Google Play and YouTube's top selling movie of 2014? The Interview

Anthony Garreffa | Celebrities & Entertainment | Dec 31, 2014 5:33 AM CST

The Interview has only been available through Google Play and YouTube for around a week now, but the movie has quickly become the top selling movie of 2014 for both sites.

During a talk with Bloomberg, a Google spokesperson spilled the beans, but nothing specific on the sales numbers of the Sony flick. Sony has said that the movie has made over $15 million online, but now that it's also on Apple's iTunes service, we should expect those numbers to rise. The James Franco and Seth Rogen comedy is also on Microsoft's Xbox Video, and Sony's own dedicated site - which hasn't been hacked, yet.

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LG will be showing off a bunch of new 4K TVs at CES 2015 next week

Anthony Garreffa | Displays & Projectors | Dec 30, 2014 11:35 PM CST

CES 2015: CES 2015 kicks off next week, with my bags not even packed yet and I jump on a plane 49.5 hours from now. But, LG is preparing a bunch of stuff to show off to the world, with a huge push in the world of 4K TVs.

The South Korean giant is reportedly going to be showing off no less than eight different product lines (UC9, UB9800, UF9500, UF9400, UF8500, UF7700, UF6800 and UF6700), where we'll see more than just the usual quantum dot technology and webOS 2.0 Smart TV updates we've been hearing about lately. LG's new Ultra HD TV's are thinner than ever before, with the company promising upgrades for the color balance and black levels.

The built-in 4K video decoder can handle both 30FPS and 60FPS inputs, and is "future-proof" for future standards.

Continue reading: LG will be showing off a bunch of new 4K TVs at CES 2015 next week (full post)

LG announces new 21:9 ultra-wide AMD FreeSync capable monitors

Anthony Garreffa | Displays & Projectors | Dec 30, 2014 10:30 PM CST

CES 2015: LG has already teased it will be showing off a bunch of 4K TVs at CES 2015 next week, but the South Korean giant has just announced it will also be showcasing its new 21:9 ultra-wide monitors, too.

These monitors will be powered by AMD's FreeSync technology, which make ultra-wide monitors even better for gamers. We only just reviewed the LG 34UC97 and loved it, but it definitely needed better gaming chops and well, here we are. The upcoming 34UM67 is LG's first 21:9 ultra-wide gaming monitor that was designed for gaming, featuring AMD's FreeSync technology.

Roy Taylor, AMD's Corporate Vice President of ISV/IHV Partner Group explains "AMD FreeSync technology is an innovative monitor technology, based on free and open industry standards, to eliminate the tearing and stuttering that has plagued PC gaming for 30 years. We are pleased that LG Electronics stands with us with truly exciting AMD FreeSync-ready displays like the LG UltraWide Gaming Monitor."

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Xbox One update provides improved performance, uses more eSRAM

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Dec 30, 2014 8:32 PM CST

Microsoft is currently tweaking its latest SDK for the Xbox One, something that Dying Light developer Techland has gotten its hands-on. We've heard that Dying Light will be running at 1080p and 30FPS on the Xbox One and PS4, but it looks like the Xbox One side of things received its 1080p 30FPS target thanks to the latest update.

The update in question provides developers with the ability of tweaking the Xbox One's eSRAM usage, where performance can be improved. The Lead Game Designer on Dying Light, Maciej Binkowski explains "We were using the latest version just prior to the new release that came out on December 12th. In terms of advantages, the main thing is just how much the ESRAM control has improved. The new API allows you to do a lot more with the ESRAM, things devs have always wanted to do but were not easily accessible. This together with better tools (PIX) allowed us to really improve performance and tweak ESRAM usage."

PIX, or Performance Investigator is a software tool used by developers on the Xbox One to analyze and debug their code in order to increase the performance of their titles. There have been a few developers that have been doing this, squeezing out as much performance as they can from the current (at the time) SDK. These developers include Bungie with Destiny, and Rockstar with Grand Theft Auto V, so Techland isn't the only one doing some tweaking with Dying Light.

Continue reading: Xbox One update provides improved performance, uses more eSRAM (full post)

Ebola patient zero traced back to contact with bats

Ben Gourlay | Health, Lifestyle & Travel | Dec 30, 2014 7:00 PM CST

According to a BBC report, scientists tracing this years deadly Ebola virus outbreak have found a correlation between patient zero; two year old Emile Ouamouno and a colony of bats in Guinea.

During their four-week field trip in April 2014, Dr Fabian Leendertz and his colleagues found a large tree stump located close to the boys home. Now, Leendertz believes that the reeds and oil palm cultivations nearby attracted the bats, whose droppings likely infected Emile as he played in the hollow tree. On the release of his report, Dr Leendertz said "The Ebola virus must jump through colonies from bat to bat, so we need to know more."

The World Health Organisation believes that the 2014 outbreak claimed the lives of nearly 8,000 people worldwide, with the majority of victims coming from Liberia.

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Nintendo UK is removing Game Boy Tetris from the 3DS eShop in 2015

Chris Smith | Gaming | Dec 30, 2014 6:22 PM CST

As confirmed by Nintendo's UK Twitter, the age-old classic Game Boy Tetris will be pulled from the eShop durng the last day of 2014.

This marks the end of an era, with Tetris on the original Game Boy being a title that helped define handheld gaming globally and showcased exactly how exciting and awesome potable devices could be. If you ask anyone about a gaming title they might know, Tetris is always one of the first to mind - a timeless classic that still facilitates global competitions and events being conducted to this very day.

There has been no confirmation from Nintendo America or other regions as to if this game will be pulled from the e-shelves in their respective regions. Some news outlets are speculating that this game was pulled due to Nintendo's recent 3DS release of Ubisoft's Tetris Ultimate. Currently avilable for the bargain price of $3.99, please don't let this news ruin your fun - go and pick yourself up a piece of gaming history. We really hope that Ubisoft isn't at fault for this ordeal, it certainly couldn't do too well in improving the current markets public opinion of the big-name developer.

Continue reading: Nintendo UK is removing Game Boy Tetris from the 3DS eShop in 2015 (full post)

Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta begins alongside pre-order details

Chris Smith | Gaming | Dec 30, 2014 4:33 PM CST

As seen on the official Halo Twitter account, Halo 5's multiplayer beta has been opened up to the public, ending on the 18th of January 2015.

Anyone who has purchased the Halo: The Master Chief Collection automatically should have access to this beta, with the full game set for launch this fall and exclusive to the next-gen Xbox One console.

This sequel is said to continue the story of Master Chief and introduce Spartan Locke, a brand new addition to the series. Once again you'll be fighting against peace-shattering invader aliens, seeing Spartan Locke on a mission to find the somewhat-elusive Master Chief alongside solving a complicated mystery that threatens the entire galaxy.

Continue reading: Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta begins alongside pre-order details (full post)

Xbox 360 deals are running rampant until 2015

Chris Smith | Gaming | Dec 30, 2014 2:37 PM CST

If you're running a previous generation console and are looking for a few cheap titles to place in your collection before the new year rolls around, Xbox are offering up a plethora of deals running right until the clock hits 12:00 am on the 1st of January.

Whether you're interested in FIFA 15 for only $29.99 or Game of Thrones for $2.49, this comprehensive list has games on offer for almost any console fan.

There are a few 'filler' titles on the list, however Microsoft have done a fairly good job of offering up some solid gaming offerings at reasonable prices. If full games aren't you thing however, you can purchase things like the World of Tanks Currency Mega Pack and other similar items.

Continue reading: Xbox 360 deals are running rampant until 2015 (full post)

GGF LANs amazing White Matter ASUS Mark S mod will blow you away

Chris Smith | Modding | Dec 30, 2014 10:36 AM CST

The first word that escaped my mouth when setting eyes on this sponsored build was - "Wow". Stuart Tonks from GGF LAN was been sent some latest-release products from Kingston, ASUS and Coolermaster and told to do his best.

The feature for this case is the (rare) ASUS TUF Sabertooth Z97 Mark S motherboard, sent directly from the tech-giant to Tonks in order to create a build worth showing off to the island national Australia and the globe.

"His best" is this amazing, liquid cooled black-and-white case mod setup affectionately named "White Matter" by the creator himself. The full feature list reads:

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A fan-made mod means Kojima is brought to life in Metal Gear Solid V

Chris Smith | Gaming | Dec 30, 2014 8:22 AM CST

Fan-made mods are simply breathtaking in this age of gaming. We've recently seen things such as the Skyrim Enderal mod adding a whole new game within a game, another Skyrim fan-update offering 4K resolution textures, bug fixes and more and various community made Counter-Strike: Global Offensive competitive maps and add-on's. All of these additions are what help keeps a title active, strong and relevant for months, or years, to come.

Thanks to Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes coming out on PC, some modders have taken to the model of developer Hideo Kojima that is on offer - adding him as the main playable character of the campaign. Thanks to the game engines capabilities, multiple models can be implemented as the main character on offer.

Stay tuned for more game modding news. It seems that we can only go up from here.

Continue reading: A fan-made mod means Kojima is brought to life in Metal Gear Solid V (full post)