamics. Crystal Dynamics being the developer of the recent Tomb Raider reboot, and the upcoming Xbox One timed exclusive Rise of the Tomb Raider.

Lunsford explained that he "will be creating a [Tomb Raider] mini-series to be released with Rise of The Tomb Raider" that will be both a prequel to the upcoming Xbox One timed exclusive, and an "eventual" live-action feature. We don't know what capacity Lunsford plays in the live-action mini-series, but this is exciting news for Tomb Raider fans.

We've recently reported that Keurig wanted to starve off third-party coffee pod manufacturers, only allowing officially released pods to be utilized through its system.

Set to the Darth Vader theme music, a tricky hacker has posted a video of this machine supporting any coffee pod you see fit by simply strategically placing a bit of tape and mustering "not much aim". He then puts his "One Love" Marley coffee pod into the machine and produces some delicious hot drink straight into the awaiting "Life's Good" mug below.

This hack comes courtesy of Keurighack.com which claims that this 'evil' system can be bested by snipping a small section from the lid of a company-branded Keurig "K-cup" and taping it over the lid of the 'rebel' pod. This strip is all you need to electronically fool the Keurig machine into thinking the pod is legit.

We know that The Witcher 3 has been delayed, and while that might disappoint most gamers it could be good for the game. A couple of days ago CD Projekt Red announced it had delayed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt until May 19, 2015.

Adam Kiciński, a member of the Board of CD Projekt Red talked with Eurogamer, talked about not wanting to release The Witcher 3 early. He said that gamers "took our decision very well. [The] market is afraid of badly polished games on next-gen platforms". He added: "We want to disarm the opinion that [The Witcher 3] doesn't exist. It will be closed by the end of the year in line with the schedule". Kiciński said that the Board agreed that the company set the February 2015 release date too early, he said: "We announced the release date very early and we're paying for it now".

Kiciński continued: "There's a lot of small errors though, because the game is huge. It's the only reason behind the delay. We didn't assume it will be this big. Only after putting all the pieces together it turned out it's bigger than the two first put together. Let me remind you: it's open and not linear. We are just learning how to play it and we have to catch the little pieces. We know what to do, we just have to do it. We don't want to release the game with bugs that undermine the gameplay".

In 1955, Czech/American businessman Ray Kroc opened the first franchised McDonalds store in Illinois and soon wrestled control of the company from founders Richard and Maurice McDonald and in doing so began a multi-billion dollar empire found all over the globe. Now Hollywood is calling, with director John Lee Hancock planning a big-screen biopic titled 'The Founder' which aims to tell the story warts and all.

Don't expect this one to be supported by the McDonalds company however - even 60 years on the shrewd business practices of Kroc and the kicking to the curb of the McDonald brothers is likely not a controversy that the McDonalds company would endorse. The official McDonalds website conveniently glosses over the whole truth as revealed in the autobiographies of both sides.

Variety is reporting that Michael Keaton is interested in portraying the lead role.

Surrounding all the negativity that Sony have been experiencing recently thanks to their PlayStation store hack and a myriad of different issues with the Sony Pictures raid by #GOP hackers, finally something funny, interesting and cool has come out of the fray.

Reported as ready to film around July 2015, some insider emails have been snagged showing that 'MIB Jump Street' is set to become a very real and very hilarious thing. The first snippet we have here is from Jonah Hill himself in which he has a pitch for the movie title.

It's funny to note that he seems to send emails the same way his characters talk, did you find yourself reading out in his Jump Street voice? He then expanded on these thoughts after being kicked back at first.

Pixar has a massive library of smash hit movies, but their latest movie 'Cars 2' didn't do so well with things looking much better with the up and coming 'Inside Out' due for 2015. Check out the trailer below.

Pete Docter is back in the director's chair, with his last two movies at Pixar being big hits: Up and Monsters Inc. Inside Out is the first movie he has directed since 2009, with little creatures inside the characters heads who control every single part of our bodies, right down to our emotions.

Inside Out is due out on June 19, 2015. Pixar explains the movie as: "Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it's no exception for Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San Francisco. Like all of us, Riley is guided by her emotions - Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). The emotions live in Headquarters, the control center inside Riley's mind, where they help advise her through everyday life. As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new life in San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. Although Joy, Riley's main and most important emotion, tries to keep things positive, the emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and school".

The OnePlus One smartphone is now available to anyone interested in purchasing it, as OnePlus decided to eliminate its bizarre invite system in time for Christmas. The phone will be available for $299 through the company's website for a short time, and orders should arrive before Dec. 25. It's unknown how long the company will run this current promotion.

The 16GB Silk White model retails for $299, while the 64GB Sandstone Black version can be purchased for $349.

Before OnePlus decided to open up sales, interested customers were required to receive an invite from a current One owner. Since the phone's launch in April, the One has been in extremely high demand - and OnePlus is already developing another smartphone, which will be available sometime in 2015.

GIGABYTE surprised the world with its super impressive GeForce GTX 980 WaterForce 3-Way SLI Kit, but now it is finally beginning to sell the best Christmas present ever. The kit is listed on Newegg, with a price tag of $2999.

For $3000, you get three NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 GPUs, and an external liquid cooling box (with three 120mm radiators and fans). Breaking it down, the GPUs are around $550 each or $1650 for three. This means that the external liquid cooling box and all of the associated work GIGABYTE has pumped into this product, is costing a $1350 premium. This is a massive ask, but for some people who want the ultimate in 3-way SLI, it's a nice option.