Jack Dorsey reprises role as Twitter's CEO

Derek Strickland | Business, Financial & Legal | Oct 5, 2015 7:58 AM CDT

In a move that surprised absolutely no one, Twitter's board of directors has officially named Jack Dorsey as acting Chief Executive Officer of the social media giant.

As one of the original founders of Twitter, Dorsey was called back to action after ex-Twitter CEO Dick Costolo stepped down back in June. Within five months after being appointed to interim CEO, Dorsey reprised his role as acting CEO of the company--a position he previously held from 2007-2008. Interestingly enough, Dorsey will actually simultaneously stand as CEO of both Twitter and Square and also maintain his position in Disney's board of directors.

The official SEC filing notes that Dorsey won't be compensated for running the company, and Twitter has no future plans to pay him. This is largely due to the fact that as a co-founder, Dorsey owns a huge portion of company shares. "There are currently no plans to provide Mr. Dorsey with direct compensation for his role as Chief Executive Officer," reads the release.

Continue reading: Jack Dorsey reprises role as Twitter's CEO (full post)

AMD's dual Fiji chip spotted as Radeon R9 Gemini, is this the Fury X2?

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Oct 4, 2015 10:15 PM CDT

AMD teased that its dual-GPU beast was coming earlier this year, but now we're beginning to hear talk of a "Radeon R9 Gemini' shipping from AMD's HQ in Canada.

The Radeon R9 Gemini will most likely arrive to us as the Radeon R9 Fury X2, as it can't succeed the Radeon R9 295X2 because of its name - where if it was the R9 395X2, people would think it features two R9 390X GPUs, versus the Fiji GPU found on the Fury X. The dual-GPU card should feature two fully-enabled Fiji XT cores, the same found on the Fury X, with 4GB of HBM each.

AMD would have the most powerful single video card solution on the market with this card, where it would easy beat the pants off of a GTX 980 Ti or Titan X from NVIDIA. As for pricing, we should expct somewhere over $1000, and most likely headed into the $1199 or so price point. As for availability, we should hopefully hear about this card in the very near future.

Continue reading: AMD's dual Fiji chip spotted as Radeon R9 Gemini, is this the Fury X2? (full post)

This Grand Theft Auto IV hyper-realistic mod is better than real life

Chris Smith | Gaming | Oct 4, 2015 3:33 PM CDT

What better to make sensationalist media outlets perk up and blame real life violence on video games other than this realistic Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA 4) mod? This 'ultra graphics mod' is named 'SG ENB v2.0 [1.0.4.0] and sets out to turn GTA 4 into a hyper-realistic, action packed, real-world experience.

This Grand Theft Auto IV hyper-realistic mod is better than real life

The video above showcases simple gaming actions which take place with the help of an NVIDIA GTX 970 running at 2560x1440, but there's no saying what will happen to your precious framerate when the going gets tough and RPG's start flying.

This mod joins the plethora of GTA IV and Skyrim enhancers that reiterate why enabling gaming communities to make expansive mods is such a good thing. If you're wanting a higher resolution look at the screenshots, click on the images below or head here for the full album. There's nothing else to say here other than: enjoy the photos.

Continue reading: This Grand Theft Auto IV hyper-realistic mod is better than real life (full post)

iOS 9 now has Tweetbot 4 support on iPad and iPhone

Chris Smith | Software & Apps | Oct 4, 2015 10:29 AM CDT

Currently set at 50% off ($4.99) for a limited time, Tweetbot 4 has now seen iOS 9 support. This application is useful for things such as syncing your timeline across all apple devices, muting users, hashtags, sources or keywords and more. The issue with this update is the forced purchase - no matter if you have Tweetbot 3 or not, you're still going to have to pony up the dollars.

Version 4 has added iPad support, landscape support on iPhone and iPad, split view multitasking, notification quick reply and more. Officially released on October 1, this version is iOS 9.0+ only, users looking for an older iOS supported version will need to look into Tweetbot 3.

Just a few days after release this app already has a 4.5-star rating across 733 reviews in total and if you're worried about space constraints this app checks in at a small 6.8MB. With the discount being upheld for a limited time only, you should pounce before the price goes up if this app interests you.

Continue reading: iOS 9 now has Tweetbot 4 support on iPad and iPhone (full post)

Vinyl sales have outpaced streaming revenues, according to the RIAA

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Oct 4, 2015 12:35 AM CDT

When you think about profits in the music industry, you'd think that by now the likes of Spotify and Pandora would be making hundreds of millions of dollars - but in reality, they don't.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), music streaming revenue has increased by 27% year-on-year, while vinyl sales have jumped 52% in the same period of time. In the first half of 2015, vinyl sales made $222 million while streaming revenue hit $163 million. Apple Music isn't included in these results, so the streaming side of things will see an uptick when Apple gets onboard.

According to data analyst Joshua Friedlander: "Overall, the music industry has become the most-digital in terms of all traditional media outlets - magazines, newspapers - in terms of transition. There is more optimism out there than there was. Two-thirds of the market is still physical [CDs]. It used to be monolithic. Now it's a mix of things, a revenue diversification that makes a more stable source to grow off of. [Streaming] services have mostly grown through word of mouth. There hasn't been a big Spotify advertising push. When you get a player like Apple involved, that really generates a whole new level of awareness".

Continue reading: Vinyl sales have outpaced streaming revenues, according to the RIAA (full post)

NVIDIA showed off its next-gen HBM-based Pascal GPU in Japan recently

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Oct 3, 2015 6:11 PM CDT

We know it's coming, and we can't wait - NVIDIA begins showing off more and more of its new Pascal architecture, teasing the HBM-powered Pascal GPU at GTC Japan 2015 recently.

The last time we saw Pascal was when NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang showed off a prototype board at GTC 2015 in March, but now we're seeing a slightly different Pascal GPU board than we saw earlier this year. The board features an actual Pascal GPU now that it has taped out, with the consumer GeForce card to feature a huge 16GB of HBM2 while the professional side of things will bump things up to 32GB of HBM2.

The design of the board is very similar to the Fiji-powered cards from AMD, as NVIDIA's Pascal chip is on a similar interposer to AMD. It looks slightly bigger, but we should expect the Pascal-powered cards to blow the doors off of the Fiji-powered cards from AMD. We will see DirectX 12 support, around 17 billion transistors, a 4096-bit memory interface, and so much more. Expect more news on this as we get closer to the New Year.

Continue reading: NVIDIA showed off its next-gen HBM-based Pascal GPU in Japan recently (full post)

A Full HD 16 inch display via USB, meet the AOC PRO

Chris Smith | Displays & Projectors | Oct 3, 2015 12:29 PM CDT

Thanks to the power of USB 3.0, AOC has released its first USB-only monitor, the 16" HD Pro USB E1659FWUX-PRO. Said to be powered with DisplayLink technology, this monitor further has a 300 cd/m2 brightness which makes "it the brightest in its class" as pointed out in a recent press release.

This plug and play monitor requires no setup protocols and is compatible with both Mac and PC systems. Designed with travel in mind, AOC has made sure that this monitor is suitable for transport in a suitcase and comes with a carry case of its own.

If you're interested in one of these for yourself, expect to spend $199 from Amazon online.

Continue reading: A Full HD 16 inch display via USB, meet the AOC PRO (full post)

Apacer claims its 3000MHz DDR4 laptop RAM is 'the true champion'

Chris Smith | RAM | Oct 3, 2015 10:31 AM CDT

Available in a massive 64GB kit comprised of 4x16GB sticks, Apacer's new DDR4 RAM has been designed by its 'Z511 Lab' and will be available soon in 2400, 2666, 2800 and 3000 MHz editions, ranging from $139 - $299.

With the ability to withstand an incredible 120 degrees celsius (248 Fahrenheit) and operate without issue, this DDR4 SO-DIMM memory is designed purely with laptops in mind, aiming to skirt around overheating issues that some performance laptops are currently feeling.

The Z511 Lab is explained by Apacer as being a special part of this company designed to look at performance products, and performance products only. Setup in early 2015, this group is responsible for performance and stress testing products before they are available to the market.

Continue reading: Apacer claims its 3000MHz DDR4 laptop RAM is 'the true champion' (full post)

Reload Studios, created by former COD creators, secures $4m funding

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Oct 3, 2015 8:30 AM CDT

Reload Studios has just secured $4 million in its first round of funding, with Reload Studios' CEO James Chung saying: "Now the foundation is set. Gaining partners who believed in the future of VR is like gaining a huge army for the battle. We are ready to take on the whole world of VR".

The investors included Rothenberg Ventures, World Innovation Lab, Barunson E&A, YK CRCM RS LLC as well as a few undisclosed private backers. Reload Studios has only just announced its first VR title 'World War Toons' as well as the creation of its own VR Lab. The studio has partnered up with WoofbertVR, an arts education VR company.

General Partner at YK CRCM RS LLC, Chun Ding, said: "Today's digital consumers will best experience and embrace virtual reality through its most exciting and breath-taking content. We applaud the talented team at Reload Studios for what they have accomplished and are thrilled to partner with them to bring the best of these contents to the consumers".

Continue reading: Reload Studios, created by former COD creators, secures $4m funding (full post)

Scientists invent neural lace, can connect your brain to a computer

There's times when I'm using my smartphone or computer, and I think to myself "there has to be a faster way of using this, I wish I could just think and my computer/smartphone would do/record/act". Well, we're bloody close.

Scientists in both China and the United States have found a way of injecting a tiny electronic mesh sensor into the brain that fully integrates with cerebral matter, enabling computers to monitor brain activity. Researchers from Harvard and the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology in Beijing have successfully created a flexible electrical circuit that first inside of a 0.1mm-diameter glass syringe in a water-based solution.

When this solution is injected into the brains of mice, the "mesh unfurled to 30 times its size and mouse brain cells grew around the mesh, forming connections with the wires in the flexible mesh circuit. The biochemical mouse brain completely accepted the mechanical component and integrated with it without any damage being caused to the mouse", reports IBT.

Continue reading: Scientists invent neural lace, can connect your brain to a computer (full post)