Newsletter IconFacebook IconX IconThreads IconInstagram IconYouTube IconPinterest Icon
Giveaway: Win an Ocypus Sigma L36 PRO 360mm AIO and Sigma F36 ARGB Fan

Latest News - Page 2830

Popular Now: Redditor sends a gaming laptop with 64GB RAM for repair, comes back with 32GB RAM

Learn about how TweakTown tests and reviews hardware. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. TweakTown may also earn commissions from other affiliate partners at no extra cost to you.

Stay Updated

Follow TweakTown for breaking tech news, reviews, and daily updates.

Add TweakTown as a preferred source on GoogleFind TweakTown on Apple News

Logitech's 'fastest gaming mouse ever made' is the G402 Hyperion Fury

Anthony Garreffa | Peripherals | Jul 31, 2014 1:29 AM CDT

Logitech has announced something that it is calling the 'fastest gaming mouse ever made' in its new G402 Hyperion Fury Ultra-Fast FPS gaming mouse. A new gaming moue that has tracking speeds of an insane 500 inches per second.

The company spent three years in research and development, according to Ehtisham Rabbani, who is the General Manager of the Logitech Gaming Business. Logitech's new G402 Hyperion Fury has an on-board 32-bit ARM-based processor, and Delta Zero sensor technology that helps it drive toward this new title. It also sports eight fully programmable buttons with 1ms report rates, and on-the-fly DPI switching between four different settings.

Each and every button supports a single keystroke or complex macros using Logitech's gaming software, with configurations saved to the mouse itself, meaning that you can bring your configurations with you to a new system. Logitech is expected to launch the mouse sometime in August across the US and Europe for $59.99.

Continue reading: Logitech's 'fastest gaming mouse ever made' is the G402 Hyperion Fury (full post)

The Xbox One is getting the Neverwinter MMO in 2015

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jul 31, 2014 12:39 AM CDT

If you're a fan of the Neverwinter MMO on PC, then you might be surprised to hear that the developer has partnered up with Cryptic Studios to deliver Neverwinter on the Xbox One.

Neverwinter on the Xbox One will launch in the first half of next year in the US and Europe, and will still continue its free-to-play goodness if you have an Xbox Live Gold membership. The game will also be launching in China later this year, under the name of Neverwinter Online. The game itself is based in the world of Wizards of the Coast's Dungeons and Dragons franchise, where players can create a character, and go off to explore the Forgotten Realms.

There's an expansion coming on August 14, known as Tyranny of Dragons, too. Neverwinter will be Cryptic and Perfect World's first free-to-play title to launch on both the PC, and consoles. Perfect World Entertainment CEO, Alan Chen, said in a press statement: "Neverwinter is our premier title to bring to console players. Consoles are a perfect fit for action-oriented MMORPGs like Neverwinter, and we are thrilled to be one of the first publishers to bring premium free-to-play titles to leading next-gen platforms. Being able to bring Neverwinter to the Xbox One is a critical achievement for Perfect World. It is our first step taking our games beyond the PC market."

Continue reading: The Xbox One is getting the Neverwinter MMO in 2015 (full post)

Deep Silver acquires the rights to Homefront from Crytek

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Jul 30, 2014 10:25 PM CDT

We only just reported that most of Crytek's leadership at its Texas, US-based studios had left, but now we have just found out that Deep Silver have acquired the rights to Homefront: The Revolution from the struggling studio. Deep Silver will continue development of the game at its new Nottingham-based studio.

A new studio called Deep Silver Dambuster Studios will now get to work on Homefront: The Revolution, which is still expected to launch in 2015 for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Hasit Zala, who was the Director on the game with Crytek, left Crytek a few weeks ago, but has reemerged as the lead for the game at the new studio.

Crytek only purchased the rights to Homefront from THQ during its bankruptcy in early 2013, but are now going through their own financial issues. Crytek's press release on the matter explains: "Firstly, Crytek has been in extensive discussions with leading producer and distributor of digital entertainment products, Koch Media, regarding the acquisition of rights for the "Homefront" IP. On completion of the proposed acquisition, the Homefront team from Crytek's Nottingham studio would transfer their talents to Koch Media in compliance with English law and continue their hard work on upcoming shooter, "Homefront: The Revolution". Both parties hope to finalise and implement a deal soon".

Continue reading: Deep Silver acquires the rights to Homefront from Crytek (full post)

Netflix and AT&T sign peering deal to reduce video buffering

Shane McGlaun | Business, Financial & Legal | Jul 30, 2014 11:00 AM CDT

Netflix has been fighting to improve video streaming quality for a number of its users. The way it is fixing many of these streaming issues is by paying the ISPs for peering deals that improve video quality. The latest company to put its hands in Netflix's pockets is AT&T.

AT&T and Netflix have announced a new peering deal that will help reduce buffering when users on the AT&T network are watching Netflix. The peering deal kicked off on Tuesday of this week according to two people who claim to be familiar with the deal.

No word on the financial terms of the agreement has been offered. "We reached an interconnect agreement with Netflix in May and since then have been working together to provision additional interconnect capacity to improve the viewing experience for our mutual subscribers,'' an AT&T spokeswoman said in the statement."We're now beginning to turn up the connections, a process that should be complete in the coming days."

Continue reading: Netflix and AT&T sign peering deal to reduce video buffering (full post)

Scientists discover origin of 18th century wood ship under WTC

Shane McGlaun | Science, Space, & Robotics | Jul 30, 2014 10:00 AM CDT

One of the big mysteries that remained after the September 11 attacks was an old wooden ship that was discovered under where the towers once stood during clean up. While excavating the site, a wooden ship was discovered in the earth leaving scientists to wonder where the ship came from and what it was doing there.

Scientists have used tree rings in the lumber used to build the ship to learn something about where it came from and when it was built. The rings in the lumber reveal that the trees matched other lumber that was cut down about 280 years ago near Philadelphia. The researchers believe the wood was harvested in 1773 and was cut down somewhere around the time of the Boston Tea Party.

The rings in the lumber help the scientists pinpoint its year and location of origin while providing a bit of history about the climate in the area where it was harvested. The ship is believed to have been constructed by a small shipyard, because details in the design of the ship are unlike those used by larger shipyards. The ship is believed to have been retired in the city, coved by garbage and landfill, and then the Twin Towers were built over it.

Continue reading: Scientists discover origin of 18th century wood ship under WTC (full post)

Scientists measure record waves in Arctic Ocean that may break up ice

Shane McGlaun | Science, Space, & Robotics | Jul 30, 2014 9:04 AM CDT

Historically much of the Arctic Ocean is covered in ice, even in the summer. Scientists say with global warming that ice pack is starting to melt. Arctic Sea ice faces another way that ice may break up and melt faster, massive waves.

Typically, with ice covering the surface of the ocean, waves aren't recorded. Scientists have recently measured record setting waves in the Arctic Ocean. Sensors under the water that communicate via satellite have recorded swells in the Arctic Ocean of around 16-feet high.

The largest wave measured was 29-feet high. The scientists say these massive and uncommon waves could break ice up and make it melt faster than it would from global warming alone. These waves were measured in a part of the Arctic Ocean near Alaska called the Beaufort Sea.

Continue reading: Scientists measure record waves in Arctic Ocean that may break up ice (full post)

Twitter reports second straight quarter of strong user growth

Shane McGlaun | Internet & Websites | Jul 30, 2014 6:02 AM CDT

Twitter reported its Q2 earnings this week and quieted some of the naysayers by posting user growth for the second quarter in a row. The growth rate is helping the company get over concerns from its previous quarter that it had peaked for popularity. Twitter saw its shares surge in after hours trading to $49.62 each.

That $49.62 share price was higher than the first-day closing price for the stock of $44.90. Twitter announced that it had added 16 million new users during the quarter. Those millions of new users represent 6.3% more people around the world who logged in at least once a month.

Twitter reported revenue of $312.2 million, which is more than twice its previous revenue. Even with more than double the revenue, Twitter remains unprofitable with a $144.6 million loss for the quarter.

Continue reading: Twitter reports second straight quarter of strong user growth (full post)

An artificial leaf could be the future of space travel

Anthony Garreffa | Science, Space, & Robotics | Jul 30, 2014 3:25 AM CDT

Space travel has a variety of restrictions, especially when it comes to humans making that trip across the sea of stars. Humans rely on oxygen to live, and so do other things like trees and plants.

Julian Melchiorri, a graduate from the Royal College of Art, has created the very first man-made, biologically functional leaf that is capable of taking in carbon dioxide, water, and light and releases oxygen. This leaf features chloroplasts, which are the part of a plant cell where photosynthesis happens, suspended in body made of silk protein.

Melchiorri explains: "This material has an amazing property of stabilizing (the chloroplast) organelles. As an outcome I have the first photosynthetic material that is living and breathing as a leaf does". Most can see the potentials of this for space travel, but it has big potential here on Earth, too. We could see front of buildings and lampshades made from the material, where it would exhale fresh air with just a thin coating of this new leaf material.

Continue reading: An artificial leaf could be the future of space travel (full post)

Prepare yourself for the next-generation of water balloon fights

Anthony Garreffa | Science, Space, & Robotics | Jul 30, 2014 2:39 AM CDT

As a kid, I spent countless hours in the battlefield that was water balloon fights, but filling up those little balloons and tying them up took so much valuable time, but not anymore! Tinnuss Enterprises' Bunch O Balloons looks to revolutionize water balloon fights, and has taken to Kickstarter to fund its device.

The company has raised over $690,000 from Kickstarter, and considering it only asked for $10,000 - this might end up being one of the most successful Kickstarter projects of all time. The idea behind Bunch O Balloons is to fill as many balloons as possible, in the shortest amount of time. The device is capable of both filling, and typing up a crazy 100 water balloons per minute.

The Bunch O Balloons can fill 37 balloons up simultaneously, meaning that no party will be without water balloons. If you want one of these awesome Bunch O Balloons, you can pledge for the $17 version, which ships in September... of 2015. Most of the other packages are gone, but this isn't surprising. Now I'm off to pledge some money, as my daughter will be four years old by the time I get this, and she's going to love it.

Continue reading: Prepare yourself for the next-generation of water balloon fights (full post)

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - Atlas Pro Edition costs $119.99

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jul 30, 2014 12:27 AM CDT

When Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is released later in the year, there will be three different versions, with three different prices. Starting at $59.99 for the standard version, to $79.99 for the limited version which will include some extra content, all the way up to $119.99 for the Atlas Pro Edition, which will include the game's season pass add-on content.

Normally we receive some ridiculous things in these expensive bundles, but Activision is providing digital incentives this time around. The $79.99, gamers will receive the Atlas Limited Edition, which includes the game itself, a SteelBook metal case, a physical manual for the game, and a bunch of digital goods: the game's soundtrack, two weapons, an upgrade for the military exoskeleton for the single-player mode and more. Also included is the Atlas Gorge multiplayer map, which is a re-made map from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, where it was known as Pipeline.

The massively expensive $119.99 version of the game includes all of the above content, but it also throws in the Advanced Warfare season pass, which includes four downloadable content packs for 2015. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare launches on November 4 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and PC.

Continue reading: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - Atlas Pro Edition costs $119.99 (full post)

NVIDIA uses cascaded low-res panels to make high-res VR displays

Anthony Garreffa | Extended Reality (XR) | Jul 29, 2014 11:28 PM CDT

VR is really picking up steam, and with this, NVIDIA is putting some effort into the R&D of high-resolution screens for VR devices. The company is researching cascaded displays, using low-res displays, but many of them, to provide a high-res image.

NVIDIA has used two normal 7-inch 1280x800 panels (which is identical to the one used in the Rift DK1 unit), layering one of these panels on another, which allows one pixel on the top layer to lie above the quarters of four different pixels on the layer beneath it. A single backlight is used to illuminate both layers of the "Cascaded Display".

The company has also created some software which allows for the pixels on the front LCD to turn on and off, which allows just a particular quarter of the lower pixels to be shown. On its second pass, the front panel will change the displayed pixels, while the rear panel changes its colors. This allows for the quarter pixels to be displayed, which provides us with a higher resolution image.

Continue reading: NVIDIA uses cascaded low-res panels to make high-res VR displays (full post)

NVIDIA releases its new GeForce 340.52 WHQL drivers

Anthony Garreffa | Software & Apps | Jul 29, 2014 8:41 PM CDT

NVIDIA launches its kick ass new Shield Tablet today, and alongside it the company has launched its new GeForce 340.52 WHQL drivers. The biggest feature of the new GeForce 340.52 WHQL drivers is Shield Tablet support, as the company needs to update its drivers to bake in support for GameStream for its Shield Tablet.

The latest drivers are GameReady, which will include support for the upcoming Metro: Redux which arrives on August 26, and the Chinese launch of Final Fantasy XIV. There's not much else included in this release, other than the usual bugfixes. We do have WHQL goodness here, instead of a beta release that most people were running prior to the launch of 340.52 WHQL. You can grab the new drivers right here, or if you're like me, GeForce Experience will download them for you.

Continue reading: NVIDIA releases its new GeForce 340.52 WHQL drivers (full post)

LG's new 105-inch 4K TV has a resolution of 5120x2160, with 21:9 ratio

Anthony Garreffa | Displays | Jul 29, 2014 7:40 PM CDT

We've already seen Samsung launch its behemoth of an Ultra HD TV in its 105-inch $120,000 screen, but now fellow South Korean rival LG has launched its new 105-inch 4K TV, too.

LG is calling its unit a 5K TV, as it runs a resolution of 5120x2160, with something LG calls CinemaScope 21:9 aspect ratio. We're looking at nearly the same price as the Samsung unit, driving up into a price of $117,000 - so this is for the rich and famous, or the 1%. It has an integrated speaker which makes it better value for money, and yes I'm kidding with that last part about it being better value for money with the integrated speaker.

Continue reading: LG's new 105-inch 4K TV has a resolution of 5120x2160, with 21:9 ratio (full post)

Facebook to begin forcing users to use Messenger app for mobile chat

Shane McGlaun | Internet & Websites | Jul 29, 2014 10:03 AM CDT

Facebook is planning to begin forcing all users to download its new Messenger app if they want to continue chatting with friends. The forced migration will reportedly start in the next few days. European users of Facebook who wanted to chat had to download Messenger back in April.

Facebook is telling people that Messenger is about 20% faster for chatting than chat was using the main iOS and Android Facebook apps. After positive results in user engagement with the European test, Facebook is set to make everyone use the new app.

Users will get a few notices before chat eventually stops working on the main app and they have to use the new app. Facebook is notifying users directly about the change and once made, the messages tab will be replaced with a Messenger shortcut.

Continue reading: Facebook to begin forcing users to use Messenger app for mobile chat (full post)

NASA Opportunity rover sets record for longest off-Earth driving

Shane McGlaun | Science, Space, & Robotics | Jul 29, 2014 9:05 AM CDT

NASA has several spacecraft and rovers on and around Mars performing scientific studies of the Red Planet. The Opportunity rover has been on the surface of Mars since 2004 and recently set a record. Opportunity has set a record for the longest distance ever driven off the Earth.

Opportunity has been on the surface of the Red Planet for a decade and has driven 25 miles. The previous record for the most miles driven off-Earth was held by the Soviet Union Lunokhod 2. The record was grabbed on July 27 as Opportunity drove 157 feet to reach 25.01 miles on the odometer.

If the rover continues to operate, it will reach its next major investigation site mission called Marathon Valley. Scientists want to study this area because they believe clay minerals are exposed close together at the site.

Continue reading: NASA Opportunity rover sets record for longest off-Earth driving (full post)

Cassini discovers 101 distinct geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus

Shane McGlaun | Science, Space, & Robotics | Jul 29, 2014 6:00 AM CDT

One of the bodies in our solar system that is under investigation by NASA is Saturn and its moons using the Cassini spacecraft. Cassini has been studying the icy Saturn moon called Enceladus and so far, it has discovered 101 active geysers on the surface of the icy world. The interesting thing about this discovery is that liquid water is believed to be reaching the surface of the planet from an underground sea.

Cassini has been eyeing the southern polar terrain for nearly seven years as scientists have studied the tiger stripe fractures in the area on the surface of the moon. These geysers and the large fractures were discovered on the moon years ago.

Scientists believe that the geysers and liquid water believed to be under the surface of the moon are caused by the repeated flexing of Enceladus by the gravitational forces of Saturn as the moon orbits the planet. Another theory was that there may be a back and forth rubbing action cause by friction of opposing walls that turns ice into the geysers. Cassini has now proven that the geysers coincide with small-scale hot spots that are only a few dozen feet across and are too small to be caused by frictional heating leaving gravitational forces as the cause for the liquid water and hot spots.

Continue reading: Cassini discovers 101 distinct geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus (full post)

Desktop solar panel production 3D prints a solar panel in 15 seconds

Anthony Garreffa | Science, Space, & Robotics | Jul 29, 2014 1:15 AM CDT

Two inventors based in the Philippines have made something that should open up the world's eyes, with a homemade solar panel production factory. The system they use is small enough to fit on a desktop, and is capable of making between 300,000 and 1 million solar panels every year - with one solar panel made every 15 seconds.

By reducing the labor intensive process, which sits at around 50% of the total cost, the machine can radically reduce the amount it costs to make solar panels. The pocket-sized solar panel producer could change the way the world looks at electricity, and solar power. A homemade solar panel can reduce the requirement for power outlets in the home, the same power outlets that power your smartphones, computers, lights, and more.

The duo took to Kickstarter to fund their venture, with the funds required pledged very quickly. The two men are now raising additional funds to redesign the CNC laser cutter that will arrive with open source technology. They plan to power the solar power maker using solar panels, with the product receiving continuous improvements, and with it being open source, the community can help out with the product.

Continue reading: Desktop solar panel production 3D prints a solar panel in 15 seconds (full post)

Next-gen MacBook Pro should come with Core i7 and 16GB RAM as standard

Anthony Garreffa | Laptops | Jul 29, 2014 12:09 AM CDT

We should see Apple unveil its MacBook Pro refresh in September, but according to some new leaks, we now know what to expect in the hardware department. As it stands, the 13-inch MBP includes 4GB of RAM, while the 15-inch MBP sports 8GB of RAM by default.

There are of course upgrade options, but it looks like Apple is upping the amount of memory in the stock models of the upcoming refreshed MacBook Pro laptops. We should see the 15-inch MacBook Pro with 16GB of RAM by default, which should open the doors to upgrade it to 32GB of RAM. This will be nice for video editors on-the-go, and other uses where 32GB of RAM is actually used to its full potential.

CPU options should be beefed up, with the current 15-inch MBPs including a 2GHz or 2.3GHz Core i7 processor. The upgrades on these include 2.2GHz, 2.5GHz and 2.8GHz options, with the 2.2GHz model rocking Intel Iris Pro graphics. The two other models feature NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M GPUs with 2GB of dedicated GDDR5 RAM. The new models with 16GB of RAM by default should come with a 2.8Ghz Core i7 processor, and the GT 750M GPU. We should expect the refreshed MacBook Pros to come in at the same $2599 price, but I'm sure we're going to see it clock up closer to $3000, especially when we're talking 16GB or 32GB of RAM.

Continue reading: Next-gen MacBook Pro should come with Core i7 and 16GB RAM as standard (full post)

London mayor Boris Johnson to pledge 5G internet access by 2020

Tamlin Magee | Connectivity & Cloud | Jul 28, 2014 2:09 PM CDT

London's mayor Boris Johnson is expected to announce a super speedy 5G network for the UK capital this week.

According to a report in Britain's Telegraph, the eccentric mayor will promise 5G connectivity in the capital by 2020, pledging that Londoners will have access to a super quick network capable of downloading movies in just seconds. The University of Surrey will work in partnership with the city to deliver the network. "London is earning a reputation for being the tech capital of Europe and that is why we need to ensure every Londoner is able to access the very best digital connectivity," Johnson will say. "Rapidly improving the connectivity of this great city is a key part of the Infrastructure Plan for London."

As part of wider plans, Johnson is also expected to commit to improving connectivity across the entire capital, as well as making sure information about this connectivity is generally available. For example, tenants moving into new houses will be able to check against a data set to see what internet speeds they will be able to get access to. Additionally, the mayor will work with telcos to use this data to pinpoint exactly where improvements need to be made across the city.

Continue reading: London mayor Boris Johnson to pledge 5G internet access by 2020 (full post)

Smartphone battery life could double with next-gen lithium cells

Anthony Garreffa | Mobile Devices | Jul 27, 2014 11:29 PM CDT

Battery life in our smartphones and tablets is something that needs drastic improvement, but it looks like we see the light at the end of the tunnel with some new technology thanks to researchers out of Stanford.

These researchers have developed a new lithium battery that could double smartphone and tablet battery life, something that enables denser, more efficient lithium within the battery's anode. This is done by using a nanoscopic carbon shield that keeps the unstable chemical stable, but when uncontrolled, drains the battery life much faster.

The result of this is that we have a battery that lasts much longer, but will not degrade as quickly, and on top of that - it will be much safer. Stanford's Steven Chu, who was previously the US Secretary of Energy, says that smartphones powered by these advanced lithium cells could have two to three times the battery life that smarpthones do now. He also said that automakers could build cheap electric cars, that still have a decent range on them.

Continue reading: Smartphone battery life could double with next-gen lithium cells (full post)

Newsletter Subscription