Galaxy Tab S 8.4 press renders also leaked, also packs AMOLED display

We've already seen the Galaxy Tab S 10.5 tablet, but now we're seeing the press renders of its smaller sibling, the Galaxy Tab S 8.4. You can tell from the name that it is an 8.4-inch tablet, that continues the style of the Galaxy S5 smartphone from Samsung.

There's already the Galaxy Tab 4 series on sale, but these new Galaxy Tab S tablets are Samsung's new premium line of slates, sporting the company's AMOLED displays versus the LCD panels in previous tablets. We can see the perforated faux leather texturing on the rear of the Galaxy Tab S 8.4, something that is found on the Galaxy S5 smartphone.

We should also see the fingerprint sensor make its way over from Samsung's flagship handset, and you'll also notice there are two circles on the right edge of the Galaxy Tab S 8.4, which are reportedly for a new Book Cover type of flip cover for the slate.

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ASUS rebels against Intel, adds Devil Canyon support to Z87 boards

Anthony Garreffa | Motherboards | Jun 1, 2014 7:32 PM CDT

Intel's Devil's Canyon CPUs are the next thing to be excited about, but most thought they would require an upgraded motherboard for the new CPUs to work - an upgrade to Z97. Well, that isn't the case for ASUS at least.

ASUS has pushed back at Intel, providing support for Devil's Canyon-based CPUs on its Z87 motherboards - something that was posted on the XtremeSystems forums. The post says: "Most, if not all of their Z87 boards have received a BIOS update allowing the use of Intel's devil canyon processors. This is also backed up on their Cpu support lists".

This is a good thing for owners of Z87-based motherboards who were waiting on the new CPUs, or would like to upgrade to the new CPUs, without having to upgrade to a new motherboard, too. Especially when you may have plunked down $400+ on a high-end board.

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Watch Dogs woes: you'd better have 2GB of VRAM or more

Watch Dogs has launched, but definitely not without its fair share of problems. When it comes to recommended hardware for Ubisoft's open-world hacking extravaganza, it recommends a GPU with at least 2GB of VRAM - but this might change in the future, according to Watch Dogs' Technical Director, Sebastien Viard.

Viard tweeted: "Our PC progs are ... currently working on a patch to improve your experience thanks to your reports, stay tuned". There's no ETA on the patch, so we could be weeks or months away from it yet. The question now is, why does Watch Dogs have so many issues on PCs, when Dominic Guay, Senior Producer on Watch Dogs talked about the game, he said: "we chose the PC as our first target to have when we started developing Watch Dogs, so that we would have the flexibility to adapt to a different platform".

Now we have Viard chiming in, saying: "Watch Dogs can use 3+ GB of RAM on new-generation consoles for graphics, your PC GPU needs enough VRAM for ultra options due to the lack of unified memory". If Watch Dogs was developed on the PC first, it's a bit of a problem that there are so many issues with it so far.

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Intel rumored to show off Broadwell-based 2-in-1 device at Computex

Computex 2014: Computex is about to kick off here in Taipei, with the latest rumor that Intel will show off a new Broadwell-based 2-in-1 device at the trade show. The new device will be a laptop-tablet hybrid, based on its next-generation processor - something the company delayed not too long ago.

Why should you be excited about Broadwell? Intel's new processor will reportedly be 30% more power efficient when compared to their Haswell-based counterparts, and it will also feature better graphics. The desktop side of Broadwell will deliver DDR4 technology, and new graphics cores. Right now, we've only heard about a single Broadwell-based processor, so it'll be interesting to see what materializes over the next couple of days at Computex.

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Psy's 'Gangnam Style' video hits 2 billion views on YouTube

Michael Hatamoto | Internet & Websites | May 31, 2014 1:28 PM CDT

South Korean singer Psy's popular "Gangnam Style" music video became the first video to reach 2 billion views, as it instantly went viral after being posted online in July 2012. "Gangnam Style" has held the most viewed YouTube video for quite some time, also becoming the first video to eclipse the 1 billion-view mark.

Psy's "Gentleman" music video holds the record for most video views in a single day, picking up 38 million in less than 24 hours.

"2 billion views... they are very honorable and very burdensome numbers," Psy said in a statement. "With appreciation, I will come back soon with more joyful contents!"

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Samsung working with Oculus VR on VR headset for media

We already know that Samsung is set to release its own VR headset, but now Engadget is reporting that Oculus VR is working with the South Korean electronics giant on a media-focused virtual reality headset.

Oculus VR will work on the software side of the headset, while Samsung builds the hardware. Oculus will be handing over early access to its mobile software development kit to Samsung, while it will also help with the user interface software. In exchange, Samsung will give Oculus VR early access to its next-gen OLED screens.

The deal is an interesting one, as it will propel Samsung into the VR market much quicker - and ahead of its competitors' devices, without pouring millions into R&D. Where this device will be different, is that it will use your smartphone, where it will plug into your smartphone. Samsung's upcoming VR headset won't sport its own display, instead your smartphone becomes the display.

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ASUS reminds us that 4K monitors with 120Hz are still 1-2 years away

Anthony Garreffa | Displays & Projectors | May 31, 2014 5:31 AM CDT

Now that 4K monitors are being pushed heavily, the next question is, when will we see 120Hz-capable 4K monitors? Well, according to some ASUS engineers, this won't happen for another 1-2 years.

What is stopping it from happening right now is the display connectivity, for 4K at 120Hz to happen, we need DisplayPort 1.3 to be finalized. ASUS said: "4K at 120Hz (or 8K at 60Hz) will require DisplayPort 1.3 (which is not a finalised spec yet), and we estimate 1-2 years before there is the DP 1.3 spec, GPU support, and a scalar chip for the LCD electronics that could support this. HDMI 2.0 is only good for 4K at 60Hz".

Not only that, but driving your games at 3840x2160 at 120FPS is going to be an incredible feat for your GPUs. You're going to really need four-way GPUs to get there, so you'd be opting for some very expensive video cards. I still can't wait for silky smooth 4K displays.

Continue reading: ASUS reminds us that 4K monitors with 120Hz are still 1-2 years away (full post)

Apple iOS 7 market share approaches 90 percent for iPhone owners

A few days away from its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), Apple iOS 7 reaches almost 90 percent of iPhone market share in North America, according to online advertising firm Chitika. There was significant iOS 7 usage share growth for both the iPhone and iPads - with iOS 7 also capturing nearly 85 percent of the iPad market.

Here is what Chitika said in its blog post: "For some additional historical perspective, when Chitika Insights examined iOS version distribution prior to WWDC 2013, iOS 6 represented 92.7% of iPhone Web traffic, while this percentage was 82.9% for iPads. At that time and for this most recent report, the last major iOS version had been released for slightly over eight months during the dates studied."

Apple is expected to unveil iOS 8 on Monday during its WWDC event, but the OS probably wouldn't be available until later this year.

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After Heartbleed, 'Cupid' could hit Wi-Fi routers & Android devices

Tamlin Magee | Hacking, Security & Privacy | May 30, 2014 7:27 PM CDT

Weeks after it became evident Heartbleed was one of the biggest security threats to the internet ever, one security researcher has released a proof of concept that could deploy the same vulnerability over Wi-Fi.

Luis Grangeia has called his concept 'Cupid', and it would operate in a similar way to Heartbleed. But rather than being hidden on the web, it would run over Wi-Fi and take data from routers or Android devices. Android Jelly Bean 4.1.1 devices are particularly vulnerable.

There's not quite cause for panic over this vulnerability just yet, as although there's a proof of concept the attack would have to be carried out over Wi-Fi range, which would limit potential targets, the Verge reports.

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UK PM's adviser urges Google to do more to curb online piracy

Tamlin Magee | Internet & Websites | May 30, 2014 7:14 PM CDT

The British Prime Minister's intellectual property adviser has said Google should do more to curb online piracy, and has urged the search giant to lead the charge in curbing the trend.

In a new report, member of parliament Mike Weatherley suggested it is up to search engines to take the fight to copyright theft, putting the indomitable market leader Google in the crosshairs.

His recommendations, the Guardian reports, will be presented to British business secretary Vince Cable - and one idea is to stop advertising cashflow for websites that appear to be making a profit on piracy.

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