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RumorTT: Galaxy Note III to feature 8-core processor, 5.99-inch 1080p display and 3GB of RAM
Some leaked specifications on Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Note III have floated onto the Internet, and if they're correct, we'll be looking at the fastest smartphone on the market. Check out the specs:
We should hear more about the Note III at IFA 2013 which is in October, until then we'll just have to dream of this phone. What do you think? An 8-core smartphone with 3GB of RAM and a 1080p display. This thing is better specced than most PCs!
Three copies of Dredd 3D: Limited Edition Blu-ray's are up for grabs, enter now!
Thanks to Icon Home Entertainment, we have three copies of Dredd 3D: Limited Edition on Blu-ray up for grabs, which retail for $50.95.
The future. America is an irradiated wasteland. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC lies Mega City One a vast, violent metropolis of over 400 million citizens living in perpetual fear. The only ones attempting to impose order in the urban chaos are The Judges. Law enforcers, juries, judges and executioners rolled into one. The epitome of these Judges is Dredd. The Chief Judge gives Dredd a mission. To road test a rookie Judge, the powerful psychic Cassandra Anderson. It is to be a training day. The Judges head for a seemingly routine homicide in the notorious Peach Trees mega-block - a 200 story vertical slum run by the pitiless Ma-Ma clan. When the Judges attempt to arrest one of Ma-Ma's chief henchmen, Ma-Ma shuts down the entire building and orders her clan to hunt the judges down. Our two judges are now caught in a vicious and relentless fight for survival.
The Dredd 3D Blu-ray features the 2012 film in both 2D and 3D, along with some solid extra features. The limited edition Blu-ray version also adds a high quality slipcover and an insert graphic novel.
NVIDIA's releases a video of their Position Based PhysX fluid simulation
Up until now, NVIDIA's PhysX technology hasn't been used in games all that well. Even today, it's still just a technology demo, and a technology acquisition by NVIDIA, but they continue to keep their heads down and work on the physics technology.
There's a new simulation using PhysX, which you can check out in the above video. The demo is the result of research by Miles Macklin and Matthias Muller. They have a paper published about it, which you can read here, with some details below:
Corsair in talks with Francisco Partners over buyout
A regulatory filing shows that Francsico Partners is currently in talks with Corsair Componenets over a possible buyout. Corsair had previously indefinitely postponed an IPO after the IPO flop that befell Facebook. At the time, they said they would "relaunch when equity conditions are more favorable."
It now appears that they are choosing a buyout over an IPO. Corsair could be heavily affected the current downturn in the PC market, resulting in the need for a cash infusion. As an interesting aside, Francisco Partners was part of the Blackstone Group-led consortium that decided to not make a formal buyout offer for Dell.
It's very possible nothing could come of these talks. On the other hand, Corsair could end up being bought out. This could result in changes in the company or products that they make and sell. For now, nothing has changed. We'll be sure to report if or when a buyout agreement is reached.
Continue reading: Corsair in talks with Francisco Partners over buyout (full post)
Is this Haswell's box art? It's definitely not out of the question
VR-Zone has posted up a picture of what appears to be box art for the upcoming Intel line of processors known as Haswell. Intel is really pushing a conceptual computing and creativity aspect this year, so the box design definitely fits within that strategy. But, is it the actual box art?
The box art shown above departs from the typical box art used by Intel. For instance, the top part of the front of the box features a wider case-badge instead of the typical small badge. We likely won't know for sure until Haswell launches at Computex in early June, which we reported earlier today.
Continue reading: Is this Haswell's box art? It's definitely not out of the question (full post)
Nintendo releases Wii U update, brings with it faster load times and better performance
Nintendo has released an update for its Wii U gaming console. This update, claims Nintendo, brings with it better performance, decreased boot times, and decreased load times. The Wii U, while an innovative console, has failed to sell in quantities that Nintendo would be happy with.
Nintendo has published the following list of changes:
We encourage that Wii U user make sure to run the update process on a stable Internet connection and reduce their risk of losing power to avoid risking a bricked system.
Google Glass specs detailed, runs similar hardware to Galaxy Nexus
At least one Google Glass Explorer Edition owner has been doing some digging. Jay Lee, a hacker who got his hands on a pair of Google Glass, managed to connect Glass up to Google's ADB software and dig through the debug data to find out what operating system and hardware was powering the wearable device.
According to the ADB printout, Google Glass Explorer Editions are running Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. They are powered by an OMAP 4430 CPU, which is a dual-core in the same family as the processor used in the Galaxy Nexus smartphone. The ADB printout returned that the system has 682MB of RAM, though Lee believes it's more likely 1GB with some reserved for hardware.
We'll surely be getting more information as Glass gets into the hands of more developers and hackers. Until then, feel free to dig through the information Lee has posted on a Google Drive.
Continue reading: Google Glass specs detailed, runs similar hardware to Galaxy Nexus (full post)
Sony releases new video detailing new DualShock 4 controller for the PS4
This morning Sony has released a new video that shows off its DualShock 4 controller. Sony mentions that they worked tirelessly with developers to create a next-generation controller that is truly the best it can be.
While the DualShock 4 may look similar to its predecessor in form, the whole controller has been fine-tuned with improvements made to the analog sticks, the sensitivity of the triggers, as well as a new light bar on the front of the controller that tells the PS4 your position in the room and adjusts your split screen, relevant to your location.
A new touch pad has been added to the controller, as well. Sony says that this was a major request from game developers and features multi-touch sensitivity and is comfortable to use with your thumbs or fingertips. Additionally a speaker has been added to the controller that is said to bring forth a new dynamic of sound to gameplay.
Qualcomm will begin mass producing its next flagship Snapdragon 800 SoC in May
After a very successful first quarter for the Snapdragon 600, Qualcomm is moving forward with production on its next-generation system on a chip processor for mobile devices. A Qualcomm exec has confirmed with Engadget that the Snapdragon 800 is expected to move into mass production beginning late May.
Based around the Krait 400 architecture, the Snapdragon 800 is a quad-core beast that could likely see clock speeds as high as 2.3GHz with very low power consumption. An internal Adreno 330 GPU will be capable of 4K playback at 30fps. 802.11 B/G/N Wi-Fi, USB 3.0 and 4G LTE are also built into the chip, alongside a quick charging circuit and voice command capabilities.
Qualcomm is keeping quiet on which handset manufacturers have placed orders and as such, there is no official word, or speculation on which upcoming smartphones will feature the new SoC. We will tune an ear to the market as always and report back once we get word on any upcoming devices featuring the Snapdragon 800.
Intel to introduce 4th gen Intel Core processor (aka Haswell) at Computex in Taipei on June 4th
This morning Intel announced via its Facebook page and Twitter account that it would be unveiling its next-generation Core processor family at Computex on June 4th. Codenamed Haswell, the new processor family is no secret at this point, though.
Haswell architecture is designed to optimize the power savings and performance benefits from the move to FinFET transistors on the improved 22nm process, and feature a fully integrated voltage regulator, moving the power scaling duties from the motherboard and onto the processor itself.
The new king of speed is said to be the Core i7-4770K, which is a quad-core, eight thread 3.9GHz beast. While the middle of the road low power consumption chip is said to be the Core i5-4670T that runs four cores at 3.8GHz.
DHS' new intrusion detection and prevention system raises security concerns
Cyberthreats are the new way of slowly removing citizens' privacy, and now the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is preparing to deploy a very powerful new version of their EINSTEIN intrusion-detection system that is built to detect attacks and malware, especially when it comes to e-mail.
But because this new version of EINSTEIN is able to read electronic content, it is raising privacy concerns. DHS has recognized this, and have just issued a "privacy impact assessment" on what they're calling EINSTEIN 3 Accelerated, the intrusion detection and prevention system that is expected to be made available as a managed security service from ISPs to monitor the ".gov" traffic to and from civilian agencies and Executive Branch departments.
The DHS has said that EINSTEIN 3 might be able to collect "personally identifiable information" (PII) in some instances where this network security system will not just monitor but also prevent threats by clocking traffic in order to detect a cyberthreat or potential cyberthreat.
US ambassador to Australia asks Australians to stop pirating Game of Thrones
US ambassador to Australia, Jeffrey Bleich, has reached out to his official Facebook page telling Australians to stop pirating popular HBO show, Game of Thrones. He wrote:
The comments came on April 23, marking the 17th annual UN World Book and Copyright Day. He added:
Haswell-powered MacBook said to go into production in May, launch in late summer
According to Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst for KGI Securities, Apple will start production on a Haswell-powered MacBook sometime in May in preparation for a late summer launch. A late summer launch flies in the face of what Tim Cook said during an investor call: "Our teams are hard at work on some amazing new hardware, software, and services that we can't wait to introduce in the fall and into 2014."
Kuo expects the MacBook line to feature a vastly updated design and only Retina displays. Intel is currently thought to be planning to release Haswell at Computex in the first part of June, so this timeline matches up with Intel's schedule, lending some credibility to this claim.
We don't doubt that Apple will make use of Intel's Haswell CPUs, it's just a matter of when exactly they make the switch and to what degree they update the MacBook line.
PS4 lead architect says PS4 launch will have best launch games in PlayStation history
PlayStation 4's lead architect, Mark Cerny, says that the PlayStation 4 launch will feature the strongest set of launch games in PlayStation 4. In an interview with Gamasutra, Cerny talks about the PlayStation 4 and how it is so easy to code for thanks to its unified architecture.
Most importantly, Cerny says, "The launch lineup for PlayStation 4 -- though I unfortunately can't give the title count -- is going to be stronger than any prior PlayStation hardware." Gamasutra has the full interview at source #1.
Google Drive gets auto sync, will sync all files for offline access
Google has released a second update for Google Drive just shortly after the one released earlier today. This latest update will allow all of your Google Drive documents to sync in the background so that you don't have to plan ahead. With this new feature, anytime you're offline, you can simply head to drive.Google.com
This is a feature that is already present in Chrome OS. Google may one day bring this feature to other browsers, though it's not clear if they have plans to do so as of right now.
Continue reading: Google Drive gets auto sync, will sync all files for offline access (full post)
Google Glass battery life is only 30 minutes when taking video
If you're looking forward to taking video with your shiny new Google Glass headset, I've got some bad news. According to Robert Scoble, a user with the Explorer Edition of Google Glass, shooting video can drain the battery in as little as 30 minutes. "One six-minute video I did took 20 percent of the battery."
This could end up being a deal breaker for a large majority of customers. Google has maintained that the Explorer Edition of Glass isn't for the mainstream consumer. As such, it's not the final version and still has bugs and issues to work out.
Google does have an issue with regards to battery life. They need to squeeze the most out of the smallest battery they can. If they increase the size of the battery, that extra weight takes away from the comfort during wearing.
Continue reading: Google Glass battery life is only 30 minutes when taking video (full post)
Google adds profile pictures, and single-click group chat to Drive
Google Drive is one of the productivity tools that I do not think I could live without. I use it for note taking during meetings, collaboration on projects, and even as a file sharing service for documents. This morning, Google announced some improvements to the service that should make life easier and more feature rich for those like me who use the service daily with others.
Over the next few days, users will see the addition of profile photos, one-click group chats, and even a completely new look for anonymous users. Once the update rolls out, a profile photo will be displayed at the top of a file that was created and shared to you by another user. Google is hoping that this will help you better notice everyone who is in the file with you.
In addition to the profile photo being displayed, you will be able to click on the image and add that user to your Google+ circles. Anonymous users are also affected by this change and you will see them appear as a different icon chosen at random from the list above.
Continue reading: Google adds profile pictures, and single-click group chat to Drive (full post)
Pirate Bay sails ship to Iceland, avoids iceberg in Sweden
Earlier this month I reported that The Pirate Bay would be switching to the .GL top level domain amidst speculation that Sweedish officials would soon seize the .se domain name. Unfortunately, Greenland officials decided that they wanted no part of the Pirate Bay's armada and suspended the purchased .gl domain before anything could be migrated.
This led to the Pirate Bay having to look yet again for a new home. This time the Pirate Bay has dropped its anchor in the land of icelandic nords, and as of this posting can be found at thepiratebay.is. The choice to move to to Iceland was due to its recent pronouncement as a safehaven for those seeking true freedom of speech. When asked if it would seek to follow Greenland's lead and shut down the piratebay.is domain, the ISNIC had the following to say:
Continue reading: Pirate Bay sails ship to Iceland, avoids iceberg in Sweden (full post)
RumorTT: Motorola X Phone benchmarked, shows it running Android 5.0
This morning a screenshot appeared online of what appears to be an AnTuTu benchmark ran on the Google / Motorola X Phone. While the benchmark is cool, the truly interesting thing to be noted is the name change.
Having long been rumored as the Motorola X Phone, the screenshot shows that the device used in the benchmark was named Google X. While this could be a development codename, it is more likely that the X Phone takes on Google's name and could even become the Nexus X. To me this makes more sense as Motorola is deep in branding for the Razr line of phones.
The screenshot also seems to confirm rumors that the X Phone will run Android 5.0.1 codenamed Key Lime Pie, which was rumored to be unveiled at Google I/O. Unfortunately there are more rumors that Key Lime Pie will not make an I/O appearance due to development delays and setbacks.
Continue reading: RumorTT: Motorola X Phone benchmarked, shows it running Android 5.0 (full post)
SMART Storage Systems and Diablo Technologies enter partnership
Today SMART Storage Systems and Diablo Technologies are announcing a new partnership to the world. This partnership has actually been working feverishly in the background for a year and a half developing a radical new storage technology. Details of the new technology are scarce and reading the press release generates more questions than answers.
Luckily, we were able to catch up with Smart Storage Systems president John Scaramuzzo and Diablo founder and CEO Richard Badalone for an in-depth interview to shed more light on this new approach.
The high-level takeaway from the announcement is the upcoming release of a new class of storage from this new partnership, vaguely described as Ultra Low Latency (ULL) SSDs. The coming products are the fusion of SMART's Guardian Technology and Diablo's Memory Channel Storage (MCS) technologies. This new class of storage will radically transform enterprise server, virtualization, and cloud environments by taking a new approach to connecting NAND flash to the server.
Continue reading: SMART Storage Systems and Diablo Technologies enter partnership (full post)


