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Phanteks ditches cables for Revolt PSU, adds two more NV cases at Computex 2023
Phanteks is a company I don't have much experience with but have always heard good things. So I wanted to see what they had to offer during our trip to Taipei, Taiwan for Computex 2023.
The first thing that Phanteks showed off was the new Revolt ATX 3.0 PSU they are releasing. Now coming in 1000, 1200, and 1600w flavors. Also what is new is that the Revolt will not ship with any cables other than the main power cable. This is because Phanteks has partnered with CableMod to offer only the cables that their target consumer would want, meaning you don't have a bunch of cable sets in a box that you paid for and are not using. Phanteks also has PSU sets for sale on their website as well.
Next up, Phanteks is releasing its Glacier One AIOs with their new D30 30mm fans. Available in white or black colors.
Antec shows off its new goodies at Computex 2023 including prototype mATX case
Antec is another company I always get excited about visiting. Having reviewed quite a bit of Antec products in the past, we wanted to see what they had to offer during our trip to Taipei, Taiwan for Computex 2023. In the image above, you will notice the Performance FT 1 case that we had previously reviewed, and loved. Antec is releasing a white version soon with ARGB fans and lighting, as well as one without. Available in Q3 2023, price of about $159.99 US.
The Cannon, while not new, was on display with a really high-end Intel build, complete with a custom hardline water-cooling loop.
The NeoEco line is getting a few more ATX 3.0 PSUs added to the product line, the NE850G M, NE1000G M, and the NE1300G M. All NeoEco PSUs come with a 10-year warranty and are 80 Plus Gold rated. A single 12VHPWR connector is also present on every model in the NeoEco series of PSUs. Available July 2023.
Apple just brought FaceTime to your TV with tvOS 17
Now that the WWDC 2023 opening keynote is over we can all take stock of what was just announced - and there's one tvOS 17 feature that is particularly interesting - support for FaceTime.
FaceTime has long been the go-to video calling option for iPhone, iPad, and Mac users but the Apple TV hasn't been able to get in on the act. The lack of a built-in camera is obviously an issue, but with the Mac able to use an iPhone as a webcam via Continuity Camera it was only a matter of time before the Apple TV was able to make use of the same feature. With tvOS 17, that time is now.
Apple announced the new FaceTime support as part of the larger tvOS 17 update, but the biggest change is certainly the video calling feature. Apple says that people will be able to start a call on something like an iPad or an iPhone and then seamlessly switch to the Apple TV when they want to take the call to the big screen.
Continue reading: Apple just brought FaceTime to your TV with tvOS 17 (full post)
The M2 Ultra Mac Studio is here with cores galore
A relatively late addition to the WWDC 2023 rumor mill was the arrival of an updated Mac Studio and it turns out that the rumors were spot on. Apple has now announced the new Mac Studio powered by the M2 Max and an all-new M2 Ultra.
The new Mac Studio was joined by the first Apple silicon Mac Pro and a new 15-inch MacBook Air in the new-Mac section of the WWDC 2023 opening keynote. And it's set to become a popular option for people who need Mac Pro levels of power but don't need the expansion options that the high-end machine affords.
The new Mac Studio looks identical to the old model and comes with M2 Max and M2 Ultra options. The former comes with a 12-core CPU and up to a 38-core GPU configuration that maxes out at 96GB of unified memory with 400GB/s bandwidth.
Continue reading: The M2 Ultra Mac Studio is here with cores galore (full post)
Apple's Mac Pro finally ditches Intel for super-fast silicon
Apple has finally announced a new Apple silicon Mac Pro, its first since the transition away from Intel chips began in June 2020. That transition was supposed to take two years, and for the most part, it did. But the Mac Pro was the last holdout - and now it's finally been refreshed.
The very first Mac Pro to be powered by Apple silicon was announced during the WWDC 2023 opening keynote on June 5, and it's set to be quite the powerhouse.
Apple's new Mac Pro is powered by the equally-new M2 Ultra chip, complete with support for PCIe expansion - something that the Mac Studio couldn't offer than to the smaller, sealed form factor. That expandability is a key part of what makes the Mac Pro a big deal for specific workflows, particularly those that require dedicated expansion or acceleration cards.
Continue reading: Apple's Mac Pro finally ditches Intel for super-fast silicon (full post)
Apple's 15-inch MacBook Air confirmed at WWDC 2023
All the rumors were true - Apple has now announced its biggest-ever MacBook Air at the company's WWDC 2023 opening keynote. The new 15-inch MacBook Air is set to be available in four colors, while Apple also confirmed that the 13-inch MacBook Air is getting cheaper.
The new 15-inch MacBook Air will start at $1299, Apple confirmed via press release. The news means that the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air is now set to sell for $1099 while the M1 13-inch MacBook Air will retail for under $1000, but only just - it can be yours for $999.
The brand-new 15-inch model will be available in midnight, starlight, silver, and space gray with Apple noting that its 15.3-inch display can provide one billion colors and 500 nits of brightness. That's 25% brighter than a comparable PC laptop, we're told.
Continue reading: Apple's 15-inch MacBook Air confirmed at WWDC 2023 (full post)
Ken Levine reveals why he stopped making BioShock games: 'I trapped myself'
BioShock creator Ken Levine reveals why he left the franchise and started working on Judas, his new shooter.
In a recent interview with the Sacred Symbols podcast, BioShock visionary Ken Levine gave key insight as to why he decided to leave the series behind. Levine highlights the compounding stress of major success and how developers and creatives are pressured to continually push out big hits that one-up their previous games.
After BioShock Infinite, which Levine says he wanted to be Irrational's own blockbuster version of Call of Duty, the creator essentially felt trapped by his creations. Levine didn't want to feel like he had to compete against himself and up the ante each time, so he chose to work on a different game--one that took many, many years before it was revealed.
Hideo Kojima impressed with Apple's gaming tech, will bring future games to Mac
Today Apple and Hideo Kojima announced that Death Stranding Director's Cut is coming to the Mac in 2023, and Kojima also plans to bring future games to the platform as well.
Apple is mostly known for productivity and not gaming, but the introduction of its new Metal 3 tech has attracted some developers to release newer titles on Mac, including Capcom with Resident Evil Village. Now Kojima Productions is bringing Death Stranding to Mac.
Apple's latest WWDC 2023 showcase highlighted a new feature called Game Mode that's coming to Macs this year. Game Mode optimizes and prioritizes CPU and GPU to help streamline frame rates, while also reducing controller input latency by doubling Bluetooth sampling rates. Apple also announced a new Metal game porting toolkit that makes it "even easier for developers to port their games from other platforms" through simpler conversion processes.
Apple Vision Pro: No controllers, $3499, coming in 2024
Apple's new AR headset is called the Vision Pro, and pre-orders start in 2024 for $3,499.
Today Apple announced its new spatial computing platform with the Apple Vision Pro, a headset that aims to revolutionize the worlds of productivity and entertainment. Unlike other headsets, the Vision Pro has no external inputs like controllers and remotes. Instead, the Vision Pro relies solely on your eyes, voice, and hand gestures to navigate, create, and use applications.
The Vision Pro has seamless pass-through so that wearers can always see the real-world around them, and can display apps, movies, and games on digital screens. Apps can be launched in layered formats and three-dimensional objects can sit in front of or behind the digital screens.
Continue reading: Apple Vision Pro: No controllers, $3499, coming in 2024 (full post)
Fallout 2 originally had a Library of Alexandria run by wasteland monks
Tim Cain, the lead programmer of the original Fallout cRPG from the 1990s, gives rare insight into the content that didn't make it into the final games.
Just because a game is out in stores doesn't mean it's complete. Games are actually never complete, and developers typically shave off significant amounts of content from a dev build to make things fit into a finalized version. That was also the case with the first Fallout games.
So what kinds of things were left on the cutting room floor in Fallout? In a recent video, Tim Cain outlines some interesting concepts, stories, and features that didn't miss the axe. One piece of content was a kind of Library of Alexandria for the wasteland that was based on Walter Miller's classic dystopian novel A Canticle for Leibowitz.
Elon Musk reveals Twitter has discovered a hidden layer of 'censorship'
During an interview with The Babylon Bee at Twitter headquarters, Elon Musk has discussed censorship by private companies such as Google and if new laws should be introduced that protect users from private companies censoring their users.
The Babylon Bee asked the SpaceX and Tesla CEO if he believes there needs to be new laws introduced to protect users from private companies looking to censor their freedom of speech. These laws would be similar to how the first amendment protects citizens from the government censoring speech. Musk began by explaining that a lot of censorship takes place that many people aren't aware of and that most of this censorship is happening at Facebook and Google.
Musk replied to the question by saying that he believes that it would be "good" if all social media companies were forced to open source their algorithms, as that would reveal to the public what the company is/isn't suppressing and would prevent companies from secretly suppressing pieces of content.
Apple might finally ditch this one Siri annoyance at WWDC 2023
Apple's WWDC 2023 opening keynote is now just a matter of hours away and there are plenty of rumors that point to what the company plans to announce. We've seen various rumors relating to the hotly-anticipated Reality Pro headset, but there might be a free upgrade coming for hardware that we already have.
That upgrade could make Siri much easier to use, especially if you're someone who finds that you have to get the digital assistant's attention using the "Hey Siri" command a lot. Because that command might finally be going away.
That doesn't mean that you won't be able to get Siri to respond without pressing a button or anything else so draconian, however. Instead, it now appears that Apple is finally ready to shorten that wake phrase - choosing to simply go with a quick "Siri" instead.
Continue reading: Apple might finally ditch this one Siri annoyance at WWDC 2023 (full post)
NASA's Webb peers into the heart of distant galaxy revealing its secrets
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) continues to shock scientists and astronomers with the incredible science the observatory can conduct from its vantage point of 1 million miles away from Earth at what is called the second Lagrange point.
NASA intentionally sent Webb to Lagrange Point 2 for a few different coinciding reasons. This position in space enables Webb to stay in line with Earth as it orbits the Sun while also giving it the ability to see further into space than any other telescope. Since arriving at its destination, Webb has been conducting cutting-edge science, and according to a newly released image on the European Space Agency (ESA) website, Webb isn't by any means slowing down its scientific escapade as it has recently imaged a barred spiral galaxy dubbed NGC 5068.
The ESA explains on its website that Webb's image showcases the bright long tendrils of gas and stars of NGC 5068, which is located approximately 17 million light years away from Earth within the constellation Virgo. To give a perspective of just how big 17 million light-years is, the Milky Way's neighborhood of galaxies is called the Local Group and is approximately 5 million light-years away, which puts NGC 5068 well out of our galactic neighborhood.
Elon Musk on AI: the good news about Russian roulette is 5 barrels aren't loaded
Twitter owner, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has sat down for an interview where he discusses various topics, such as the potential risks to the downfall of civilization.
Stemming off of a conversation about how Twitter will continue to hold freedom of speech and democracy as the company's highest virtue in hopes of creating a future that everyone can look forward to, Musk explained that civilization as a whole is much more fragile than what most people think. According to the Twitter owner, if one were to study the rise and fall of civilizations across history, one would derive that civilizations can rise and fall, and in particular, fall, quite quickly. Adding, that during a civilizations peak they aren't thinking about how they will fall.
Continuing off that sentiment, Musk was asked how long he thinks current human civilization has left, which led into the SpaceX CEO beginning to list factors that impact the overall longevity of the human race. Musk began by saying, "well, I am seeing a lot of late-stage civilization vibes these days", adding, "there are so many wildcards." Musk says that in the short term, human civilization will need to battle the financial crisis, geopolitical wildcards, specifically with Ukraine and Taiwan, and the holy grail of potential massive problems, artificial intelligence (AI).
Elon Musk says Twitter lost $40 million over advertisers being Community Noted
SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has sat down for an interview with Babylon Bee at Twitter headquarters to discuss Musk's rollercoaster takeover of the company and what the future looks like with the world's second-largest social media platform.
Before Musk acquired Twitter back in October 2022, the tech billionaire had discussed throughout multiple interviews the importance of having a social media platform committed to free speech, and he has continued expressing the same sentiment after he completed the takeover of Twitter. Musk still stands by this concept of Twitter being a place users can freely express themselves within the parameters of the law, and throughout his interview with the Babylon Bee, the Twitter owner said this value will remain paramount.
The Babylon Bee recounted a previous Musk interview where Musk said that "I want to speak my mind, even if it costs me something," which refers to Musk's belief that the right to freedom of speech should always be available, even if it costs the user, or ultimately Twitter through the loss of advertising revenue. Musk responded by recounting a recent loss of $40 million, which he says can be attributed to the new Community Notes feature, which enables Twitter users to add informed context to potentially misleading tweets collaboratively.
Top 3 case mods spotted at Computex 2023 includes an Alien facehugger
While there were plenty of interesting announcements from various companies at Computex 2023, the case mods were one of the biggest attractions in terms of eye candy.
The Computex 2023 showroom floor was littered with case mods from modders all around the world. I was lucky enough to be on the showroom floor, and as I met up with companies to discuss their new products, my eyes were constantly being drawn to the impressive designs case modders came up with.
Within this article, I will provide images of my personal favorites I spotted through my three days wandering around the two showroom floors.
Continue reading: Top 3 case mods spotted at Computex 2023 includes an Alien facehugger (full post)
Been waiting for a new be quiet! case? New designs shown at Computex Taipei 2023
bequiet! Is a company I always get excited about visiting, this time I even was offered a beer before we started the booth tour, so I couldn't pass that up. Having reviewed be quiet! products in the past, we wanted to see what they had to offer during our trip to Taipei, Taiwan for Computex 2023.
The Dark Base Pro 901 is the successor to the greatly renowned Dark Base 900, this time with improvements in aRGB, 5.24" drive support, with pre-installed Silent Wings 4 fans, along with many other new features.
The Dark Base 701 is aimed at builders who want some style and flair. The open mesh design for high airflow and performance. Includes three pre-installed Silent Wings and 4 140mm PWM fans. An integrated fan controller with a PWM motherboard sync option is also included. PWM and an RGB hub for up to eight fans and two aRGB components. RGB lighting with an integrated RGB controller for a stunning look. The motherboard tray has an inverted layout if desired. Tempered glass side panel to allow a superb view of system components. Available in black or white.
Montech shows several ATX cases, a CPU cooler and a new PSU at Computex 2023
Montech is a newcomer when it comes to Computex, but having reviewed a few Montech products we wanted to see what they had to offer during our trip to Taipei, Taiwan for Computex 2023.
The King 95 can accommodate two 360mm radiators while having support for a single 280mm radiator on the side.
Available November 2023, $109 - $159.
Why Fallout creator Tim Cain left Interplay: Pay disputes, burn out, and crunch
Fallout co-creator Tim Cain reveals why he left Interplay back in the late-1990s.
Gaming was a lot different back in the 90s. That goes double for PC gaming, which was dominated by big-box titles that were as groundbreaking as they were irreverent. The original Fallout was one such game; with its humor, deep mechanics, and a gritty style augmented by an isometric view, Fallout was one such game that helped solidify the cRPG market.
TIm Cain, who co-created the Fallout series, was significantly influential to the PC gaming scene and the Fallout brand as a whole. Cain had left Interplay back in 1998 due to a myriad of reasons, and in a recent YouTube video, the legendary game developer tells his story on why exactly he departed the studio.
Mobile leads Take-Two revenues, physical sales made less than 5% of earnings
The $12.7 billion merger with Zynga has pushed mobile as the lead revenue-generating platform for publisher Take-Two Interactive.
Take-Two Interactive is mostly known for delivering mega franchises like Grand Theft Auto, NBA 2K, Red Dead, and Borderlands. However, following its mega-merger with Zynga in May 2022, mobile gaming quickly conquered the business in terms of earnings. The company's annual 2023 SEC filings give an important look at Take-Two Interactive's current place in the industry and it's growth-oriented trajectory.
According to the filings, recognition of Zynga's earnings boosted TTWO's Fiscal Year 2023 earnings by $1.845 billion year-over-year, leading to a total of $5.349 billion in net revenue earned during the year. Zynga made up 40% of total company revenues and its stable of popular free-to-play games pulled in $2.159 billion, helping offset over $300 million reduction in GTA earnings and over $71 million drop in Borderlands franchise revenues.





















