New consumer Intel 750 NVMe SSD pops up in UNH-IOL compatibility list

Paul Alcorn | Storage | Feb 2, 2015 2:00 PM CST

UNH-IOL has announced during the third NVM Express Interoperability Plugfest that twelve products were added to the UNH-IOL (University of New Hampshire Interoperability Lab) NVMe 1.1b Integrators List. One item on the list that is sure to interest the enthusiast crowd is the Intel 750 SSD. News of the Intel 750 cropped up in a leaked roadmap, with release of the code-named 'August Ridge' product scheduled for Q4 of 2014. Of course, this time has passed.

There were no details in the leaked roadmap, but now we know that the August Ridge SSDs will feature the NVMe 1.1b interface. It appears, from the leaked roadmap, that the Intel 750 will be available in both the M.2 and 2.5" form factor, and come in capacities of 180, 240, 360, 480, and 600GB. NVMe will provide a low-latency interconnect that will allow Intel to finally break the SATA performance barrier. Even though the proposed release date on the leaked roadmap has passed, the Intel 750 SSD is clearly still on the way to consumers. It appears Intel is close to being the first SSD manufacturer with a consumer NVMe SSD on the market.

Another interesting inclusion is the Intel DC P3700 series of products (evaluated here). These products are already on the market with NVMe 1.1a, and will be upgradeable to offer NVMe 1.1b functionality with a firmware update.

Continue reading: New consumer Intel 750 NVMe SSD pops up in UNH-IOL compatibility list (full post)

Pres. Obama wants $14 billion to boost nation's cybersecurity defenses

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Feb 2, 2015 1:53 PM CST

In an effort to protect federal and private computer assets from cyberattacks, President Barack Obama wants to receive $14 billion in the 2016 fiscal year to put towards cybersecurity. The US government has increasingly called upon defense contractors and the private sector to provide next-generation software and hardware designed to help keep critical infrastructure safer from attack.

As part of his multi-billion-dollar cybersecurity effort, Obama wants to include additional intrusion detection and prevention solutions, along with increased intelligence sharing between the government and private sector.

"Cyber threats targeting the private sector, critical infrastructure and the federal government demonstrate that no sector, network or system is immune to infiltration by those seeking to steal commercial or government secrets and property or perpetrate malicious and disruptive activity," according to a White House summary.

Continue reading: Pres. Obama wants $14 billion to boost nation's cybersecurity defenses (full post)

Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise versions will not be free

Paul Alcorn | IT/Datacenter & Super Computing | Feb 2, 2015 12:18 PM CST

Microsoft pleased the world at large by announcing a free upgrade to Windows 10 for consumers with Windows 7, 8, and 8.1. Unfortunately, Microsoft will not be extending that same offer to enterprise users.

Microsoft has released a statement on the issue, "Windows 7 Enterprise and Windows 8/8.1 Enterprise are not included in the terms of free Windows 10 Upgrade offer we announced last week, given active Software Assurance customers will continue to have rights to upgrade to Windows 10 enterprise offerings outside of this offer - while also benefitting from the full flexibility to deploy Windows 10 using their existing management infrastructure."

Microsoft is releasing a new two-tier enterprise updating feature. The 'Current Branch for Business' feature allows users to defer new updates for 120 days while they are thoroughly tested in client versions of the operating system. The operating system will still receive up-to-date security updates.

Continue reading: Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise versions will not be free (full post)

Microsoft vows to support the Raspberry Pi 2 - offering up Windows 10

Chris Smith | Computer Systems | Feb 2, 2015 4:59 AM CST

Unsure if the Raspberry Pi 2 is for you? Microsoft are putting their might behind this latest product offering - announcing that it's "delivering a version of Windows 10 that supports Raspberry Pi 2."

The 2nd generation of Raspberry Pi offers a more powerful processor and twice as much RAM. Often toted by retro-game emulators worldwide as an optimum product, you could always install versions of Windows on the device, however Microsoft is now working to directly offer up an Operating System tailored for this tiny computer system.

There will be more information released later as to how exactly Microsoft will be supporting the Raspberry Pi 2, with them stating this will come "in the coming months."

Continue reading: Microsoft vows to support the Raspberry Pi 2 - offering up Windows 10 (full post)

Hipster Whale is an example of Indie developing done well

Chris Smith | Software & Apps | Feb 2, 2015 2:28 AM CST

Not quite the next Angry Birds, but Indie developers Hipster Whale have burst into the app scene with a big bang - seeing over 30 million global downloads and topping $1 million in profit since launching their game Crossy Road late last year.

Seeing them officially form only four months ago, Hipster Whale are certainly an indie success story - with ten million of their total downloads occurring in the last fortnight alone, seeing this free game draw in massive profits through in-app purchases and advertising. It's reported that users will pay between $1.29 AU and $3.99 AU to purchase new characters for use alone, alongside the various advertising avenues taking place.

Co-founder Matt Hall said to reporters that "we wanted a game that was influenced by popular culture and crazy. We put a lot of effort into a game that people want to share," further mentioning that they didn't heavily promote or advertise Crossy Road - simply relying on social media networks, user reviews and recommendations to push their product to the masses.

Continue reading: Hipster Whale is an example of Indie developing done well (full post)

UPDATE: CS:GO player GMX claims ScreaM didn't throw the match

Chris Smith | Gaming | Feb 2, 2015 12:53 AM CST

We recently published an article stating that former-Epsilon CS:GO team member Robin "GMX" Stahmer dug up some dirt on his ex-team mates - claiming that they threw a match on purpose in order to win in-game items in a bet against themselves on CSGOLounge.

Stahmer has taken to Facebook, explaining how he believes that his former teammate Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom wasn't involved in the scandal - stating "I did this under anger, and in this act, I forgot to say that my former team mate ScreaM, didn't know about this throw. I've talked a bit with Adil [ScreaM], and in my anger, I forgot he didn't know about it. I don't know yet if they told him about it or not, but I didn't."

Stahmer went on to express his sympathy and regret, stating "I want to apologize toward the community, and toward ScreaM who doesn't deserve all this hate."

Continue reading: UPDATE: CS:GO player GMX claims ScreaM didn't throw the match (full post)

Eiffel 65 would be proud - this CM Silencio case is a blue overload!

Chris Smith | Modding | Feb 1, 2015 11:04 PM CST

We're seeing a massive trend here - yet another Cooler Master modified case jam-packed with Bitspower rigid tubing watercooling goodies.

H²OC Project has just shared their Silencio 652S Edge Mod - now with newly added blue dye in the watercooling and more strips of LED lights.

Supported by Cooler Master, Bitspower and Avexir Memory, this case features four sticks of RAM coupled with a single GTX 780, rigid tubing throughout and custom sleeves on all cables. As you can easily tell by the pictures, blue is the common theme here - with all watercooling and LEDs being blue in color, accentuating all parts of the case whether metal or acrylic.

Continue reading: Eiffel 65 would be proud - this CM Silencio case is a blue overload! (full post)

The British army has employed a whole batallion of Facebook Warriors

Chris Smith | Internet & Websites | Feb 1, 2015 9:58 PM CST

This brings the term "keyboard warrior" to a whole new level. The front lines are most commonly publicized, however what's going on behind closed curtains? Here's an insight - The British Army have just implemented a whole battalion of soldiers described as "Facebook Warriors."

Named as the 77th battalion, this number has some historical background. Claimed by the Financial Times as a "guerrilla unit led by the swashbuckling British commander Major General Orde Wingate, one of the pioneers of modern unconventional warfare. They operated deep behind Japanese lines in Burma between 1942 and 1945 and their missions were often of questionable success."

This new battalion will be responsible for implementing "'reflexive control', an old Soviet tactic of spreading specifically curated information in order to get your opponent to react in the exact way you want them to," as described by Gizmodo.

Continue reading: The British army has employed a whole batallion of Facebook Warriors (full post)

Epsilon suspends its CS:GO team over match-fixing allegation

Chris Smith | Gaming | Feb 1, 2015 7:32 PM CST

Recently there was a massive match-fixing and betting ring scandal that rocked the whole North American and Canadian Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) scene, seeing numerous players and a manager be banned for life from all Valve major events, ESEA tournaments and more.

In recent news, French-based eSports organization Epsilon has suspended their whole CS:GO division pending a current match-fixing investigation.

Their world-class CS:GO squad has been unearthed by former teammate Robin "GMX" Stahmer, with him stating that his old team purposefully lost a match on the ESEA platform against rivals OverGaming in order to profit from weapon skins. These skins were achieved through bets made against themselves on the popular website, CSGOLounge.

Continue reading: Epsilon suspends its CS:GO team over match-fixing allegation (full post)

Microsoft rumored to unveil its first flagship Lumia smartphone in May

Anthony Garreffa | Mobile Devices | Jan 31, 2015 9:32 PM CST

The world has been waiting to see what Microsoft would do with the Devices and Services division of Nokia, but it looks like we'll be waiting a little bit longer to see the fruits of that expensive labor.

According to the latest reports, the first Microsoft-branded Lumia smartphone will be unveiled at Mobile World Congress, which isn't too far away. We're being told that the Lumia 1330 will be unveiled, while the more affordable and mainstream Lumia 830 will also be shown off. These will be the first Microsoft Lumia smartphones, with Windows 10-powered handsets rolling out their own devices later in the year.

We don't know much about the new Lumia smartphones except for the fact that they'll be rumored to sport a "3D-Touch" feature that will let you use your smartphone with your hands, without touching the display itself.

Continue reading: Microsoft rumored to unveil its first flagship Lumia smartphone in May (full post)

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