GIVEAWAY: Patriot Viper Xtreme 5 DDR5, Viper Venom DDR5, and VP4300 2TB SSD

The 'new iPad' was actually Apple's 'Plan B'

We've all seen, read about, heard about, or touched the new iPad, but was this really Apple's best? Not according to Raymond Soneria, CEO of DisplayMate Technologies. Soneria thinks that the new iPad is not the device that Apple originally intended on releasing.

The 'new iPad' was actually Apple's 'Plan B' | TweakTown.com

Soneria said in an interview with CNET that the third-generation iPad was meant to be thinner, featuring a new display from Sharp, which supposedly featured "IGZO" technology. Soneira said:

The plan was to use this new technology called IGZO from Sharp - a lot higher electron mobility that allows them to make the transistors a lot smaller and the circuit elements a lot smaller. There's no question that the iPad 3 is Plan B. They pushed amorphous silicon to a higher [pixels per inch] than anybody else.

Continue reading: The 'new iPad' was actually Apple's 'Plan B' (full post)

Micron the first to announce DDR4 DRAM module, DDR4-2400, DDR4-3200 is on its way

Anthony Garreffa | RAM | May 9, 2012 12:16 AM CDT

Micron have announced that they have begun shipping the very first engineering samples of "fully functional DDR4 DRAM modules" in DIMM form factor to their major customers. Micron expects to have DDR4 ready for mas production by Q4 2012, where fast adoption of the new DDR4 tech will be scooped up by key industry players next year.

Micron the first to announce DDR4 DRAM module, DDR4-2400, DDR4-3200 is on its way | TweakTown.com

DDR4 focuses on reducing power consumption, while at the same time offering a performance increases over DDR3. The memory was developed in conjunction with Taiwan's Nanya, where they've used Micron's 30nm process node.

The new sticks, 4 Gigabit, 512MB DDR4 x 8 memory chip is offering memory densities up to 8GB for a single DIMM. This means we're looking at DDR4 hitting us with systems capable of 32GB of RAM in the mainstream, with 64GB and 128GB hitting up the high-end. Micron plan on making the memory chips with x8, x16, and x32 solder connections, which should reach clocks from 2.4-3.2 billion transfers per second, or "effective GHz" as the memory vendors like to say.

Continue reading: Micron the first to announce DDR4 DRAM module, DDR4-2400, DDR4-3200 is on its way (full post)

Upcoming mobile Ivy Bridge CPU pricing has been unveiled

Anthony Garreffa | CPU, APU & Chipsets | May 8, 2012 10:16 PM CDT

On June 3, Intel plans to launch some cheaper dual-core Ivy Bridge-based CPUs, prices of these new chips will range between $225 and $346. We're also looking at two Core i7 options, the first being the Core i7-3520M which clocks in at 2.9GHz with a turbo frequency of 3.6GHz, 4MB of L3 cache, a 35W TDP and pricing of $346.

Upcoming mobile Ivy Bridge CPU pricing has been unveiled | TweakTown.com

The second Core i7 offering, the Core i7-3667U retains the same L3 cache, but mixes up the clock speed to 2GHz, with a turbo frequency of 3.2GHz, but we have a big change in the TDP, just 17W, it also retains the same $346 pricing.

The three Core i3 offerings are split into 2 options, one of them with a 17W TDP, the remaining two with 35W TDPs. The first one, Core i5-3320M has a clock speed of 2.6GHz, turbo at 3.3GHz, 3MB of L3 cache and a price of $225, the second, Core i5-3360M has a frequency of 2.8GHz, turbo up to 3.5GHz, the same L3 cache amount, but a price of $266. The final Core i5-3427U has a clock speed of 1.8GHz, turbo at 2.8GHz, 3MB L3 cache, and a 17W TDP, its price is set at $225.

Continue reading: Upcoming mobile Ivy Bridge CPU pricing has been unveiled (full post)

Faster Wi-Fi is on its way, 802.11-2012 promises 600Mbps, 3.65-3.7GHz, mesh networking

Anthony Garreffa | Networking | May 8, 2012 9:21 PM CDT

The Wi-Fi (802.11x) has been revised multiple times over the years, where we've seen 802.11b, g, n and smaller changes like 802.11a, but the IEEE standards committee is now looking at a pretty major revision to the standard dubbed 802.11-2012.

Faster Wi-Fi is on its way, 802.11-2012 promises 600Mbps, 3.65-3.7GHz, mesh networking | TweakTown.com

802.11-2012 is said to stand out from the 802.11x crowd by operating within a range of 3.65 and 3.7GHz. At the moment Wi-Fi usually operates at around 2.4GHz or 5GHz frequencies. With the 2.4GHz frequency absolutely saturated by most consumer devices, and 5.8GHz becoming more and more popular, using a new area of the spectrum will give customers not only the change to avoid interference, but a serious injection of speed.

802.11-2012 is expected to hit 600Mbps throughout, with the PHY (physical layer) and MAC (software layer) components of the new wireless standard to be reworked in order to provide that insane speed. These changes will allow allow for new additions such as "mesh" networking, direct-link setup, changes in security, broadcast/multicast/unicast data delivery and additional network management features.

Continue reading: Faster Wi-Fi is on its way, 802.11-2012 promises 600Mbps, 3.65-3.7GHz, mesh networking (full post)

Blizzard prep StarCraft II expansion, 'Heart of the Swarm'

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | May 8, 2012 8:28 PM CDT

Blizzard are set to throw some improvements and long-awaited new features into StarCraft II, all before the release of their first expansion, Heart of the Swarm which is coming later this year. One of the best additions to the game will be the ability to resume multiplayer games from a replay file.

Blizzard prep StarCraft II expansion, 'Heart of the Swarm' | TweakTown.com

StarCraft II requires the Internet to plan, and there have been many games lost due to connections dropping from Battle.net. It may not seem like a big issue, but when there's money involved with tournaments, this can be quite a big deal. Players have been dealing with this issue from day-one, so a resume feature is going to be big, big news for SCII players.

The new replay system has another ace up its sleeve, where it has the feature to allow more than one person to view the same file, a feature that the original StarCraft has, and until now is still missing from its sequel. StarCraft II, like Diablo III, is set to receive Global Play. At the moment, users are restricted to their region which prevents them from playing with friends across the pond. Alternatively, you have to purchase another copy of the game. After the new patch, you won't need to do that anymore.

Continue reading: Blizzard prep StarCraft II expansion, 'Heart of the Swarm' (full post)

Google is set to test its self-driving cars in Nevada after receiving nation's first license

Trace Hagan | Electric Vehicles & Cars | May 8, 2012 6:31 PM CDT

If you see a car with a red license plate and infinity symbol, steer clear as that car is one of Google's self-driving cars driving itself around. Drivers of Nevada will soon be driving through Las Vegas with the likes of cars that no longer need them. Just do Google a favor, don't honk at any cars with said red license plate.

Google is set to test its self-driving cars in Nevada after receiving nation's first license | TweakTown.com

"It gets honked at more often because it's being safe," said Nevada DMV Director Bruce Breslow. But, after proving itself in test drives through Carson City and Las Vegas, the vehicle has received a license to drive itself around, with a few learners restrictions. The vehicle will be required to have two people in it at all times.

One person is required to sit in the drivers seat to take control in case a glitch occurs. The other person is required to monitor a computer screen which displays its planned route and keeps tabs on traffic lights and road hazards. The driver can stop autonomous mode with a push of the brake pedal or a movement of the steering wheel.

Continue reading: Google is set to test its self-driving cars in Nevada after receiving nation's first license (full post)

The Pirate Bay warns against copies of its site which charge for access

Trace Hagan | Internet & Websites | May 8, 2012 5:35 PM CDT

In the wake of a UK court ordering UK ISPs to block access to The Pirate Bay, many sites have popped up as proxies to allow access to the site. The site is actually happy that sites are helping people access The Pirate Bay even when the sites copy its index. However, they aren't so happy when the copy charges users for access.

The Pirate Bay warns against copies of its site which charge for access | TweakTown.com

The idea of charging for access to The Pirate Bay is in direct contradiction to what they stand for. As such, when these copy sites use their index and charge for access, they aren't the happiest website on Earth. "We've noticed at least 3 sites that are tricking users to buying access or similar. We do not condone this behaviour, The Pirate Bay is a free service!" says an official blog post.

So, there are a couple of messages to take away from this. One, beware of illegal torrent sites that are illegally copying blocked illegal torrent sites. Two, if you are behind the blockers, make sure you are using a good proxy to access a free service. "Take care and don't get tricked. There's a war going on. It's the mafiaa against the people. Let's make sure that the people win."

Continue reading: The Pirate Bay warns against copies of its site which charge for access (full post)

EA believes consoles still have potential, promises $80 million in investment for next-gen console game development

Trace Hagan | Business, Financial & Legal | May 8, 2012 4:34 PM CDT

In EA's earning call, it was made clear that the company intends to compete in the next-gen console market and is planning to invest $80 million in next-gen game consoles. This $80 million is only over the fiscal year 2013, so likely most of this money will go towards WiiU games as the WiiU is rumored to release around Christmas this year.

EA believes consoles still have potential, promises $80 million in investment for next-gen console game development | TweakTown.com

"We intend to invest $80 million in gen-4 console development in fiscal 2013," said EA CEO John Riccitiello in his prepared remarks. "We are strong believers that console will return to strong growth, representing great opportunity, one that is in lockstep with our digital plan."

This commitment comes at a time when EA saw, and is predicting, a decline in packaged good sales. At the same time, however, they are expecting to see an increase of 40% in digital revenue for the year. Of course, $80 million wouldn't even cover the development costs of one top AAA title, so it's unclear exactly how many titles will be coming from this investment.

Continue reading: EA believes consoles still have potential, promises $80 million in investment for next-gen console game development (full post)

Two Romanian fortune-tellers allegedly con clients by using Google

Trace Hagan | Business, Financial & Legal | May 8, 2012 3:30 PM CDT

In what I can only call a hilarious turn of events, two of Romania's most renowned fortune-tellers have been accused of using Google, rather than the spirits, to con clients into doing some outlandish things and forking over cash for the services. One client was encouraged to throw her money into a lake to rid herself of her troubles.

Two Romanian fortune-tellers allegedly con clients by using Google | TweakTown.com

With the internet around, it's so much easier for people to collect information on other people. As such, it was just a matter of time before a fortune-teller put it to use. The fortune-tellers are accused of using their Wi-Fi connections to Google clients and their loved ones. I guess that sort of counts, since after all, Wi-Fi is kind of magical.

But, their misdeeds didn't stop there. According to the allegations, the fortune-tellers trawled their clients' social networks and even used electronic surveillance equipment on those who would pay large sums of money. In a bit of irony, these fortune-tellers couldn't foresee their future in that the prosecutor they tried to bribe was also under electronic surveillance.

Continue reading: Two Romanian fortune-tellers allegedly con clients by using Google (full post)

Principal accused of Facebook spying resigns

Trace Hagan | Internet & Websites | May 8, 2012 1:32 PM CDT

Just last week, a British school principal threatened to turn parents of underage Facebook users into Child Protective Services. In yet another story of people in a position of power abusing Facebook, a Missouri high school principal has resigned after being accused of creating a fake Facebook profile and adding her students.

Principal accused of Facebook spying resigns | TweakTown.com

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch claims that a former school quarterback is the one who publicly accused Losos of being behind the profile Suzy Harriston. "Whoever is friends with Suzy Harriston on Facebook needs to drop them. It is the Clayton Principal," Chase Haslett reportedly stated.

While not outright confirming that this is the reason that Ms. Losos has left the post of principal, the district has issued a statement saying they and Losos "had a fundamental dispute concerning the appropriate use of social media." Adding more evidence to the claim, the Post-Dispatch says there is no one in the state of Missouri with the name of the alleged fake Facebook profile.

Continue reading: Principal accused of Facebook spying resigns (full post)

Newsletter Subscription
Latest News
View More News
Latest Reviews
View More Reviews
Latest Articles
View More Articles