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Amazon and USPS Sunday delivery comes to more cities
One of the big benefits of ordering items from Amazon is that in some areas they will actually deliver your purchases on a Sunday, greatly shortening the time you have to wait to get your stuff. Amazon and the USPS have announced that they have expanded that Sunday delivery service to more cities.
There are 15 new cities that now have Sunday deliveries. The new cities include Austin, Texas; Cincinnati, Ohio; College Station, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; Indianapolis, Indiana; Lexington, Ky; New Orleans, La; Oklahoma City, Okla; Philadelphia, Pa; San Antonio, Texas; Shreveport, La; and Waco, Texas.
"So far, the most common items delivered on Sunday include baby supplies such as newborn apparel, books and toys - Sunday delivery is clearly crossing errands off the weekend to-do list," said Mike Roth, Amazon's vice president of North America operations, in a news release announcing the expansion. "We know our Amazon customers love the convenience of everyday delivery, and we're excited to be offering Sunday delivery in more cities across the U.S."
Continue reading: Amazon and USPS Sunday delivery comes to more cities (full post)
Amazon banned Mediabridge for threatening its customer over a review
Earlier, we reported that Mediabridge's lawyer threatened an Amazon buyer when he posted a review, complaining about Medialink's Wireless-N router. Amazon decided to crack a whip over Mediabridge, and barred from selling its products through the online retail giant's e-commerce website.
It started when the review posted in reddit that he was served with a letter from Mediabridge's lawyers. They demanded that he should take down the review, refrain from talking about the company and its products directly and indirectly and also agree never to purchase any of its products. The company also didn't like that he highlighted the product was a Tenda Router, according to a review site.
As one would imagine, this resulted to a Streisand effect, and many redditors were outraged by such actions. One of the commenters suggested that the reviewer should email to Mediabridge and complain about Mediabridge. Though its not sure that's what prompted the company to ban Mediabridge, but the US-based networking company's selling privileges are revoked as soon as it was possible.
Continue reading: Amazon banned Mediabridge for threatening its customer over a review (full post)
Elder Scrolls Online delayed "about six months" on the PS4, Xbox One
Bethesda has just announced that it has delayed The Elder Scrolls Online for "about six months" for the next-gen consoles, with the game originally planned for a June release.
The studio explains: "We continue to work on the console versions of ESO, and game development has been progressing steadily, but we are still working to solve a series of unique problems specific to those platforms. Integrating our systems with each console manufacturer's networks - which are both different from the PC/Mac system as well as different from each other - has been a challenging process. It has become clear that our planned June release of the console versions isn't going to be possible. Though we have made great progress, we have concluded that we'll need about six months to ensure we deliver the experience our fans expect and deserve".
It's not all doom and gloom, as Bethesda has worked out an arrangement with Microsoft and Sony, where it continues: "Via a special offer, anyone who purchases and plays the PC/Mac version of The Elder Scrolls Online by the end of June will have the opportunity to transfer their character(s) to either console version when they are released. The offer will allow you to begin playing immediately on the PC/Mac, and then add the PS4 or Xbox One version and transfer the character(s) you have created and developed. And, you don't have to pay full price for the game twice. For $US20, eligible PC and Mac players will have the option to add a full, digital version of ESO on either the PS4 or the Xbox One with your character transfer(s), and another 30 days of included game time".
Continue reading: Elder Scrolls Online delayed "about six months" on the PS4, Xbox One (full post)
SAPPHIRE's new R9 290X Vapor-X with 8GB of RAM available in the UK
OverclockersUK has a great new exclusive from SAPPHIRE, with its new SAPPHIRE R9 290X Vapor-X 8GB GPU. This is something we posted about a while ago, but now the GPU with a bunch of VRAM is on sale, but it's quite expensive at £600 inc. VAT (or £500/$848 ex. VAT).
The SAPPHIRE R9 290X Vapor-X 8GB has 2816 SPs, 1060MHz Core Clock, 5.6GHz on the memory, two dual-link DVI ports, an HDMI port, and a DisplayPort output. There are two 8-pin power connections for power, with SAPPHIRE recommending you own a 600W PSU to get it working. SAPPHIRE's amazingly efficient Vapor-X cooling steals the show here, teaming up with the 8GB of RAM for a high-five of GPU goodness.
SAPPHIRE has made its entire stock of Vapor-X 8GB GPUs for OverclockersUK, which means that there needs to be some serious interest outside of the country for the company to make more GPUs. I'm sure there will be though, as I'm one of them. Give me four of them please, SAPPHIRE.
Continue reading: SAPPHIRE's new R9 290X Vapor-X with 8GB of RAM available in the UK (full post)
Level 3 accuses six unnamed ISPs for slowing down internet traffic
According to Level 3 Communications which provides internet services for many enterprise and consumer centric ISPs in North America, Latin America and Europe, there are six large broadband consumer with a dominant market who refuse to upgrade its internet server to meet its subscriber's needs.
Level 3's VP of content and media Mark Taylor did not name those ISPs, but said that these companies are determined to break net neutrality for their own profit. He said,"At this time, we have decided not to specifically identify the peers with significant congestion; however, we can say they are large incumbent broadband providers in the US and Europe."
Though he didn't name the ISPs, he did point out that the questioned ISPs also happen to be ranked last in customer satisfaction across the US in the American Customer Satisfaction Index 2013 survey. The ones that are listed in ACSI's survey all the way to the bottom are Comcast, Time-Warner, CenturyLink, Charter, AT&T and Cox.
Continue reading: Level 3 accuses six unnamed ISPs for slowing down internet traffic (full post)
Techland delays its zombie game Dying Light to February 2015
If you were waiting for Techland's Dying Light, you'll be waiting a while longer as the developer just announced that it has delayed the game until February 2015.
Techland is using this time to better develop the game, to live up to gamers' expectations. Techland explains on its site: "When we started the development of Dying Light, we were committed to innovation. We wanted to give you a freedom of movement unprecedented in open world games. After many improvements and months of hard work, we have now come so close to realizing our initial vision we feel we cannot stop before it is ready".
The developer of Dead Island continues: "We believe the Natural Movement element of our game will change what you expect from the genre, and we don't want to sacrifice any of its potential by releasing too early. This quality-focused thinking underlines all our development choices and we hope you share our belief that the gameplay must always come first. The new date ensures that we can fully realize our vision of an innovative open world game. We won't need to make compromises or trade-offs on any of the five platforms we're working on. For you, it means an outstanding, original game that makes the wait more than worthwhile".
Continue reading: Techland delays its zombie game Dying Light to February 2015 (full post)
New adhesive helps in recycling discarded circuit boards using water
The circuit boards are used in everyday electronics and PCs are based on epoxy glass and solder. The recycling process is tedious in this case as it requires to dismantle components safely. Its because of this, discarded electronic items simply are found in landfills. The National Physical Laboratory (NPL), In2Tec and Gwent Electronic Materials have developed a solution to improve the ability to recycle circuits boards up to 90% with the help of water.
The three British companies have developed a special type of adhesive that can make PCBs recyclable up to 90% using water. This technology is called ReUse, which is short for Reusable, Unzippable, Sustainable Electronics.
"What happens to end of life electronics is one of the fastest growing waste streams," says Chris Hunt, head of the Electronics Interconnection Team at NPL. "Existing electronic circuit assemblies are based on reinforced epoxy glass systems and solder. A circuit board itself is a significant part of a final product, but it's made with a thermoset of glass that isn't easily recyclable."
Continue reading: New adhesive helps in recycling discarded circuit boards using water (full post)
Unreal Tournament 2014 announced, is 100% free for PC, Mac and Linux
Something that Epic Games teased earlier in the week has now come true - Unreal Tournament is back, and is completely free. Unreal Tournament 2014 is a sequel to the famous first-person shooter, and is not just free-to-play, but is completely free. It is being built for PC and Mac only, with Linux support also making it in. This ain't no console dumbed down first-person shooter, folks!
Epic Games will be making money from the user-driven mod marketplace, similar to Valve's Team Fortress 2. Better yet, the game is in a very early stage, with the developer taking on fan comments and suggestions on how to make the game. Epic Games has "a small team of UT veterans that are beginning work on the project starting today," and "from the very first line of code, the very first art created and design decision made, development will happen in the open, as a collaboration between Epic, UT fans and UE4 developers. We'll be using forums for discussion, and Twitch streams for regular updates". More details on how it'll work below:
Here's the plan:
Continue reading: Unreal Tournament 2014 announced, is 100% free for PC, Mac and Linux (full post)
House approves USA Freedom Act amendment, showing serious reform goals
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee has voted 32-0 in approval of a modified version of the USA Freedom Act, requiring the National Security Agency (NSA) to receive approval from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court before seizing phone records. The bill will now have to be approved by the House floor, and would help clamp down on ulk phone collection programs.
Despite political efforts to ensure the NSA - or any other U.S. government agency - is able to illegally collect data on citizens, privacy experts warn more legislation in the future will be needed.
The EFF had this to say: "The new version of the USA FREEDOM ACT is a strong first step to undoing the damage of the government's tortured interpretation of the PATRIOT ACT. The Judiciary Committee should be commended for moving the conversation on reforming the NSA's activities forward. We urge Congress to support this bill and to support additional privacy protections to address outstanding issues, whether through amendments or other legislative vehicles."
Continue reading: House approves USA Freedom Act amendment, showing serious reform goals (full post)
LG sets launch date and price on its upcoming Chromebase AIO
When LG first unveiled its Chromebase all-in-one Chrome OS-Based PC the tech community was set abuzz, and while many doubted that a Chrome OS desktop was worth the space it took up, more industry experts thought that the Chromebase was an excellent idea, and an indication of where the industry is going. Today LG announced that the Chromebase AIO would be arriving later this month on May 26th at Amazon, Newegg, and Tiger Direct.
"Personal computers have obviously become central to each member of the family, regardless of age, which is why it's important to have one that's easy to use," said Thomas Lee, senior vice president, LG Electronics USA. "Google's suite of programs, ability to update software and cloud-based storage allow the LG Chromebase to offer a simple, modern computing experience."
The Chromebase features a 21.5-inch full HD 1080p display, an Intel Celeron 2955U Haswell Processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of solid state storage. Google will toss in an extra 100GB of cloud storage, and 802.11 n Wi-Fi will handle network connectivity. A single USB 3.0 and single USB 2.0 port will allow for external storage, and an HDMI connector is present for video output to a HDTV. The Chromebase will retail for just $349.99
Continue reading: LG sets launch date and price on its upcoming Chromebase AIO (full post)
Tt eSPORTS releases its new Draconem aluminum mouse pad for $40
This morning Thermaltake and Tt eSPORTS released its new all aluminum Draconem mouse pad. Thermaltake says that the Draconem is a premium aluminum mousepad built for serious gamers who need an edge over the competition. The Draconem is one of the largest aluminum mousepads on the market at 300mm x 300mm and features a dual-surface design that allows for some restriction as well as a free floating uber-smooth surface when needed.
I got to spend some time with the Draconem in Las Vegas during CES 2014, and have to say that this 2mm thick mousepad was one of the most solid and smooth-feeling gaming surfaces I have ever used. The Extreme Precision surface is just a little more controlled than my current mousepad, but the Effortless Glide surface literally made the mouse feel like it was floating on air. Tt eSPORTS says the Draconem will retail for $39.99 and is available today.
Continue reading: Tt eSPORTS releases its new Draconem aluminum mouse pad for $40 (full post)
Load DynamiX wins EMC Technology Connect Partner of the Year Award
EMC holds an annual trade show each year and it's turning into a big deal. Each year EMC also has an awards banquet for companies and products it deems worthy. This year, Load DynamiX won the coveted Technology Connect Partner of the Year Award.
EMC World 2014, LAS VEGAS, NV, May 7, 2014, - Load DynamiX, the leader in infrastructure performance validation, today announced that it has been awarded the EMC Technology Connect Advantage Partner of the Year Award. Presented at EMC World, Load DynamiX was only one of three partners to receive this year's inaugural award. Load DynamiX storage workload modeling software and load generation appliances help enterprise storage architects correctly rightsize their EMC storage infrastructure and align it with actual application performance requirements, ensuring that the proposed configurations can handle the projected workload.
"We are pleased to recognize Load DynamiX as an outstanding Technology Connect Advantage Partner of the Year," said Don Lamburn, Director, EMC Technology Connect Program, EMC Corporation. "We look forward to working with Load DynamiX as they play an important role in helping customers validate their infrastructure on their journey to the 3rd platform."
Continue reading: Load DynamiX wins EMC Technology Connect Partner of the Year Award (full post)
NASA considers sending greenhouse to Red Planet in 2021
As NASA and other space programs ramp up Mars research, the U.S. space agency is interested in creating a plant-growth experiment in mid-2020. As part of the Mars Plant Experiment (MPX) project, it could be an important step towards potential manned missions and colonization endeavors.
"In order to do a long-term, sustainable base on Mars, you would want to be able to establish that plants can at least grow on Mars," said Heather Smith, MPX deputy principal investigator, in a statement. "This would be the first step in that... we just send the seeds there and watch them grow."
MPX would focus more on being a self-contained project, rather than trying to plant seeds in the Martian dirt. The rover would provide water and researchers will check back within 15 days to see if the greenhouse project is successful.
Continue reading: NASA considers sending greenhouse to Red Planet in 2021 (full post)
Hands-on with Huawei's new Ascend P7 smartphone
This morning Huawei launched its next-gen flagship smartphone in Paris, France, and TweakTown's Johannes Knapp was at the event to check out the device in person. The new Ascend P7 is a high-end class Android-based smartphone that features a 5-inch 1920x1080 resolution screen, a 1.8GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM. 4G LTE connectivity is on hand as well as a 13-megapixel read facing camera with an 8-megapixel front imager for selfies.
"Huawei's relentless commitment to developing premium quality smartphones over the past three years has paid off. We are now ranked number three globally in terms of smartphone shipments, and our brand recognition is growing steadily in key regions such as China and Western Europe," said, Richard Yu, CEO, Huawei Consumer Business Group (BG). "Today, the launch of Huawei Ascend P7 once again challenges existing industry standards by redefining smartphone design, camera experience, and connectivity, to provide people with an unprecedented mobile experience."
Continue reading: Hands-on with Huawei's new Ascend P7 smartphone (full post)
Accused UFC pirate suffers from mental illness, can't pay up fines
After learning he's the target of a $32 million lawsuit from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), accused pirate Steven Messina says he suffers from mental illness and can't afford the significant civil lawsuit. The parent company of the UFC, Zuffa, is now seeking $150,000 for every act of infringement, $110,000 for using UFC content without permission, and $60,000 for intercepting UFC content, plus legal fees.
The UFC says Messina made money from the pirated streams, though he refutes the accusation: "Most of the time I barely had enough to cover an event's cost after donations and would use my own money saved from medication and doctors. In total, I've probably made no more in a year than $450-$550 in donations. But that just helped me pay for a few months of medical expenses, as well as maybe four or five fight cards. I always ended up paying out of my own pocket though, as I've had money from my previous job saved in my checking account."
Zuffa will continue to fight against organized piracy that streams its events, especially pay-per-view fight cards, and is currently interested in targeting websites that host the events. Regardless of what happens from this outcome, there are numerous ways to illegally stream content.
Continue reading: Accused UFC pirate suffers from mental illness, can't pay up fines (full post)
Russian bloggers must register with national media office
Russian president Vladimir Putin is cracking down on Internet bloggers in his country, forcing them to register with a national media office. The new "bloggers law" forces bloggers to follow the same laws as larger media publications - and any blog with more than 3,000 readers must register, including traditional blogs and microblogs.
Bloggers in Russia also are no longer allowed to remain anonymous, and all published blogs must include contact information. This new law is designed to help clamp down on criticism against the government. The new law goes into effect on August 1.
"Like previous reforms, this bill's sole aim is to increase control over online content," according a statement from Reporters Without Borders. "At a time when independent media are facing an unprecedented offensive, this is likely to reduce the space for free debate even further. The long list of new prohibitions offers many new possibilities for censoring bloggers when most problems could be solved under existing legislation."
Continue reading: Russian bloggers must register with national media office (full post)
Microsoft says malware infection tripled in 2013, as threats evolve
The overall number of Microsoft Windows vulnerabilities has increased 12.6 percent year-over-year, according to the Microsoft Security Intelligence Report (SIR), covering July to December 2013. During Q3 2013, 5.8 of every 1,000 Windows computers reportedly suffered from malware infection - and jumped to a whopping 17 computers per 1,000 during Q4.
However, severe Windows vulnerabilities reportedly declined 70 percent between 2010 and 2013 - as Microsoft continues to increase security - but the sophistication of current threats are giving computer security companies fits. Cybercriminals are using social engineering to get users to click on malicious links, or install malware bundled with legitimate software, the report also indicates.
Malware authors are finding a great market, in which they can launch mass attacks for a low price and little risk of being prosecuted. To make matters worse, next-generation malware is able to easily circumvent anti-virus software that traditionally kept PCs more secure.
Continue reading: Microsoft says malware infection tripled in 2013, as threats evolve (full post)
Mediabridge threatened a user for posting a negative review in Amazon
Mediabridge didn't seem to like an end-user's review that he posted in Amazon about its Medialink router. But rather than taking it as a feedback, the company's lawyers threatened the user instead. The user then posted about the incident on Reddit, following the photo shots of the letters sent by the lawyers for MediaBridge.
The problem also escalated when the user highlighted that the Medialink MWN WAPR300N Wireless-N broadband router is actually a Tenda W36R router. The user also highlighted that the source of his claim is a review website small net builder who specifically mentioned that the Medialink MWN-WAPR300N router is in reality a Tenda 2368R, according to the FCC filings.
The user also expressed his opinion that some of these Amazon reviews are suspicious, and said that how can he trust Amazon review if he was legally threatened for leaving a negative review. In the end, the user posted that others should save their money and buy routers from established brands such as ASUS, TP-Link, Linksys or Cisco.
Continue reading: Mediabridge threatened a user for posting a negative review in Amazon (full post)
LinkedIn and Evernote team up to better the business card experience
Everyone has a stack of business cards just laying around somewhere, and for those of us in the professional world, we have entire drawers dedicated to the tiny rectangles of paper. I for one have about 1000 business cards I have collected from the past year alone, and unfortunately that is just too many for me to organize and keep track of. LinkedIn and Evernote are both very aware of this issue and each have separate business card digitization apps to help alleviate the stress of keeping up with your contacts.
Today the two companies announced that they have teamed up to create the perfect business card. LinkedIn is leveraging its 300 million professional user base along with Evernote's excellent business card scanning feature to enhance the way business cards are captured, sorted and stored. "Benefitting from LinkedIn's network of more than 300 million professionals, Evernote can now automatically build a content-rich note around every business card you scan," the company said in a blog post. "With full contact information, a link to their current LinkedIn profile, and a photo, plus a section for notes, business cards become searchable contacts in Evernote."
The way it works is that once a card has been scanned, Evernote instantly digitizes it and, through integration with LinkedIn, creates a searchable note in your account with the most up-to-date, relevant information about your new contact. Everything is automatic, and all users need to do is take a photo of the business card they wish to digitize.
Continue reading: LinkedIn and Evernote team up to better the business card experience (full post)
The US Navy unveils its own e-reader that is safe for submarine use
Life as a submariner is full of restrictions including the ban on cellular phones, and electronic devices such as iPads. Fortunately the US Navy understands that submariners may not see land or even the surface of the ocean for weeks on end, and that reading is one of the more popular ways to pass the time. Unfortunately an iPad, Kindle, or other tablet-style device has been deemed too dangerous for use on US submarines.
To fix this issue, the US Navy has designed its own e-reader that only features the capability to function as an e-reader. The new Navy eReader Device or NeRD for short is an e-ink based reader that is quite similar to a Kindle except for the fact that it does not have any internet connectivity, removable storage, and no way to add or delete any data that it stores. This is mainly due to the fact that a stray Wi-Fi or Cellular signal emanating from the device could give the entire sub's position away to the enemy. Additionally, the absence of a removable storage device prevents any sailor from attempting to steal any sensitive data from the sub's network.
NeRD features a library of 300 books that have been chosen and pre-populated by the Navy and ensures that all of the reading material is Navy approved. The library includes modern fiction like Tom Clancy and James Patterson, who are popular amongst sailor, as well as a wealth of non-fiction naval and military history. At the moment, the Navy has only produced 365 NeRDs but says it will ramp up production in the near future.
Continue reading: The US Navy unveils its own e-reader that is safe for submarine use (full post)


