Tech News

• NL: Review Block - Cards Cases and Coolers

  Published: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 | By: Dennis

  New episode of Cards Cases and Coolers.  For this block of reviews we'll be all over the map with reviews from around the globe by all manner of folks.

  Cards
  - Club3D Radeon HD 7870 Joker review
  - MSI GTX 650 Ti Boost Twin Frozr OC @ PureOverclock
  - MSI GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST 2GB Twin Frozr Edition Review @ Hi Tech Legion
  - EVGA GTX 650 Ti Boost SC 2 GB @ techPowerUp
  - ZOTAC GeForce GTX 650 TI Boost Edition at Modders-Inc
  - GTX 650 Ti Boost SLI @ LanOC Reviews
   
  Coolers
  - Scythe ASHURA CPU Cooler Review @ Madshrimps
  
  Cases
  - Corsair Obsidian 900D 'Godzilla' Full Tower PC Case Review @ Legit Reviews
  - Cooler Master Storm Scout 2 Advanced Review @ Hardware Canucks
  - Cooler Master Storm Stryker Case at Modders-Inc

  Be sure to check out our very own MSI GTX 650 Ti Boost review.

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• Microsoft's Windows 8.1: Bring back the Start button and boot to desktop

  Published: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 | By: Dennis

  The hot news of the morning is surrounding a rumor that Windows 8.1 (Blue) will allow you to boot straight to the desktop which also opens up more possibilities that the start button could come back making it more like Windows 7.
  
  I'm not alone in thinking that Windows 7 is by far one of the best operating systems Microsoft has released and had hoped that Windows 8 would have continued down that path.  But, as it would turn out M$ was forward thinking enough to consider the mobile space with Windows 8 but in the process alienated a good majority of their user base.
  
  Booting directly to the desktop is something I had hoped would have been in the initial release and so far there is no guarantee that it will make it to Windows Blue until it is released.  So, we'll just have to wait and see.
  
  

  One of my sources confirmed this is now looking like the plan and added that Microsoft is also considering bringing back the Start button as an option with Windows Blue.
  
  It's not 100 percent sure that either/both of these options will be baked into the final Blue release, which is expected to be released to manufacturing on or around August 2013. I guess we'll have a better indication once the next milestone build, a.k.a. the Blue Preview, leaks - or when the public version of that preview goes live around June.
  
  "Until it ships, anything can change," said my source, who requested anonymity.
  

  WinBeta.org also had a story claiming that Microsoft is working on two operating systems in parallel.  The first being Blue and the second would be a "backup" if Blue goes "Vista".  Or, in this case Windows 9.
  
  As a programmer I know that it is always good to have a backup plan in the works in case things go south, and having two in flight gives you an active codebase to make drastic changes to if the market shifts.  It's an agile coding method and so far seems to work well, especially when it takes a considerable amount of time to build.

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• Attack on WordPress sites could create super BotNet

  Published: Monday, April 15, 2013 | By: Dennis

  One of the biggest fears of using any "off the shelf" software, paid or otherwise, is that someone will find a flaw and exploit it for something that wasn't intended.  As many of us know hackers target the largest install base since you can get the most reward from it and in the web world that starts with servers (Web/Email/FTP,etc) and moves down to software like PHPBB, vBulletin, WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, etc..

  Some of the allure is the fact that these programs are open source giving hackers plenty of ammo for finding security holes but also because much of the web is run using those software peices.

  Security analysts have detected an ongoing attack that uses a huge number of computers from across the Internet to commandeer servers that run the WordPress blogging application.
  
  The unknown people behind the highly distributed attack are using more than 90,000 IP addresses to brute-force crack administrative credentials of vulnerable WordPress systems, researchers from at least three Web hosting services reported. At least one company warned that the attackers may be in the process of building a "botnet" of infected computers that's vastly stronger and more destructive than those available today. That's because the servers have bandwidth connections that are typically tens, hundreds, or even thousands of times faster than botnets made of infected machines in homes and small businesses.
  
  "These larger machines can cause much more damage in DDoS [distributed denial-of-service] attacks because the servers have large network connections and are capable of generating significant amounts of traffic," Matthew Prince, CEO of content delivery network CloudFlare, wrote in a blog post describing the attacks.

  Tasty target indeed.  Be sure to check out the source of the Ars news posting and read some of the replies.  I almost busted up. 

  What is worse is that everything seems to be a big phjear tactic to enable monitoring software.

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• Resident Evil 6 - Too Much Action for Horror? @ Techgage

  Published: Monday, April 15, 2013 | By: Dennis

  I have always been curious about this game but never enough to actually buy it.  Given that it started as a console title may have been part of the issue but after the awards AND the fact there are 6 of them might explain why people are still talking about it.

  Techgage has a quick write-up of the game, check it out.

  The Resident Evil series has been at the forefront of horror games since its first game on the PlayStation in 1996. Does this latest Resident Evil maintain the same level of creativity and bouts of genuine horror, or does it prove that the game has become a follower rather than a leader?

  Oh wait, I remember why I never picked it up.  Its 3rd person see, when I want my horror helpings I prefer them to be "in my face" like Doom 3 and FEAR.

  Omg FEAR was spooky.

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• Iron Man Helment Case Mod at Modders-Inc

  Published: Monday, April 15, 2013 | By: Dennis

  Here is a quick mod featuring the Iron Man helmet from the modern movies. 

  Case Modder Franco “warboy” Martinelli created this tribute to Iron Man. Created from scratch the Iron Man Case Mod was made entirely made by hand, including the helmet.

  I'm not sure what material the helmet is made from but it looks like resin coated construction board that was later covered with fiberglass and painted. 

  Be sure to check it out. 

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• ASUSTOR Announces New Additions to App Central

  Published: Thursday, April 11, 2013 | By: Dennis

  For those of you who aren't into maintaining a "real" PC based fileserver you may want to look at a NAS appliance.  Not only do you get a power efficient storage device but it also can run apps like MySQL, PHP, BitTorrent and others.

  As this press release indicates ASUSTOR has been busy adding even more apps to their download store.

  A series of Usenet download and media streaming tools available from App Central. Apps include SABnzbdplus, Sick Beard, CouchPotato, Headphones, and Subsonic.
  
  Taipei, Taiwan, April 2nd, 2013 – ASUSTOR Inc., a leading innovator and provider of network storage solutions, announced today that it has added a series of Usenet download and media streaming tools to its App Central library. These new Apps include SABnzbdplus, Sick Beard, CouchPotato, Headphones, and Subsonic. All ASUSTOR users are welcome to try out these new Apps as they are available free of charge from ASUSTOR’s App Central. (More…)

  I have run a few NAS devices over the years and finally settled on a PC based server purely for the hardware.  That isn't to say a NAS box won't meet your needs but, in my case I needed more powa!

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• Rules of ASUS Open Overclocking Cup 2013

  Published: Wednesday, April 10, 2013 | By: Dennis

  Now before any of you get super pumped that Asus is hosting an "Open" overclocking competition I must mention.  This competition appears to favor Russian overclockers given the "wildcard" condition stating that the best team from Russia, Ukraine and Kazahstan will get invited.

  Rules are pretty simple and almost mimic MOA 2012.
  1 Processor
  1 GPU (Titan is allowed!)
  follow HWBot rules and use the competition background.

  No suprise on the benchmarks
  SuperPi 32M, 3DMark 11 Performance, 3DMark Fire Strike

  Based on the benchmarks this will be dominated by GPU overclocking and whoever has friends at the Asus factory -or- deep enough pockets to bin for a good Matrix card.

  I do like this rule.

  One team consists of 2 overclockers from the same country. Second teammate must be overclocker too, please share his nickname in comments. Girlfriends are not allowed.

  Pretty sure I know where that rule came from.

  HWBot page is still pending but you can check out the rules on the Asus-open.com website

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• Oculus Rift Development Kit Teardown @ Fix It

  Published: Wednesday, April 10, 2013 | By: Dennis

  Ever wonder what it takes to create a virtual reality system??  As it would seem, there isn't much to it. 

  Fixit has posted a teardown article of the new Oculus Rift and shows you exactly what is inside.  Not to discredit anyone but headset + large digital panel is a given. 

  Let's face it, the year is 2013. Where are our flying cars? Why isn't deep space travel a thing yet? Why hasn't virtual reality become, well, reality? The Oculus Rift seeks to fill that lack of virtual reality in our lives. Still in its early developmental stage, the Oculus Rift promises to deliver VR gaming to the yearning public. Join us as we take a peek inside the Oculus Rift and its hardware.

  I halfway expected there to be two digital panels inside but instead they created two optical chambers using a plastic divider and split the signal before reaching the panel.  Seems like a good way to save some cash.

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• NL: Review Block - Cases Coolers and Input Stuffs

  Published: Monday, April 8, 2013 | By: Dennis

  Here is just a short list of reviews that landed in the Ninjalane inbox.  There is some good stuff in there including a review of the new Cooler Master Seidon 120 and a mouse of unknown orgin.

  Cases, Chassis, Der Boxen
  - In Win G7 Case Review @ Hardware Secrets
  - Cougar Challenger Midi Tower Review @ NikKTech
  - Cooler Master Centurion 6 @ techPowerUp
  - Antec GX700 Case Review @ KitGuru
  
  Coooooolers, Chillers
  - Corsair Hydro Series H110 @ techPowerUp
  - Cooler Master Seidon 120M Review @ Ocaholic
  - Corsair H110 Liquid CPU Cooler Review @ HardwareHeaven
  - Thermalright AXP-100 CPU Cooler Review @ Hardware Secrets
  
  Input Devices, the stuff you touch
  - Ozone Blade Keyboard Review on Technic3D
  - Tesoro Durandal Ultimate G1NL Review @ Ocaholic
  - Func MS-3 Mouse Review  @ Hardware Secrets
  - Cooler Master Storm Trigger w/Green Keyswitches @ LanOC Reviews
  - Func MS-3 Mouse & 1030XL Mouse Mat @ techPowerUp

  Be sure to check out our own reviews, some of them are pretty good

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• CyberPowerPC Fangbook X7-200 Gaming Notebook Review @ Hothardware

  Published: Friday, April 5, 2013 | By: Dennis

  Hey look another review 

  While many full-size gaming rigs are built to elicit oohs and ahs with their stunning looks and high performance, gaming notebooks can sometimes be a little bland. CyberPowerPC has had its share of solid yet non-distinct looking gaming notebooks, but the Fangbook series is a different animal. Built with plenty of alluring hardware and a slick chassis, the Fangbook is also clearly designed to make people stop and ogle.
  
  The Fangbook comes in three iterations--the X7-100, X7-200, and the X7-300--and of course, all three models are completely customizable in terms of specifications and features...

  I really liked the Fangbook, normally I game on a full desktop system, and will continue to do so but now I can game on the road and won't need to lug my desktop around when I hit up the local LAN.

  Be sure to check out the Ninjalane Review of the CyberpowerPC Fangbook

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