Windows Blue (8.1) Will be Free Upgrade

Might we call this their way of saying, "oh sorry, here let me fix that for you".  No real word on what will be different but if the rumors are correct the version 8.1 should feature a start button and ability to boot directly to the desktop.

We can all stop calling Microsoft’s upcoming operating system Windows Blue now that Tami Reller, the CMO and CFO of Microsoft’s Windows Division, confirmed that its official name will be Windows 8.1. 

Confirming what fellow company exec Julie Larson-Green said earlier this month, Reller revealed during JP Morgan’s Technology, Media & Telecom Conference that you’ll be able to download the public preview version of Windows 8.1 by the end of June  – June 26, to be exact – which happens to be right at the beginning of the 2013 Build Developer Conference. Reller is keeping mum when it comes to the system’s actual release date – only hinting that it will be launched some time during or before the holiday season.

Of course the best part is getting this as a free upgrade which kinda takes the sting out of paying $40US for the Upgrade and losing your ability to downgrade.

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Cooler Master N200 Micro ATX Case Launch Day

Rumor is this case has already been available in the Retail channels for a week but today marks the first reviewers can talk about the new design.

Be sure to check out the N200 review on Ninjalane and browse some of the other sites for different perspectives and photo styles.

Web Reviews
- Cooler Master N200 Mini-Tower Case Review @ Hi Tech Legion
- Cooler Master N200 @ LanOC Reviews
- Cooler Master N200 Case Review @ Hardware Secrets

Also be sure to drop by the Ninjalane Forums and Cooler Master website for the latest in reddit free details related to the N200 including how to find the built in dual 120mm fan radiator mount exclusive to owners of the N200.

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Microcool Banchetto K Now Available

In the world of computer hardware testing the unsung hero of those pretty comparison numbers is the "test bench"  Sadly, many of us incorrectly call the entire system a "bench" while the reality is, the hardware holding the motherboard and video card is the bench and without it there would be nothing except sparks and depression.

In the Ninjalane Labs we use broken down computer cases to hold our computer hardware and while this may change in the near future there are some reviewers who are using off the shelf test benches including the super cool Microcool Banchetto.

The new K edition bench is a radical change from the elegant clear designs of the orginial but I like the update.  Everything has its place and the new design makes it easy to swap parts without having to tear everything down.  There are even fan brackets to ensure there is proper airflow over the open air testing platform.

Be sure to check out the Microcool Youtube video and drop by their site for complete bench details.

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ASRock Z77 Extreme11 Intel LGA1155 @ techPowerUp

You won't see much ASRock news around these parts but, when you do it has to be related to something special.  Is the Z77 Extreme11 special?  You might have to check out the review to know for sure.

Fourteen SSDs, quad VGAs, 32 GB of RAM, and 8 threads of high performance Intel horsepower--is that what you are looking for? Look no further as the ASRock Z77 Extreme11 offers all that. ASRock's flagship Intel Z77 Express product, the Z77 Extreme11, does it all and includes an LSI SAS controller for an additional eight SATA ports.

Nick Shih is one of the in-house ASRock overclockers and also one of the top ranked professionals in the industry.  You won't see him in competition all that often but will see his name on the HWBot leader boards quite often.

I will admit I do like the Gold on Black color scheme and only wish the name was more popular in the States.  I guess we can blame Asus for that.

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GIGABYTE G1.Sniper 3 Motherboard Review @ Techgage

We (read: I) reviewed this motherboard back in Aug 2012 and found the board to borderline awesome.  So much in fact that it got the coveted Furious 5 of 5 award and much fan fair in the industry.

The motherboard market is loaded with options targeted squarely at overclockers and the general enthusiast, but finding a board – much less an entire series – dedicated to gamers is difficult. GIGABYTE realized that back in 2011, and thus its G1 series was born. In this article, we’re taking a look at the company’s current Z77 offering, the G1.Sniper 3.

The real thing to consider with this motherboard is how much better it was over the Series 2 edition and does it offer "more" in terms of technology and performance.  Considering the chipset changes and overclocking performance I think the answer is clearly, yes!

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MSI Z77A-GD65 Gaming Motherboard @ PureOverclock

Until the release of Haswell the Z77 is the current technology leader when it comes to the latest and greatest hardware.

On the test bench today we have the MSI Z77A-GD65 Gaming Edition Motherboard for the Intel 1155 socket platform. We have seen the well matured version of the vanilla MSI Z77A-GD65 perform above the average standard and actually received our Editor’s Choice award during its initial release.  The new Gaming Edition has spruced up its aesthetic appeal but that’s not all. MSI has given this board a new set of software and hardware to meet the demands of today’s gamers. Let’s put it to the test and see if it lives up to its predecessor.

The thing that many people fail to realize is that the Z77 was rather similar to the Z68 and unless you considered overclocking performance there was very little reason to upgrade assuming you already had a 2600K.

Maybe MSI has a good reason to ditch the old and welcome the new?

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GTX Titan Sale!! - Kinda

One of our readers saw this on Slickdeals and decided to send it in.  Turns out NCIX is offering up the standard GeForce GTX Titan video card (branded from EVGA) for a grand total of $950US.  Now, before you click away the card comes with free shipping (big bonus) and a copy of the new Metro "Last Night" game title. 

Bundle price is like a grand and change but with this deal you can get the card for way less.

Of course this brings up the question. do you need a GTX Titan to play the latest Metro? and if not are you willing to pay 950 bux to play Metro?

Hummmmmm...

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Fear of 3D-printed guns overblown? - CNet Story

3D Printing weapons isn't about overclocking or high-end gaming but it is technology and something anyone can do now, provided you have an industrial 3D Printer and a copy of the latest design.

The question is, does this deserve the hype it is getting?  Some say no and I tend to agree.

"The government says it wants to review the files for compliance with arms export control laws known as the International Traffic in Arms Regulations," Forbes wrote. "By uploading the weapons files to the Internet and allowing them to be downloaded abroad, the letter implies [Defense Distributed] may have violated those export controls."

That federal government action came a day after Democratic California state Sen. Leland Yee introduced legislation that would ban the technology used to create 3D printed guns, and earlier action by Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) that sought to restrict the manufacture of such weapons. 

This seems reasonable considering that many people forget that the US is one of the few countries that allows anyone to own a firearm and the export laws are designed to keep it that way. 

I'm not really going to follow this story but I find it interesting how quickly things have escalated and based on the photos the design isn't complex so I will expect to see new variations and even more complex designs surfacing in a matter of months.

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US government orders removal of 3D-gun designs

Well this didn't take long.  Per the announcment the first (known) version of a 3D Printed gun has been posted on the Internet and much like Pandoras box, once its opened, it cannot be closed.

The order to remove the blueprints for the plastic gun comes after they were downloaded more than 100,000 times.

The US State Department wrote to the gun's designer, Defense Distributed, suggesting publishing them online may breach arms-control regulations.

Although the files have been removed from the company's Defcad site, it is not clear whether this will stop people accessing the blueprints.

They were being hosted by the Mega online service and may still reside on its servers.

Also, many links to copies of the blueprints have been uploaded to file-sharing site the Pirate Bay, making them widely available. The Pirate Bay has also publicised its links to the files via social news site Reddit suggesting many more people will get hold of the blueprints.

I wouldn't worry too much about reddit, unless it's an animated .gif or a meme people are less inclined to care however, having the file out on torrent sites means anyone can get a copy.

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The Onion tells how Syrian Electronic Army hacked its Twitter

It is not every day that you can say "Pwned by The Onion" but we can say that The Onion got pwned, for being very relaxed in their security procedures.

ArsTechnica has the story.

On Monday, the "hacktivist" group Syrian Electronic Army briefly took over the Twitter account of the satirical news publication The Onion, posting a series of anti-Israeli "joke" stories and an anti-Obama "meme" image. The Onion returned fire with its own joke story, "Syrian Electronic Army Has A Little Fun Before Inevitable Upcoming Death At Hands of Rebels."

Putting all jokes aside, The Onion's technology team yesterday made a post describing how the SEA had managed to compromise the accounts of a number of employees and take control of the Twitter feed-a series of phishing attacks that took advantage of the organization's use of Google Apps.

phishing is one of the leading causes behind identity theft and all it takes is a single person clicking on a bad link to have everything stolen from you.  As you can imagine even emails from trusted sources cannot be trusted since embedded malware can send messages to your entire contact list an even use existing emails as a template. 

Lesson to learn here is to learn how to spot the fake and if all else fails never NEVER click on a link in an email especially when that email is asking you to verify your account information or sending you status updates.  Those URLs are easy to swap in the source code and without peaking at the URL you may never know.

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