Latest News - Page 2806

Sunset Overdrive hits the Xbox One as an exclusive to Microsoft's console on October 28, but days before its release, the developer behind the game has started talking about why they changed from running the game at 1080p, to 900p.

The downshift in resolution allowed the developer to have more on-screen action, as 1080p would've seen a reduction in on-screen mayhem as the frame rate would obviously drop. Creative Director with Insomniac Games, Marcus Smith, said: "Why would you want less action on screen? That's insanity. 900p works perfect for us. We spent a lot of time comparing and contrasting. We had it running at 1080p, we'd play it; we had it running at 900p, we'd play it and they didn't look considerably different. But the things that you could draw on screen were a lot more, and we wanted to draw a lot more on screen. More action, more better. Michael Bay would be very proud".

Another game where the 'next-gen' consoles, this time an Xbox One exclusive, is running the previous generation specs: 900p (or so) at 30FPS. I would've preferred to have heard they dropped to 720p and enabled AA, but bumping the frame rate up to a solid 60FPS.

Google is making its two-factor authentication even safer, with the announcement of support being added for Security Key. With this, Google allows its users to purchase a physical USB stick from a third-party company that can be used as your personal identification when logging into Gmail, Chrome, or any other Google account.

Once you've acquired your security key, you can plug it into your computer, press the built-in button on the dongle when asked, and voila - you're secure, and you now have a security key. This key only works after verifying the site you're logging in to, verifying that it is indeed a Google site and not some phishing attack. The device uses the FIDO Universal 2nd Factor (U2F) protocol, which means it can be used to log into other websites that support the U2F protocol, as long as you're within Chrome.

The service itself is free, but you'll need to secure yourself a not-so-free USB security key. Amazon currently sells FIDO U2F keys starting at around $5.99, all the way up to around $50.

Microsoft has pushed out the latest build of its Windows 10 Technical Preview, with build 9860 being made available to members of the company's Windows Insider Program. As long as their PC is on, or sleeping, the update will be pushed over to down, and installed automatically.

If you want to manually force this, go to PC Settings, Update and Recovery, then Preview builds and then tap on the 'Check now' button. The new update is between 2GB and 2.7GB "depending on CPU architecture and language", with the rebooting process taking a little longer than normal. Once the newest build of Windows 10 is on your machine, you'll notice it has a Windows Phone feature: Action Center.

Microsoft explains this as "This build is focused ONLY on enabling basic notifications - quick actions and cleaner UI will come later. You'll see notifications from the system and apps - from new emails and invites to IMs, Facebook posts and more - all-in-one place, so you don't miss a thing. Click on the new Action Center icon in the notification area of your taskbar to check it out". The company has also made it easier to move apps between monitors, and has also added an animation for switching desktops.

Samsung has been itching to get into that enterprise and government market, and thanks to the National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP), a joint activity of the National Security Agency (NSA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Samsung is now approved and has a handful of its Galaxy devices on the Commercial Solutions for Classified program listing.

These devices include the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition), Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy Tab S 8.4, Galaxy Tab S 10.5, and the Galaxy IPSEC Virtual Private Network (VPN) Client. All of these devices feature Samsung's Knox technology, which is a security platform that allows users to use their smartphones and tablets for both work, and personal purposes. Samsung's CEO and President of IT and Mobile Business, JK Shin, said "The inclusion of Samsung mobile devices on the CSfC list proves the unmatched security of Samsung Galaxy devices supported by the Knox platform".

This move isn't a massive one, but it's a step towards something that could spell change for Samsung. A company that sells hundreds of million of handsets, Apple's biggest competitor by far, is now dealing with the government on NSA-approved smartphones and tablets with true government-ready security.

Mini-ITX PCs are about to get much faster thanks to GIGABYTE's new card based on the GeForce GTX 970 GPU, but arrives in a dual-slot, single-fan design that is much shorter than the standard GTX 970, perfect for tiny, but very powerful gaming PCs.

The new mini-ITX based video card has an overclocked GTX 970 GPU, 4GB of RAM, a custom PCB from GIGABYTE, and a WindForce-like cooler. The custom design allows for a single 8-pin PCIe connector, versus the two 6-pin PCIe required on the normal GTX 970. GIGABYTE's custom designed cooler is quite compact, with a single, shrouded fan. We have a slight overclock on the Core and Boost speeds, from 1051MHz on the Core to 1076MHz on the GIGABYTE card, while we have Boost of 1178 on the reference GTX 970, but 1215MHz on the GIGABYTE slab.

Some other GTX 900 series cards actually ditch the multiple DisplayPort connectors, but not this card: we have three DisplayPorts, one HDMI, one DVI-D and a DVI-D port to finish it off. GIGABYTE says the custom cooler provides lower temperatures than the reference, with temperatures dropping from 76C to just 62C on the GIGABYTE card. Small form factor PCs have just received notice of their next GPU purchase.

Peripheral maker Satechi launched its Edge Wireless Gaming Mouse, designed for high-speed gaming along with traditional PC activities. The mouse supports 800, 1600, 2400 and 4000 DPI, with a 250Hz or 500Hz speed of transmission rate, and has four assigned LED colors depending on the DPI in use. The mouse is powered by two AA batteries and will automatically switch to sleep mode after five minutes of inactivity, with an estimated 36 months before batteries need to be changed.

Satechi also included a "Gaming Mode," powered by clicking the "Turbo Button," so users only have to click once instead of needing to double-click while gaming. The Satechi Edge Wireless Gaming Mouse has a $19.99 MSRP.

The gaming peripheral market has yielded countless products for PC gamers, though many of the wireless products are relatively expensive.

Ever since the release of 'Back To The Future: Part 2" in 1988, everyone wanted a hoverboard. Y'know what - they still do. Obviously, there's some pretty huge technical problems to overcome, meaning they won't be here as depicted in 2015 like Robert Zemeckis promised. But one Kickstarter is aiming to bring a limited vision of the future, in time for the date.

The Hendo Hoverboard Kickstarter, which just after a few hours has reached half of its funding goal has already been sampled by the likes of Engadget (still waiting for our invitation, guys!) has been reasonably well received, within the limits of the technology.

Currently, the device can only hover over non-ferrous metals, such as copper and aluminum - but the ramifications of the technology which is already being used in mag-lev trains are undoubtedly great. For $299 USD, the Kickstarter is promising a 'Whitebox Dev kit' which includes a Hendo Hover engine kit, surface and a t-shirt.

Max Landis, son of legendary comedy director John 'Blues Brothers' Landis and an accomplished writer/director in his own right, who helmed 2012's 'Chronicle' has taken the rather offbeat decision to upload his ten year old work for, by his own admission "inferior" script for a film that has never, and will never get made - a 'Super Mario World' movie. Still, you have to admire his sheer chutzpah.

Available now on Landis' website, the script is accompanied by a lengthy preamble which offers his updated thoughts on the work, along with concept art that provides an unique glimpse into what the film would have looked like.

Of course, the franchise has already produced one feature film - the 1993 turkey 'Super Mario Bros' directed by incompetent huband and wife duo Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton, which is coming to Blu-ray in the UK next month. The result of the film is why the conservative Japanese firm Nintendo have been completely unwilling to dip their toes in the feature film world again.

Google has only just unveiled Android 5.0 Lollipop, but one of the bigger surprises it has is Gmail 5.0 for Android. Gmail 5.0 for Android will sport a new look, pulling it alongside the new refreshed look of its Android apps of late, but it will do something that should shake up other companies: supporting Outlook.com and Yahoo accounts.

This sees Google wanting to have Gmail as a one-stop-shop for all things email, baking in support for two of its biggest competitors. In a leaked video, we can see that other mail services that are supported, apart from Outlook.com and Yahoo, will include IMAP and POP3, as most would expect. Some rumors suggest that Google has sprinkled Exchange ActiveSync over Gmail 5.0 for Android, which will stop people from having to switch between email apps, keeping it all within Gmail.

We should expect Gmail 5.0 to roll out when Android 5.0 Lollipop launches in a couple of weeks time.

InWin has just unveiled two new cases to the world, with the new 707 Full Tower, and 703 Mid Tower. Starting with the 707, we have two colors available: 'Gaming Black' and 'Silent White' with both chassis' "constructed from strong and reliable SECC steel".

The black version of the 707 features an acrylic side panel window, while the white version sports sound damping to provide quieter operation. Inside of the 707, we have some serious cooling capabilities, where support for both 360mm and 240mm radiators is allowed, at the roof, and bottom of the 707, respectively. InWin have generously provided 206mm of depth on the opposite side panel, which provides additional room for those super-tall coolers.

There are three 5.25-inch bays hidden behind a one-touch, pop-open door, while inside there are eight 3.5-inch HDD bays with screw less installation. Cable management is provided throughout the 707, as well as a big 20mm gap behind the motherboard tray that will keep your build nice and clean, as well as providing increased airflow.

Dyson has burst into a new category, announcing its new Humidifier. The new Dyson Humidifier isn't the usual humidifier you might be used to, but this high-tech device will add moisture during those dry winter months, safely.

Dyson says that some competing ultrasonic humidifiers emit over 280 counts of bacteria within two minutes of turning the machine on. Others however, evaporate water directly from a wet wick, where bacteria can manifest. The Dyson Humidifier on the other hand is based on the desin of its bladeless fans and heaters, with the company claiming it kills 99.9% of bacteria in the water, using ultraviolet light.

The new Humidifier is also capable of operating for up to 18 hours on a single three-liter (or 100 oz) of water. It comes equipped with a remote control so that you can adjust the Humidifier from a distance, or even set a timer without having to get up to turn it off. During the hotter months, the Humidifier will act like a regular fan. The company has pumped some $60 million into the R&D of its latest device, creating 643 prototypes before getting it right.

Ubisoft is now detailing its season pass for Far Cry 4, something that will cost $20 when the game launches next month. Far Cry 4's DLC will include an exclusive launch-day mission, a new PvP multiplayer mode, five missions with Hurk, and more. For $30, you'll receive:

It was only back in March that we reported there was a "beta" of Grand Theft Auto V floating around for the PC, fooling unsuspecting gamers into its phishing arms. Well, we're back again with another supposed beta for the game, this time, for the remastered version.

Rockstar Games, the developer behind GTA, has said on its "no beta" page (something that has been up since May 2013) "Please note: There is no pre-release 'beta' test for Grand Theft Auto V. If you see ads or solicitations to join a beta program, beware as this is likely some type of online phishing scam".

The re-release of Grand Theft Auto V will reach the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on November 18, with the PC version delayed a couple of months, with a release date of January 27, 2015. Grand Theft Auto Online will be included with GTA V on the PS4, Xbox One and PC when it launches, something that supports 30 players at once.

Lenovo is really hitting a stride lately, especially with their great Yoga range of slates and Ultrabooks, but what about smartphones? The latest rumor is that the Chinese electronics giant will announce an acquisition bid for Canadian phonemaker, BlackBerry... this week.

Unnamed sources have talked with Benzinga.com, a financial news site, that Lenovo is going to offer BlackBerry $15 per share, which is a premium over the $9 or so that its stock has been trading at lately. If BlackBerry declines the first offer, Lenovo will reportedly back it up with an increased offer of $18 per share.

Both Lenovo and BlackBerry have declined to comment on the rumors so far, but this isn't the first time they have been floating around. We heard about this back in October last year, but nothing happened. The issue was that the Canadian government wouldn't give its approval for Lenovo to acquire BlackBerry due to national security concerns.

Apple has posted its Q4 earnings, revealing that the company has shipped a massive 39.3 million iPhones in the three-month period. Apple also shipped some 12.3 million iPads, and 5.5 million Macs across the world in the quarter.

The record-breaking 10 million iPhone 6/iPhone 6 Plus smartphone sales in the opening weekend alone would've kicked this along, but iPad sales have not only dipped in the quarter, but year-over-year, too. To make it even more clear, Apple's iPad has reached a new low, something it hasn't hit since it first started reporting tablet sales separately back in 2012.

Why would this be happening? Well, Android tablets are getting much, much better with each iteration, and now we have the bigger 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, the iPad is becoming more irrelevant to some users. The iPad did well in Japan according to Apple, and its slate is also the United States' education tablet of choice. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, said during the Q&A session after the earnings report that Apple is looking at the slump in iPad sales as a "speedbump and not a huge thing" and said that he personally sees a "great future" for its tablets.

Cybercriminals targeting free and open source software continue to rattle developers and consumers, with high-profile attacks hitting security flaws that should have been resolved. Specifically, the Heartbleed and Shellshock exploits have led to an increased demand from private companies and the U.S. government to step up programming assistance, but that hasn't been well received among many open source developers. However, it has provided a much-needed wakeup call that open source software should be monitored more closely to prevent such high-profile breaches.

"It's going to be a wake-up call for a lot of people to understand why we aren't auditing this software better," said Greg Martin, Threat Stream Inc founder and chief technology officer. "Everybody's been scratching their heads and saying, 'How could we miss this?'"

Hackers are increasingly organized - and well-funded - and that has made it difficult to defend against attacks, especially open source software. In theory, open source software provides a much larger pool of developers to help fix flaws, but others say proprietary software is more secure since the code is closed off from the public.

From Software's Bloodborne reportedly looks graphically stunning, serving as a Sony PlayStation 4 game console exclusive. When released to gamers, Bloodborne will reportedly run at 1080p/30fps, and will be released in North America on February 6, 2015.

"The way it looks; just off the charts to me," said Scott Rohde, PlayStation software product development head at Sony Worldwide Studios America. "It has, I've said this before... there's a certain, like, wetness to that game. I don't know what other word to use. It just feels like everything is dripping and oozing with whatever it is - it's water, it's blood, it's whatever it is; and it just looks gorgeous."

If Sony is so impressed with Bloodborne, it's possible it will be promoted during the PlayStation Experience event in December, especially as Sony prepares to promote some of its 2015 game title lineup.

Police authorities in Australia seized a Bit2Bit bitcoin ATM during a multi-million-dollar drug trafficking network bust, according to reports. The raid was targeting the Bandidos motorcycle gang, accused of high-level drug trafficking, and was the culmination of a two-year investigation. The ATM was located in the South Brisbane Roastery Café, and was the first ATM in Queensland, with investigators conducting a forensics search of the seized machine.

It's unknown if the ATM was used by gang members to help conduct drug-related business, including potential money laundering.

"The arrested individual has no relationship to Bit2Bit Holdings Pty Ltd.," according to a statement released by Bit2Bit. "he is not a shareholder, either directly, or indirectly. Rouge Coffee, and The Roastery Cafe do not own, or operate the ATM. The ATM is the sole property of Bit2Bit and is operated by us. The ATM does not allow large volume transactions. Bit2Bit's staff have been instructed to cooperate fully with any legal requests they get from the police."

Even with FBI Director James Comey speaking out against Google and Apple providing encryption security on smartphone devices, Apple shipped its Yosemite OS with FileVault by default. The FBI - and other government agencies - are worried that encryption will prevent law enforcement from cracking down on criminals... or so they say.

"With Apple's new operating system, the information stored on many iPhones and other Apple devices will be encrypted by default," Comey recently said. "Shortly after Apple's announcement, Google announced plans to follow suit with its Android operating system. This means the companies themselves won't be able to unlock phones, laptops, and tablets to reveal photos, documents, email, and recordings stored within."

It's impressive to see Google, Apple and other tech companies trying to put customers first - as many users become more concerned about security - and not listening to the FBI's rather questionable concerns.

It appears HBO GO will hit the Microsoft Xbox One in the near future, as pictures recently surfaced of the app being used on the Xbox One game console. It's an important step forward to HBO, which is moving away from just partnerships with cable and satellite providers, including plans to launch a standalone online streaming service in 2015.

Microsoft and Sony both are relying on apps and connected entertainment to keep console owners engaged - as content providers want to give consumers access to streaming TV episodes and movies on numerous devices. Earlier in the year, Microsoft announced 45 different entertainment apps will be introduced for the Xbox One, which will bring the total to more than 225 apps once they are all introduced.