Wrestling is coming to the PC - WWE 2K15

Chris Smith | Gaming | Apr 23, 2015 3:21 AM CDT

Browsing the Whirlpool forums we came across a post by user GeoffBRO! exclaiming that WWE will finally be coming to the PC platform in the next few days.

Bundled on Steam with 10% off and a free DLC, the game opens in approximately five days time and will set you back $49.49.

Sporting multiple language options, it also has to be said that this is one new game the you certainly don't need a beastly PC for - recommending users invest in an NVIDIA GTX 570 and Intel Core i5-3550 @ 3.30 GHz to ensure smooth game play. For most PC enthusiasts this should be no issue as these kind of specifications were common for many in 2011.

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Patriot launches M.2-based Ignite Series SSDs with 560MB/sec reads

Anthony Garreffa | Storage | Apr 23, 2015 1:34 AM CDT

Patriot has just announced its new Ignite M2 SSDs, based on the super-small M.2 next-generation form factor (NGFF) standard. The new Patriot Ignite M2 measures in at just 22m wide, and 80mm long.

As for its speeds, we have up to 560MB/sec sequential reads and 320MB/sec writes, with 4KB random read and write speeds of 90/70K IOPS. Patriot's VP of Engineering, Les Henry, explains: "We are happy to announce the Ignite M2 addition to our family of SSD products. With the Ignite M2, Patriot now offers a full range of SSDs, from 2.5" SATA 3, to mSATA and now M.2. The Ignite M2 drives are the perfect storage solution for those looking to build/upgrade their small form factor PCs".

Patriot's new Ignite M2 SSDs come in 240GB and 480GB sizes, with the Phison S10 controller and SATA 6Gbps standard. The 240GB model has an MSRP of $109.99 while the 480GB costs $209.99, with both models available through Fry's Electronics, Amazon, and Newegg.

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Facebook's latest data: 1.44 billion people using Facebook each month

Anthony Garreffa | Internet & Websites | Apr 23, 2015 12:35 AM CDT

During Facebook's Q1 2015 earnings report, the social network has said that there are now over 1.44 billion people using Facebook each month, which is up 13% year-over-year. From those 1.44 billion users, 1.25 billion of them were on mobile, which is a bigger increase of 24% year-over-year.

Facebook has 936 million daily active users, and 798 million mobile daily active users (an increase of 17% and 31% year-over-year, respectively). This is something worth noting: around 65% of Facebook's users are using the social network daily, with 64% of those on mobile using it every single day. The numbers are continuing to grow, where if we compare the mobile-only monthly active users from Q1 2013 (just two years ago now) where it was at 189 million, compared to 581 million in Q1 2015.

Other noteworthy numbers: there are 800 million people on WhatsApp per month, 700 million on Groups per month, 600 million people using Messenger each month, and 300 million people using Instagram per month. Insane numbers, which are joined by 45 billion messages sent daily, 4 billion videos viewed per day, 650 million people connected to sports Page of some kind, and there are now over two million advertisers using Facebook.

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Sony hanging onto Spider-Man rights, animated feature coming in 2018

Ben Gourlay | Celebrities & Entertainment | Apr 22, 2015 11:45 PM CDT

Earlier this year, Sony Pictures surprised fans by shelving plans for the Andrew Garfield 'Amazing Spider-Man' series and allowing Marvel to jointly share the rights to the character, allowing the classic Stan Lee creation to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

But with the intrinsic value of the property, they haven't ceded all rights to the Disney owned company and so today Sony Pictures have announced an upcoming animated 'Spider-Man' feature to be helmed by 'The Lego Movie' and '22 Jump Street' directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, for release in 2018, according to a report via ComingSoon.

The first film from the freshly rebooted live action 'Spider-Man' series will be released a year earlier on July 28, 2017 and will be co-produced by Marvel head Kevin Feige.

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Captain America says Superman would 'bulldoze' all of The Avengers

Anthony Garreffa | Celebrities & Entertainment | Apr 22, 2015 11:33 PM CDT

This last week has been pretty damn awesome for comic book and movie lovers, with the release of The Avengers: Age of Ultron starting today in some parts of the world, our first trailer to the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and our first look at Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

During the press junket to Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America himself (Chris Evans) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) were asked if they had seen the trailer to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Evans replied with a question: "how does anyone fight Superman?" Renner then added: "I know, that's what I don't get. What are you going to do with a Bat-belt?" Evans finishes with: "I feel like [Superman] would bulldoze our whole squad, they really wrote him unfairly. It's not fair, he's got too much".

Joss Whedon, the director on both of The Avengers movies had seen the trailer and was quite enthusiastic about seeing Batman and Superman on-screen together. Whedon said: "I found [the trailer for 'Batman v Superman'] interesting. Because they're bringing up a lot of issues that we bring up in 'Age of Ultron' and I think it's inevitable". Whedon added: "People with power, who are good, do not always agree and it makes perfect sense for me that [Batman and Superman] would fight. And besides... Batman and Superman are gonna fight! I'm so excited! I'm so excited!".

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AMD's Radeon R9 490X will reportedly arrive in 2016 with HBM2 and 14nm

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Apr 22, 2015 10:28 PM CDT

With the launch of the AMD Radeon R9 390X imminent, the Radeon R9 490X is over the horizon, with it reportedly set for launch in 2016. The new card will be based on the Arctic Islands architecture, manufactured on the 14nm process, and using the second generation HBM2.

The Arctic Islands flagship GPU will be based on the Greenland architecture, which will replace the Fiji architecture that will find its way into the Radeon R9 390X. The Greenland-based Radeon R9 490X will be built on the 14nm process thanks to Globalfoundries, a change from previous rumors that TSMC would be leading the GPU charge for AMD going into 2016.

TSMC has had trouble with the 16nm node, which I'm sure has been causing both AMD and NVIDIA headaches behind the scenes. More so with AMD, as they haven't had a flagship GPU released since the Radeon R9 290X in late 2013 (if we don't count the dual-GPU Radeon R9 295X2 in early 2014). Whereas NVIDIA has enjoyed its Maxwell architecture on the 28nm process beautifully, keeping power consumption and heat down without having to shrink its process, like it normally would.

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AVADirect announces the new AVA Sixense VR Desktop PC

AVADirect has been on top of custom PCs for a while, but with the Omni VR desktop announced last month, the custom PC maker is adding to that with the new Sixense VR desktop.

The new Sixense VR desktop is a custom PC that has seen the company partner up with Sixense, so that their PC is ready for the STEM system when it launches. We had a play with Sixense's STEM system back at CES 2015 and thought it was revolutionary, but now AVADirect has taken it a step further with a custom PC ready for the STEM.

AVADirect has deployed an EVGA GeForce GTX 980 SuperClocked VGA card, with the option to upgrade to the GeForce GTX Titan X to handle everything you throw at it. This has ensured gamers that they can run games at 1080p at 75FPS minimum. The stock system rocks a Core i5-4460, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB mechanical HDD, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. The AVA Sixense VR Ultimate Desktop cranks it up to the Core i7-4790 processor, 16GB of RAM, a 500GB 850 EVO SSD from Samsung, and Windows 7 Professional. Both systems are housed in EVGA's Hadron Air Black Mini Tower, with a Sixense etched side panel.

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Microsoft uses 60FPS footage of The Witcher 3 on PC as Xbox One promo

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Apr 22, 2015 8:19 PM CDT

In something that isn't too surprising, but is a dirty trick: Microsoft has used footage from the PC version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt running at 60FPS to advertise the Xbox One version of the game, which runs at just 30FPS.

The new footage is called "Precious Cargo" and is another step in the marketing for The Witcher 3 before its May 19 release on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. But, with the PC version of the game the only version capable of 60FPS, with developer CD Projekt Red stating that both the Xbox One and PS4 versions of the game locked at 30FPS, this is some tricky marketing from Microsoft.

Microsoft are advertising it on the official Xbox channel of YouTube, with a single line that explains it's running on the PC version of the game: "In game footage provided by CD Projekt Red, captured on a PC". As you can see from the screenshot above, the video is even being pushed at 1080p and 60FPS, which the Xbox One is clearly not capable of with The Witcher 3.

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Most of AMD's next-gen Radeon cards rumored to be rebrands

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Apr 22, 2015 7:39 PM CDT

We've had an industry insider whisper sweet nothings into our ear regarding the forthcoming release of AMD's Radeon 300 series, which will include the flagship "Fiji XT" Radeon R9 390X, which will reportedly arrive in two flavors, with very short supplies at launch thanks to HBM's low yields.

Our tipster has said that most of AMD's Radeon 300 series lineup will be filled with rebrands, with the Radeon 380X being a rebranded Radeon R9 290X. This isn't new information as we've previously reported that AMD's Radeon 300 series would be filled with rebrands, but this information is much newer and closer to the actual release than the previous rumors.

There will be a few VGA cards released with the new Fiji architecture, which should arrive as the Radeon R9 390X and R9 395X2. We could see the R9 390 being the Fiji, while the Fiji XT core will power the R9 390X.

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The Media Trust shows off SaaS-based tool to identify malvertising

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Apr 22, 2015 5:09 PM CDT

The Media Trust, a cybersecurity firm focused on monitoring and protecting the advertising ecosystem, has unveiled a new software as a service (SaaS) offering able to provide real-time data about malicious ads.

Resolution Services is designed for use by ad networks, publishers, ad exchanges, paid-content engines and demand platforms, and scans for malware detection - providing faster remediation time if something is detected.

"Every day the ad-network-and-exchange model proves its worth as evidenced by the millions of ads successfully served in just one 24-hour cycle, but the constant threat of malvertising requires continuous improvement and greater collaboration across the industry," said Chris Olson, co-founder and CEO of The Media Trust.

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