LG partners with REEDS Jewelers for the LG Watch Urbane Luxe

Michael Hatamoto | Wearable Computing & Fashion | Aug 31, 2015 5:20 AM CDT

LG Electronics has partnered with REEDS Jewelers to create an expensive luxury watch that isn't like most other smartwatches currently available.

The watch features a 1.3" full circle P-OLED display, runs Google Android Wear, and features a 410mAh battery. Owners can receive smart notifications, alerts, navigational prompts, fitness integration, and use the "OK Google" feature. The watch itself has a handmade alligator strap and features 23-karat gold.

If you have deep pockets, you can visit the REEDS' website and pre-order a unit for $1,195. The limited edition watch will have an initial run of just 500 units - with each model receiving its own serial number to authenticate it.

Continue reading: LG partners with REEDS Jewelers for the LG Watch Urbane Luxe (full post)

Report: Prior to breach, no one wanted to purchase Ashley Madison

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Aug 31, 2015 4:30 AM CDT

Avid Life Media was unable to find a willing suitor for Ashley Madison, and trying to generate new funds proved extremely difficult.

Avid Life sent a letter to investors that it was interested in purchasing $10 million worth of shares, amid pressure to improve the company's liquidity. Any aspirations for an IPO would be crippled in a "doomsday scenario," according to bankers speaking to Reuters prior to the massive data dump.

"Over the last couple of years, we have not been successful in exploring various alternatives including a sale of the business and seeking debt from third parties," a letter from the board of directors confirmed.

Continue reading: Report: Prior to breach, no one wanted to purchase Ashley Madison (full post)

Mortal Kombat X cancelled for the Xbox 360 and PS3

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Aug 31, 2015 1:27 AM CDT

If you have a previous generation console, you won't be playing Mortal Kombat X. Warner Bros. has cancelled development of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Mortal Kombat X, saying that both versions would not meet the quality "expected of a Mortal Kombat game".

There's no more details on what exactly transpired, but I would dare say that the previous generation consoles couldn't hit 60FPS. The Xbox One and PS4 versions are pumping out the fatalities and blood spattering at 60FPS, but the previous-gen consoles are not up to scratch. Good on Warner Bros. to not just throw it out at 30FPS and expect everyone to just put up with it.

Continue reading: Mortal Kombat X cancelled for the Xbox 360 and PS3 (full post)

Just two of Intel's new Skylake CPUs are unlocked for overclocking

Anthony Garreffa | CPU, APU & Chipsets | Aug 30, 2015 10:47 PM CDT

Intel is about to drop the rest of its Skylake processors into the market, after the release of the Core i7-6700K and Core i5-6600K just recently. There will be eight more processors released, but the rest of them will not be unlocked models for overclocking.

The chipmaker will be offering up 10 total SKUs, with two of them already in the wild. The remaining 8 processors will be made up of four 65W, and four 35W low TDP chips. All of these processors will slot into the new LGA 1151 motherboards using the Z170, H170 and B150 chipsets. The new Skylake-S processors are as follows:

The most noteworthy chips out of the Skylake-S lineup are definitely the Core i7-6700K and Core i5-6600K as they are the unlocked, overclocking ready CPUs. But, the Core i7-6700 will feature a 3.4GHz frequency with 4GHz boost making it a viable alternative to the 6700K if you don't want to overclock. The 'low TDP' chips in the form of the Core i7-6700T, and the three other Core i5 processors with the 'T' moniker will be decent processors for low-power devices.

Continue reading: Just two of Intel's new Skylake CPUs are unlocked for overclocking (full post)

Minecraft creator has 'never felt more isolated' with his $2.5 billion

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Aug 30, 2015 9:33 PM CDT

What would you do with $2.5 billion? I know I would do countless things like buy all of my friends and family houses and put enough money in their accounts that they would never have to worry about money ever again. But what about the man who sold Mojang? The company behind Minecraft. Well, he's super lonely according to his recent tweets.

Minecraft creator has 'never felt more isolated' with his $2.5 billion

Markus "Notch" Persson sold Mojang to Microsoft nearly a year ago now for $2.5 billion, purchased a $70 million mansion, and has been hosting insane parties ever since. Recently, Persson tweeted: "The problem with getting everything is you run out of reasons to keep trying, and human interaction becomes impossible due to imbalance. Hanging out in ibiza with a bunch of friends and partying with famous people, able to do whatever I want, and I've never felt more isolated".

The tweets from Persson can be found below.

Continue reading: Minecraft creator has 'never felt more isolated' with his $2.5 billion (full post)

Julian Assange urged Edward Snowden to pick Russia over Latin America

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Aug 30, 2015 8:04 PM CDT

Julian Assange knows a little something about trying to avoid extradition, and urged former NSA contractor Edward Snowden to select Russia over Latin America. Not only was reaching Latin America a difficult journey, but Snowden's personal safety would have been at risk, Assange noted.

Assange urged Snowden to disregard "negative PR consequences" about choosing Russia, where his physical safety has been provided by the Russian government - a guarantee that would have been significantly less likely if he ended up somewhere in Central or South America.

Sarah Harrison, one of Assange's most trusted senior staff members, actually met with Snowden while the American was in Hong Kong - at a time when it was unknown where Snowden would end up.

Continue reading: Julian Assange urged Edward Snowden to pick Russia over Latin America (full post)

Cyclist has a rather amusing encounter with a Google self-driving car

Michael Hatamoto | Electric Vehicles & Cars | Aug 30, 2015 7:33 PM CDT

It looks like Google's autonomous vehicle is still learning every time it hits the open road, and a cyclist at a stop sign helped give it another learning opportunity. The cyclist was doing a track stand at the stop sign, and since the car arrived first, the autonomous vehicle had the right of way - but the vehicle just wasn't sure how to proceed with the cyclist present.

When the cyclist moved forward, the car inched forward and would stop so the cyclist would be able to go. The car noticed the cyclist's presence, but may have been overly cautious - which is something autonomous vehicles are designed for - so this will have to be considered just one more learning experience for Google developers. The cyclist's trackstand, since he wasn't actively moving forward or completely stopped, threw off the autonomous vehicle.

As an avid cyclist, hearing Oxtox's encounter is a rather perplexing one that Google will certainly try to sort out. There are an alarming number of incidents between vehicles and people on bikes, and the forum post noted: "The odd thing is that even tho (sic) it was a bit of a CF, I felt safer dealing with a self-driving car than a human-operated one."

Continue reading: Cyclist has a rather amusing encounter with a Google self-driving car (full post)

Corsair announces new Bulldog that will ship in time for Christmas

Michael Hatamoto | Computer Systems | Aug 30, 2015 6:01 PM CDT

Corsair announced the production version of its Bulldog DIY 4K gaming PC, with the first prototype shown off during Computex. The barebones system is designed to be a full PC that can be used in the living room, and leaves plenty of options for consumers to build a system as they see fit.

Corsair announces new Bulldog that will ship in time for Christmas

The Bulldog chassis is a "highly ventilated, stylish, compact console design" able to keep PC components cool, along with a 600-watt SFX power supply, and Hydro Series H5SF small form factor liquid CPU cooler. It's powered by a motherboard capable of supporting the Intel Z170 chipset, with a PCI Express 3.0 16x slot, two memory slots able to support 32GB of DD4 RAM, USB 3.0 and SATA ports, and Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and 7.1 channel audio.

Consumers must add their own Intel CUP, RAM, GPU, and storage - and can either run Microsoft Windows or SteamOS - to finalize the unit.

Continue reading: Corsair announces new Bulldog that will ship in time for Christmas (full post)

FBI demanded Scandinavian countries extradite Snowden if he visited

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Aug 30, 2015 5:36 PM CDT

Before former NSA contractor Edward Snowden fled to Russia, the FBI demanded the immediate arrest - and extradition - of Snowden if he went to any Scandinavian nations. Snowden applied for asylum in Norway, but once FBI officials heard he would try to head to a Scandinavian country, they began pressuring Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. Trying to leave Moscow, however, wouldn't be an easy task:

"The US Department of Justice is prepared to immediately draft the necessary paperwork to request the extradition of Snowden to the US from whichever country he travels to from Moscow," according to the letter. "The FBI expresses its gratitude... for any assistance that can be provided on this important matter."

It's likely the FBI and other government officials sent similar requests to many other European nations, which prevented Snowden from traveling outside of Russia.

Continue reading: FBI demanded Scandinavian countries extradite Snowden if he visited (full post)

NASA begins year-long Mars isolation experiment on Earth

The NASA-funded Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) experiment has started on Earth, designed to simulate a Mars mission.

The six participants, three men and three women, are scientists - and will be in tight quarters, living inside a 36-foot-wide dome that is 20-feet high. The project began on Friday and will last 365 days. Researchers will collect information regarding cognitive, social and emotional factors between each participant - and how they interact with one another.

NASA believes a mission to Mars could take more than three years to complete, so this is an important step to gather data.

Continue reading: NASA begins year-long Mars isolation experiment on Earth (full post)