Tech News
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Powerful earthquake hits off northeastern Taiwan
Published: Saturday, June 9, 2012 | By: DennisI am fine btw
This is the second time I have been in Taiwan and had a "large" quake hit the island. The first was a long time ago, first time in the country. I was staying at the Grand Hyatt and started feeling the building sway back and forth, as you know tall buildings sway all the time but usually move quite slow. The quake that time was a large one off the coast of Japan that traveled across the ocean floor.
The quake this morning hit around 3am local time and woke me up, total quake time was quite a long and hit struck in two waves. I'm no expert but when an earth quakes are silent, like this one, that usually means there is no real danger of falling debris.
TAIPEI, Taiwan — A powerful earthquake has struck off northeastern Taiwan, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau says the quake registered at magnitude 6.5. It says the tremor was felt throughout the island.
The earthquake struck Sunday morning at sea, about 42 miles (70 kilometers) east of the Taiwanese county of Ilan. Ilan is about 90 miles (150 kilometers) southeast of the capital, Taipei.
Earthquakes frequently rattle Taiwan, but most are minor and cause little or no damage.I usually feel 10 or so small tremors each time I visit Taiwan. They are so small that you can only feel then in the taller buildings and don't even register with the locals.
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Computex 2012 Concludes
Published: Friday, June 8, 2012 | By: DennisA little known fact about Computex is that the event goes on for six days despite the three days of coverage I typically publish. The Monday before the main show is dedicated to press conferences and allows some "well connected" press members to take photos and get their meetings done early. Tuesday through Friday are normal show days allowing people who register for the event to attend. These days are when I get the majority of my Computex work done and the coverage reflects the days I have real meetings. Saturday is also an official show day but they allow anyone to attend by making the show open to the public.
I went to the show on Saturday once and decided never to do that again
. Granted this was back in the early days before the Nangang Expo Center had opened and also when space was at a premium making the hallways extremely narrow. Maybe things are better now.It will take me a couple days to compile the Computex 2012 Booth Babe gallery and go thru the photos I have so stay tuned.
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Phj34r my Lack of N3ws
Published: Monday, June 4, 2012 | By: DennisSorry for obvious lack of news posting but I've been traveling for the past 4 days (long long story) and really had no time to get anything posted.
This week will be all about Computex so look forward to a few Blog posting with the days activities and lots and lots of photos. I was checking some of the various Facebook pages I see that a few sites already posted pre-view photos from the show, all of which look pretty exciting.
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Day 1 Computex Coverage from around the Web
Published: Tuesday, June 5, 2012 | By: DennisComputex is the largest trade show in Asia Pacific and also one of the only shows that is almost entirely dedicated to the PC and other related electronics. You will see consumer electronics but those are by far the minority, most of what you will see at Computex orbits around motherboards, video cards, cases, audio and portable computing.
Here is an actual MiniITX case in the shape of a model train.
Oh and lots and lots of Booth Babes
Actual Coverage
- Asus unveils dual-screen notebook/tablet hybrid @ TR (More can be found at TR)
- Asus deliver the goods @ Kitguru
I'm not sure why some sites are leading off with a booth babe edition but here are a few that showed up in the inbox.Babe Only Coverage?
- Computex Babe Collection @ Ocaholic
- Computex 2012 Booth Babes gallery 1 @ TechwareLabs
- The Ultimate Computex 2012 Booth Babe Collection Day OneThere are still four days to go so stay tuned!
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Max Payne 3 Review @ Techgage
Published: Monday, June 4, 2012 | By: DennisYou know I didn't even know they had a Max Payne 2 oops! It would seems that the Techgage guys really liked the game and wrote up a solid review. Sadly it is a 3rd person style game so that will limit "my" desire to drop some green to play the Payne but that is just my opinion
After a long hiatus, the infamous Max Payne is finally back. But before you think he's been living the good-life since the last time we checked in, think again. Beaten down and lacking any feeling of self-worth, we continue the Payne saga by getting an honest job protecting a wealthy family. What could possibly go wrong?
This is a Steam based game so you can buy online and start playing a half a day later (depending on your internet connection)
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CyberPower Zeus Thunder 2500 SE Ivy Bridge Gaming System Review @ ThinkComputers
Published: Friday, June 1, 2012 | By: DennisSeems like a good system, their review sample came with a Gigabyte Z77 motherboard and Core i7 3770K Ivy Bridge processor. Sadly it does use the NZXT Switch 810 chassis but the gear inside makes up for it.
When it comes to custom system builders one of the biggest names in the business is CyberPower PC. They have systems specifically made for gaming, business, video editing and even students. Today we are checking out one of their latest gaming systems the Zeus Thunder 2500 SE. This system is based off Intel’s latest Ivy Bridge Z77 platform and features an Intel Core i7-3770K processor, GeForce GTX 680 graphics card, 16GB of memory and much more! Did I mention they put all of this hardware in my favorite case so far this year, the NZXT Switch 810? Read on as we take this gaming system for a ride!
Not sure why people like the Switch 810 so much. I have one here and it just screams to me "I am junk". Then again, maybe I'm being too critical and don't need the removable panels to stay in place or have the vents operate.
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Silverstone's Temjin TJ08-E Evolution enclosure @ TR
Published: Wednesday, May 30, 2012 | By: DennisThis might be one of the best MiniATX cases on the market, its compact, expandable and has excellent cooling. We reviewed the Silverstone TJ08-E some months ago and loved it from the start.
Over the years, our tendency has been to review mid- and full-tower enclosures bursting at their riveted seams with fans and features. The occasional small-form-factor case has caught our attention, but other dimensionally challenged boxes have largely gone unnoticed. The winds of change are blowing, however, and today we have something on tap that should be of interest to the less-is-more crowd: a Micro ATX case from Silverstone.
In the US the smaller cases go unnoticed because there is little reason for us to conserve on space, the homes here tend to be larger than the equals in EU and Asia so why bother with the small stuff?
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NL: Revierw Block - Just a few heatsink reviews
Published: Wednesday, May 30, 2012 | By: DennisIt would seem that I have been doing a whole lot of heatsink reviews lately and it pains me to see bad reviews of good coolers along with the opposite.
Heatsink Reviews
- Prolimatech Genesis CPU Cooler Review @ Legit Reviews
- Thermaltake Frio Extreme Cooler @ TechwareLabsLook for our review of the Frio Extreme in the next few days, its one you will want to read.
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16 Intel X79 Socket 2011 motherboards round-up @ Hardware.Info
Published: Wednesday, May 30, 2012 | By: DennisIt isn't uncommon for a hardware site to acquire a large number of motherboard samples, so many in fact that it may not seem possible to review them all in the short window between when the product launches and when other hardware sites get their reviews posted.
Because of this some sites "bank up" their samples and do the reviews required to satisfy the advertisers and leave the rest to a large roundup article posted sometime after the dust settles.
At the end of last year, Intel released its new generation high-end processors under the codename Sandy Bridge-E. The Core i7 3960X and 3930K feature six cores, up to 15 MB L3 cache, a quad channel DDR3 memory controller, and a PCI-Express 3.0 controller with 40 lanes.Our review showed that the new processors ensure Intel's comfortable lead on the CPU market. Since the architecture changed a lot compared to Intel's previous high-end processor, the manufacturer could not avoid creating a new socket and chipset for the Sandy Bridge-E CPUs. That new socket is called Socket 2011, and the chipset has been christened X79.
The new platform has now been around for more than half a year and in that period we have tested a total of 16 motherboards with Intel X79 chipsets. Time for a round up!The list is rather extensive too with a few designs that we have already looked at.
ASRock X79 Extreme4-M
ASRock X79 Extreme9
ASUS P9X79 Pro
ASUS P9X79 Deluxe
ASUS P9X79 WS
ASUS Sabertooth X79
ASUS Rampage IV Extreme
ASUS Rampage IV Formula
ASUS Rampage IV Gene
Foxconn Quantumian 1
Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3
Gigabyte GA-X79-UD5
Gigabyte G1.Assassin 2
Intel DX79SI
MSI X79A-GD65 (8D)
MSI Big Bang XPower IILinks will go to the articles on this site while the main link below will ship you off to Hardware.Info
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The Demise of Guys? Or Shaming the Guy Brain?
Published: Tuesday, May 29, 2012 | By: DennisHere is a fun little article that talks about why guys become addicted to "tech" stuff either it be games, computers or pr0n.
Every compulsive gambler, alcoholic or drug addict will tell you that they want increasingly more of a game or drink or drug in order to get the same quality of buzz.
Video game and porn addictions are different. They are “arousal addictions,” where the attraction is in the novelty, the variety or the surprise factor of the content. Sameness is soon habituated; newness heightens excitement. In traditional drug arousal, conversely, addicts want more of the same cocaine or heroin or favorite food.The same could be said for overclocking, once you get the rush of a good score or addicted to making the most from your points pool you tend to keep going. On the positive these types of addictions are often short lived and easily replaced.
At least for some
