Microsoft rumored to launch new Surface Pro 3 on May 20

Shane McGlaun | Mobile Devices, Tablets & Phones | May 12, 2014 8:03 AM CDT

A rumor is making the rounds that Microsoft is set to launch a new version of the Surface Pro tablet on May 20. While the rumor about a new tablet is making the rounds, the latest version of the Surface Pro 2 packing LTE connectivity has finally landed in the UK.

The Surface 2 with LTE isn't exactly cheap in the UK with a price of £539. It's unclear exactly what sort of specs the Surface Pro 3 might pack at this time. The device is expected to put some powerful hardware into a tablet likely with the latest Intel processors and 2K screen resolution.

The rumors also believe that there could be a new Surface mini tablet as well that will be offered as a more affordable alternative to the Pro and RT versions of the tablet that are already on the market. Cheaper tablets are where the big growth is in many parts of the world so this move would make sense for Microsoft.

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There's a MacGyver game coming out on May 21st for iOS and Android

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | May 12, 2014 3:32 AM CDT

There might be some of your reading this who might not even know who MacGyver is, but for those of you that do, you'll be surprised to hear that there's a MacGyver game coming out for iOS and Android.

MacGyver: Deadly Descent hits iOS and Android devices on May 21, developed by Fairplay Media. The game sees: "Mac return to his roots as a young problem solver". The game is set in a "modern environment" where a virus has infected a "top secret" laboratory. You're pitted as the hero that has to save the day using your smarts, most likely a paperclip and some chewing gum.

MacGyver's creator, Lee David Zlotoff was involved in development, where he said: "We're excited to be able to bring MacGyver up to date and into the mobile games market. Games are the perfect way for Mac to start new adventures with both the existing fans and an entirely new global audience as well. I'm looking forward to working with the team at Fairplay and seeing Mac back in action. What's more, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the game will go to support The MacGyver Foundation".

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Britain's drinking water has been contaminated with... cocaine

Anthony Garreffa | Health, Lifestyle & Travel | May 12, 2014 2:05 AM CDT

Cocaine, it's a helluva drug - a drug that is used so copiously in the UK that it has contaminated the drinking water supply. A new report has shown the dangers from pharmaceutical compounds appearing in drinking water, with scientists seeing trace amounts of cocaine in the UK water supply, even after it had gone through intensive purification treatments.

Experts from the Drinking Water Inspectorate found water supplies contained benzoylecgonine, which is the metabolized form of cocaine that appears once it has passed through the body. This is the same compound companies and authorities look for when running drug tests to detect cocaine use. What is worse, is the use of cocaine in Britain, according to Steve Rolles from the drug policy think tank, Transform.

Rolles said: "We have the near highest level of cocaine use in western Europe. It has also been getting cheaper and cheaper at the same time as its use has been going up". According to the charity DrugScope, there are around 180,000 addicted to crack cocaine in England, and close to 700,000 people aged between 16-59 that use the drug every year.

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Iran successfully copies the CIA's RQ-170 drone, test flights soon

Anthony Garreffa | Drones | May 12, 2014 1:31 AM CDT

Back in 2011, the Islamic Republic took down one of the United States' Lockheed Martin Sentinel RQ-170 drones, but between that event and now, Iran has been working on making a copy of the US spy drone, something the country just started showing off.

Iran will be doing some test flights soon, according to officials at the IRGC's Aerospace Exhibition. Iran showcased its reverse-engineered drone next to the original US built on, with the exhibition seeing Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khamenei, state that the Iranian model sports an advanced system of data collection, video and radar telecommunications.

During a broadcast on Iranian TV, an officer said: "Our engineers succeeded in breaking the drone's secrets and copying them. It will soon take a test flight". When Khamenei looked at the drone, he said: "This drone is very important for reconnaissance missions". The United States used its Sentinel RQ-170 UAV during covert operations in Afghanistan from 2005-2007. It was used as it is one UAV that is hard to detect with long range radar thanks to its special stealth coating - making it visible from a distance of around 40km.

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MSI launches its Z97 XPower AC motherboard, aimed at enthusiasts

Anthony Garreffa | Motherboards | May 11, 2014 9:26 PM CDT

During the last week we've seen a variety of motherboards launched using Intel's new Z97 chipset, all before Computex kicks off for another year in June. MSI broke out of the gate with some delicious motherboards, launching its new OC Series of motherboards.

MSI has snapped its Z97 Express-based motherboards into two lines of boards, the Gaming Series and OC Series. The new Gaming Series is priced between $100-$220, offering features that are aimed at gamers with decent overclocks. The OC Series however, is priced at $200-$400 and is geared toward professional and competitive overclockers.

MSI's new OC Series includes the Z97 MPower, Z97 MPower MAX AC, and the Z97 XPower AC. Starting with MSI's flagship motherboard, the Z97 XPower AC, which is made for seriously high-end builds. It features strong CPU and RAM overclocking capabilities, as well as 3- and 4-way GPU setups. We have the PEX8747 bridge chip from the folks at PLX, allowing you to drive four PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots, an an overriding single PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot. When this slot is used, it wires the add-on card directly to the CPU's root complex, bypassing the PLX chip.

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Huawai boss says QHD screens on smartphones are "stupid"

We're beginning to hear more and more about upcoming 2560x1440 panels on smartphones, otherwise as QHD, something we should expect with LG's upcoming flagship smartphone, the G3. The G3 is said to feature a 5.5-inch 538ppi QHD panel.

Huawei, a Chinese manufacturer, doesn't see the point of these high resolution panels. Richard Yu, the Huawei CEO talked with TechRadar at the launch of its new Ascend P7 smartphone about the future of the company, and mobile technology itself. Yu said: "I don't think we need QHD displays on mobiles. Your eyes totally cannot identify between full HD and 2K on a smartphone. You can't distinguish the difference, so it's totally nonsense".

The Huawei executive continued: "We can [put a QHD display on a smartphone], but it's very bad for power consumption and it doesn't offer anything in return. You eyes cannot see the difference, so why should we do that? I think it's a stupid thing".

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Microsoft to unveil Halo 5, Battletoads, and much more at E3 2014

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | May 11, 2014 7:26 PM CDT

E3 is just weeks away, and with Microsoft seemingly lagging behind its competitor in the next-gen console wars, the Xbox maker wants to make a big splash at the biggest game expo, E3.

According to one blogger, Microsoft is set to make some huge announcements at its E3 press conference, which will include Ryse 2, Forza Horizon 2, Halo 5, an anniversary edition of Halo 2, and something most wouldn't expect - Battletoads and Perfect Dark reboots from Rare, Fallout 4, and more. The blogger, Robert MacRawley, says: "This info comes from the highest source and contains near full details of Microsoft E3 2014 conference".

When it comes to multi-platform games, Microsoft will not just be showing off Fallout 4, but the incredible looking The Division, the new Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, an unnamed EA game, and more. We will also reportedly see Epic Games showing off an Xbox One exclusive based off of its beautiful "Samaritan" demo from back in 2012. Not only that, but we should see Gears of War: Lazarus, Fable Legends, Quantum Break, Sunset Overdrive, and another surprise: a new Crackdown game.

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Gamer uses a Logitech G25 steering wheel to play Counter-Strike

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | May 11, 2014 8:34 AM CDT

Someone has given themselves quite the challenge, where a gamer has used nothing but a Logitech G25 steering wheel to play the first-person competitive shooter, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The video is below, but turn your speakers or headphones down before you click play.

He actually does quite well considering there's no mouse and keyboard, or even a gamepad being used. Nothing but an actual Logitech G25 steering wheel to turn, with the buttons on the wheel used for shooting. His gamer tag in the game is actually 'KILLED YOU WITH A WHEEL,' so you'd be pretty pissed if you actually got killed by someone using a steering wheel... in a first-person twitch shooter.

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The Wayback Machine now has over 400 billion indexed websites

Anthony Garreffa | Internet & Websites | May 11, 2014 7:57 AM CDT

Just how many webpages does The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine include? Well, from late 1996, right up until just a few hours ago, over 400 billion indexed webpages sit on its servers. The Internet Archive has celebrated this milestone by providing a list of highlights for The Wayback Machine over the years:

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Self-healing plastic is capable of clotting like blood

Scott White from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been working on something quite incredible: a plastic that is lined with something similar to an artificial vascular system, just like the veins and arteries that see the blood flow through your body, that can repair for larger breaks.

This new system features two different liquids, with the first containing long, thin molecules, and the other with three-sided molecules, in separate channels. Once these fluids mix, a reaction sees them joining together to create a scaffold, which forms a thick gel. Mixing in some other ingredients causes the gel to solidify over a few hours.

Once the plastic is fractured, the vascular system is damaged, with the two liquids pouring out. The liquids mix together, forming a restorative gel. This gel can fill a 4mm hole with 35mm of surrounding cracks within 20 minutes, hardening in a 3-hour span of time. The patch that is created is around 60% as strong as the original plastic, so we're not talking about a complete 100% strength, but this is an incredible feat nonetheless.

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