Google provide some tips on how to use Photo Sphere on Android 4.3

Anthony Garreffa | Software & Apps | Jul 31, 2013 6:29 AM CDT

Google released Android 4.3 into the wild last week, but the latest iteration in their mobile OS includes some improvements to Photo Sphere. Photo Sphere is used to take 360-degree photos, and is quite a nice ability of Android.

The latest software improvements to Photo Sphere in Android 4.3 make it easier to upload and share pictures on Google Maps. Google have taken the how-to a step further by providing a couple of handy tips:

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Paperboy in VR? Oculus Rift and Kinect enable 'Paperdude VR'

How many hours did you put yourself through in Atari's 1984 classic, Paperboy? I know I rode through that game for countless hours, and it looks like I might just do it again with Globacore's new title.

Globacare are a creative technology company who specialize in large multi-touch displays, and have unveiled a new work-in-progress, first-person homage to Paperboy, Paperdude VR. Paperdude VR uses Oculus' VR headset, Rift, as well as Microsoft's motion sensor, Kinect. You can see in the video above that player rides on a stationary bike, attempting to throw newspapers into peoples' mailboxes.

Paperdude VR is a great concept, something that might just keep gamers a bit fitter than they are now. Constantly peddling your bike in a game is sure to keep gamers a bit fitter. The more I see on Oculus Rift, the more I want it.

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Canada reaches for deep space with next-gen robotic arm

Canada's Next-Generation Canadarm (NGC) have developed a new version of their robotic space arm that will help out with space exploration. The program itself is designed to support missions in both low-Earth orbit, and deep space.

The next-gen robotic arm will be used for jobs from repairing communications satellites to helping out on manned missions to the moon, asteroids, Mars, and other vast parts of the universe. Alain Ouellet, the Director of Space Exploration Development at the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) said:

"With the retirement of the space shuttle, a new generation of crewed space exploration vehicles will soon become available. However, these new vehicles are much smaller in size compared to the space shuttle, and therefore there is a need to adapt the robotic arm technology developed for the shuttle and the International Space Station."

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Samsung caught cheating in benchmarks with the Galaxy S4

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is one of the company's best-selling smartphones of all time, and one of the hottest devices on the market right now. This all comes down to how it is perceived in the market, and how reviewers (like myself) and users, talk about the phone.

Well, it looks like AnandTech have donned their detective outfit, and found that Samsung have been tweaking the Galaxy S4 to perform better in benchmarks than it does anything else. AnandTech found that the Galaxy S4 has its GPU limited to 480MHz in most apps and games, but when it comes to benchmark tests such as AnTuTu, GLBenchmark 2.5.1 and Quadrant, it overclocks to 533MHz, giving it a huge advantage.

You'd think the funny business would stop there, but it doesn't. Samsung have also souped up the CPU clock speed in certain benchmarks, where in GLBenchmark 2.5.1, the CPU clock speed is at 1.2GHz, and never drops below that. But in GFXBench 2.7, the GPU clocks between 500Mhz and higher. AnandTech even found a string that shows the Galaxy S4 is hardcoded to specifically perform better in specific applications for benchmark testing with "Quadrant standard, advanced, and professional, linpack (free, not paid), Benchmark Pi, and AnTuTu" being mentioned.

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Sub-$5000 4K-capable TVs are making their way Down Under

Anthony Garreffa | Displays & Projectors | Jul 30, 2013 9:50 PM CDT

Not even two days ago, TCL announced their new 50-inch 4K-capable TV for the US market, costing only $999. Australian's are usually the last market that most companies cater for, but TCL have decided to go Down Under early.

The company have announced the TCL E5691, which is a 65-inch edge-lit LED 4K/UHD TV, for $4999. Expensive, but considering high-end 65-inch 1080p HDTVs are around that price in Australia, you can't complain too much. TCL will be cramming in SMS on Demand, SMH.TV, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other apps into the TV. As for inputs, we have three HDMI inputs, 3D-support, and a USB port that supports Time Shift PVR settings.

The TCL T5691 provides a 4096x2160 resolution, and will upscale HD content to 4K, meaning that your Blu-ray movies will look a little nicer than they usually do. TCL will be releasing other sizes, which has my interest more. We start with the 40-inch for $899, a 46-inch model for $1199, a 50-inch version for $1399 and a non-3D version that comes in 32-inch for $549.

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iBUYPOWER's Valkyrie and Revolt are now available with AMD CPUs

Anthony Garreffa | Computer Systems | Jul 30, 2013 9:29 PM CDT

Earlier today iBUYPOWER unveil their new competition-grade gaming systems that involved a partnership with Computer Logic Gaming, and now they're just announced a partnership with AMD that sees their Valkyrie and Revolt systems powered by AMD CPUs.

First up, the Valkyrie is available with AMD's high-end A10 quad-core CPU and a Radeon HD 8970M GPU with 2GB of GDDR5 memory. The AMD-based Valkyrie systems can be configured with both an SSD and a HDD for the best of both worlds, super-speed and huge storage. iBUYPOWER also decided to offer an AMD option on their Revolt system, where customers can choose an AMD A10-6800K quad-core CPU. This means that the Revolt remains "the industry's leading benchmark in compact, high-performance gaming systems" according to iBUYPOWER.

Darren Su, Vice President of iBUYPOWER has said: "At iBUYPOWER, one of our core strengths is being able to offer customers a wide selection of configurations for any of our systems. Yes, we're about producing the best performing systems, but we also want to answer the call for choice. With new Revolts and Valkryies featuring AMD components, we cater to our customer's needs."

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iBUYPOWER & Computer Logic Gaming unveil competition gaming systems

Charles Gantt | Computer Systems | Jul 30, 2013 5:33 PM CDT

Today, iBUYPOWER and Computer Logic Gaming (CLG) have teamed up to launch several new custom-designed, high-performance gaming systems that are sure to give any gamer the advantage needed when competing in competition level events. iBUYPOWER says that the systems were designed from the ground up and built around the needs of a hardcore competition gamer and that all of the new systems have been tested by teams from iBUYPOWER and CLG to ensure that every aspect of the systems were tweaked to perfection.

The new systems come in three unique configurations and are encased in a "Custom Laser-Etched Chassis" which bears the CLG logo on the case's side panel window. "We've stayed true to our mission since day one of committing to the eSports scene. We want to support and give back to the community," said Darren Su, VP of iBUYPOWER. "CLG told us that fans demanded something competitive and we listened."

Available with up to an Intel Core i7-4770K CPU, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 graphics, 16GB of DDR3-1600 memory, 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD, and sealed-loop liquid-cooling, each of the CLG systems will most definitely plow through any game you chose to throw at it. "I'm a computer enthusiast, and as the owner of CLG, I care a lot about what we put our brand on. The specs to price ratio on the CLG edition iBUYPOWER computers are great, which makes me happy to be working with them," said HotshotGG, Owner of CLG. "Plus, have you seen the custom case designs?"

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Mach Xtreme unveils LX USB 3.0 affordable flash drives

Charles Gantt | Storage | Jul 30, 2013 5:05 PM CDT

Today, Mach Xtreme announced the launch of its new LX series of USB 3.0 compatible flash drives. The MX-LX series is aimed at those who are looking for a fast USB 3.0 thumb drive but still want high-capacity and affordability. Mach Xtreme says that the new flash drives are based on a native USB 3.0 controller chip and implement advanced dual-channel technology.

There is a wide range of high-end USB 3.0 flash drives available on the market. These thumb drives typically carry a relatively high price tag compared to traditional USB 2.0 flash drives. MX-LX series utilizes the latest USB 3.0 specification and delivers blazing fast performance at an extremely competitive and affordable price. MX-LX USB 3.0 flash drive is fully backward compatible with USB 2.0 ports, at USB 2.0 speeds. Its dual-chip design and compact size makes it easy to carry virtually anywhere. The aluminum housing is also extremely durable, making it an ideal upgrade flash drive for users with busy and active lifestyles.

Mach Xtreme says that the LX flash drives reach up to 190MB/s read and 85MB/s write performance and are available in capacities of 8GB all the way up to 64GB. No information on pricing or availability were given at the time of writing, but you can head over to the company's product page (Source #2) for more information on pricing as it becomes available.

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Phanteks unveils PH-F140XP and PH-F140SP series PC cooling fans

Charles Gantt | Cases, Cooling & PSU | Jul 30, 2013 4:04 PM CDT

Today, Phanteks introduced two new lines of PC cooling fans, the PH-F140SP and PH-F140XP series of premium case and radiator fans. The PH-F140SP includes two models, the PH-F140SP_BK and the PH-F140SP_BK_LED, while the PH-F140XP series features a single unit that is designed to work with PWM control for those who want the most out of their system.

The PH-F140XP features a unique Maelstrom concept and PWM functionality for those who need fast speed for performance but wish to turn things down when a more silent approach is justified. This 140mm fan is designed to be used in both stand-alone PC case cooling setups as well as the primary radiator fans on PC liquid cooling setups. The fans are designed to overcome high static pressure, blade deflection, and noise challenges.

The PH-F140SP series is also designed to overcome high static pressure, blade deflection, and noise challenges, but does not feature the PWM functionality that the PH-F140XP series does. The PH-F140SP_BK_LED model features 4 LEDs to help illuminate your high performance machine. Both series feature UFB bearings, pre-installed rubber vibration dampening rubber pads, and the MVB 9-blade design. MSRP on the PH-F140XP is $17.99, while the PH-F140SP_BK and the PH-F140SP_BK_LED run $14.99 and $15.99, respectively. Each fan comes with a 5-year limited warranty.

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Marvel shows ARMADA 1500 Mini SoC, the chip that powers Chromecast

Charles Gantt | CPU, APU & Chipsets | Jul 30, 2013 3:03 PM CDT

Today, Marvel unveiled the new ARMADA 1500 Mini SoC that Google used in its hugely popular Chromecast. Being billed as "Game-Changing," the ARMADA 1500 Mini has been optimized for low-power applications such as TV Dongles like the Google Chromecast. Marvel says that the new chip has been "designed to provide instantaneous and seamless access to applications such as YouTube, Netflix and other cloud-based content, and deliver a ground-breaking multi-screen experience across smart mobile devices, laptops and HDTVs transforming any big screen into a smart and immersive entertainment device."

Weili Dai, President and Co-Founder of Marvell:

I am very excited to see the brilliance of the tiny and beautiful Chromecast. I believe this is truly a game-changing solution to drive the new era of the 'Connected Lifestyle' by enabling easy access to online entertainment for an immersive, interactive multi-screen experience across any smartphone, tablet, laptop and big screen. I am very proud of Google's leadership in driving the ecosystem partners to deliver more powerful and very affordable solutions to serve the world of consumers for better lives. 2013 has been a phenomenal year for bringing online entertainment to TV. I am so thankful for and proud of the joint hard work and innovation by the Marvell team, the Google team and other partners in the ecosystem.

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