Facebook doubles closest competitor - 58% of Americans are still on

Chris Smith | Internet & Websites | Jan 11, 2015 5:46 PM CST

There's been a bit of talk over the past couple of years that people are getting annoyed with the advertising and intrusive spying that Facebook has been reported on by various news outlets, with many user claiming to ditch this social media platform for good - looking to utilize other media entities or simply put down their smartphone.

In a recent data analysis released by Pew Internet, 58 percent of American adults are still on board with Facebook - with their closest competitor, Linked In, sitting at 23 percent and Pintrest bringing up third place at 22 percent.

Even more surprising is the fact that both Twitter and Instagram don't make the top three placements. With Instagram ranking fourth at 21 percent and Twitter straggling in fifth place, with 19 percent. All of these results are, once again, only of the adult population - meaning 18 years and older.

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Elite: Dangerous revenue goes to infinity, and beyond

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jan 11, 2015 3:27 PM CST

It looks like Elite: Dangerous is doing quite well, with Frontier Developments making some nice revenue on the just-released space game. While it's doing well, their expectations for 2016 and beyond see the developer making some serious dosh.

The company made an announcement last week outlining the success of the game, with $26.1 million in revenue from 300,000 sales. The developer had a few possible scenarios for its sales, but they could be revised, the developer explains "Since late 2013 the Group has been using three scenarios to model performance of the game, created based on the growth of other non-subscription online games in their first three years, a "base" scenario, a "mid" scenario, and a "bull" scenario ... In terms of revenue Elite: Dangerous is tracking above the "bull" scenario; and on units sold, between the "mid" and "bull" scenarios."

Elite: Dangerous is coming to OS X, but it could arrive on Linux too - and hopefully Steam OS. As for profits, we can see that the developer is hoping to sell 30 million units in 2017, securing itself a huge $453 million.

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Anonymous plans to retaliate against Islamic groups for terror attack

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Jan 11, 2015 2:59 AM CST

The Anonymous hacker collective has publicly launched a campaign against Islamic extremists tied to the attacks on Charlie Hebdo, which has killed 12 people. The group plans to target al-Qaeda, ISIS and other terrorists, with a focus on bringing down their social media accounts and websites used to spread propaganda.

"We, Anonymous around the world, have decided to declare war on you the terrorists," the group declared in a YouTube video. "We intend to take revenge in their name, we are going to survey your activities on the net, we are going to shut down your accounts on all social networks."

#OpCharlieHebdo has already claimed one victim, though the victimized website returned to service after an hour or two of downtime. However, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks and other cyberattacks are expected to target the terrorist groups operating in Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere in the Middle East.

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Steiger Dynamics new LEET Pro PC is a workstation for the living room

Anthony Garreffa | Computer Systems | Jan 10, 2015 7:22 PM CST

CES 2015 - Steiger Dynamics has just taken off the wraps of its impressive new LEET Studio and LEET Pro PCs, both of which are workstation versions of their award-winning LEET Living Room PC.

The two new PCs can be configured with the full range of Intel's Core processors, right up to the Xeon processor with up to 18 cores. There can be triple workstation-class AMD FirePro or NVIDIA Quadro GPUs installed, super-fast SSDs, and ECC memory. This brings Steiger Dynamics machines up to the quality, specifications and style of Apple's popular Mac Pro range.

Steiger Dynamics are pricing their LEET Studio and LEET Pro Pcs from $1999 and $2999 respectively, and are available starting January 6.

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Steiger Dynamics announces its new high-end SFF PC known as 'Era'

Anthony Garreffa | Computer Systems | Jan 10, 2015 6:57 PM CST

CES 2015 - Steiger Dynamics has announced its latest Era home theater PC lineup, with the latest addition joining its growing line of custom-made HTPCs. Inside of the new Era SFF PC we have some serious power, something that includes a Blu-ray player in its small footprint.

The new Era PC features Intel's latest processors, an SSD, DDR3 RAM, and more. We have up to 6TB of storage inside of the Era PC, 4K support, Blu-ray playback in Dolby TrueHD, and more. We also have support for the use of wired controls through the use of your smartphone, tablet, touchpad, mouse and keyboard, or even an Xbox controllers.

Steiger Dynamics' new Era PC starts from $899 and is available right now.

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South Korea says North Korea is advancing its cyber army

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Jan 10, 2015 5:55 PM CST

The North Korean Bureau 121 cyber warfare unit has continued to recruit new computer experts to its unit, with potential long-term plans of conducting wide-scale cyberespionage operations. Despite additional sanctions levied against Pyongyang, it hasn't slowed momentum of the secretive cyber unit.

"North Korea is currently running its 6,000 (-member) workforce for cyber warfare and performing cyberattacks for physical and psychological paralysis inside South Korea such as causing troubles for military operations and national infrastructures," said the South Korean Defense Ministry, in a statement published by Reuters.

The North Korean government has denied it was involved in breaching Sony Pictures Entertainment - but details of its hacker group continue to be published. Bureau 121 has been blamed for several notable breaches targeting South Korean banks and other infrastructure, with the unit's skills reportedly developing.

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IN WIN continues to impress at CES 2015, especially with the S-Frame

Anthony Garreffa | Cases, Cooling & PSU | Jan 10, 2015 5:46 PM CST

CES 2015 - IN WIN is a company that has been impressing us more and more, but it hit a peak when we saw their S-Frame chassis at Computex 2014 back in June.

The IN WIN S-Frame is made fro ma single 4mm thick sheet of aluminum that is bent very specifically, and very beautifully into its final form. IN WIN were showing the chassis off at Computex, as well as the new S-Box.

The new IN WIN S-Box is a full-tower chassis, which features support for up to E-ATX motherboards, big CPU heat sinks and water cooling setups, and so much more.

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NASA, Nissan team up to develop autonomous vehicle research

Michael Hatamoto | Electric Vehicles & Cars | Jan 10, 2015 3:34 PM CST

Car maker Nissan and the NASA space agency have signed a five-year research and develop partnership, which will boost autonomous vehicle research. Nissan has already tested its autonomous vehicles in urban environments, with the car designed to deal with other vehicles, construction, pedestrians, cyclists, and other common scenarios.

Specifically, there is interest in developing software algorithms, concepts and integrated prototypes of self-driving autonomous vehicles - giving Nissan a much-needed boost in the surging market, while NASA hopes to implement breakthroughs into its space research.

"All of our potential topics of research collaboration with Nissan are areas in which Ames has strongly contributed to major NASA programs," said Pete Worden, director of AMES. "Ames developed Mars rover planning software, robots onboard the International Space Station (ISS) and next-generation air traffic management systems to name a few. We look forward to applying knowledge developed during this partnership toward future space and aeronautics endeavors."

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UCF captures Collegiate Cybersecurity Championship Cup

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Jan 10, 2015 3:11 PM CST

Based on its success during cybersecurity-based competitions, the University of Central Florida (UCF) has won the 2014 Collegiate Cybersecurity Championship Cup.

"The Cybersecurity Championship Cup program is designed to encourage collegiate participation in all cybersecurity-based competitions - not just specific events," said Dr. Gregory White, Director of the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security. "The program is similar to the FedEx or Sprint Cups - teams gain points for participation in placement in disparate cybersecurity competitions."

The cup competition is supported by a grant from the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Director Cyber Security Division, and is managed by the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security at the University of Texas at San Antonio. There is a growing need for cybersecurity specialists - both by the private sector and the federal government - as foreign cyberattacks continute to warrant great concern.

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Study: Apple iPhone separation really does cause anxiety to users

Apple iPhone users separated from their smartphone can suffer from "physiological anxiety" and "poor cognitive performance," according to "The Extended iSelf: The Impact of iPhone Separation on Cognition, Emotion, and Physiology" study, published by the University of Missouri.

The researchers first tasked survey participants to sit down and complete a puzzle while near their smartphone, and then had to take a second survey with their phone in a different part of the room. However, researchers called the phone, with participants able to see their iPhone and could hear it ring - but couldn't answer the phone.

Participants had increased heart rate and blood pressure while trying to complete the puzzle in the second scenario. Researchers recommend iPhone users keep their smartphones nearby when completely tasks that involve significant attention, so no anxiety occurs.

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