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Submission + - Modder Hacks Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO Client, Changes In-Game Data (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: When Star Wars: The Old Republic made news in September, it was for announcing that one of the mythos' most enduring antiheroes, the onetime Sith Lord Revan, would be making an appearance in the MMO. Now, a new bug could wipe some of that goodwill off the map. Modder and TOR enthusiast SWTorMiner has created a video that shows him fixing a simple visual bug (introduced in one of the recent game patches) to make a character's eyewear render properly. SWTorMiner doesn't claim to have discovered the bug himself, but he's drawing attention to it precisely because it allows for much larger hacks than just replacing a bit of cosmetic detail. In theory, this same exploit could be used to allow access to areas of the game that are currently locked out, either because previous bosses haven't yet been killed, or because PvP battlegrounds are still in warm-up periods. These are the kinds of problems that can rapidly balloon and challenge the fundamental nature of the game.

Submission + - Lost Opportunity? Windows 10 Has The Same Minimum PC Requirements As Vista (hothardware.com) 1

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: Buried in the details of Microsoft's technical preview for Windows 10 is a bit of a footnote concerning the operating system's requirements. Windows 10 will have exactly the same requirements as Windows 8.1, which had the same requirements as Windows 8, which stuck to Windows 7 specs, which was the same as Windows Vista. At this point, it's something we take for granted with future Windows release. As the years roll by, you can't help wondering what we're actually giving up in exchange for holding the minimum system spec at a single-core 1GHz, 32-bit chip with just 1GB of RAM. The average smartphone is more powerful than this these days. For decades, the standard argument has been that Microsoft had to continue supporting ancient operating systems and old configurations, ignoring the fact that the company did its most cutting-edge work when it was willing to kill off its previous products in fairly short order. what would Windows look like if Microsoft at least mandated a dual-core product? What if DX10 — a feature set that virtually every video card today supports, according to Valve's Steam Hardware Survey, became the minimum standard, at least on the x86 side of the equation? How much better might the final product be if Microsoft put less effort into validating ancient hardware and kicked those specs upwards, just a notch or two?

Submission + - Micron Launches First SSD Based On 16nm NAND Flash (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: Samsung made some waves earlier this year with the introduction of its 850 Pro family of solid state drives and the first commercial use of 3D stacked NAND Flash memory. Micron is striking back today with a lower manufacturing process geometry in conventional NAND, however, and a new Flash technology it claims, will accelerate performance more effectively than other competing solutions. The new Micron M600 family of solid state drives will launch at capacities ranging from 128GB to 1TB across multiple form factors including 2.5-inch SATA drives, mSATA, and the PCIe-capable M.2 platform. The M600 uses Micron's newest 16nm TLC NAND, which allows the drive to hit a better cost-per-GiB than previous generation drives. The drives are built around the Marvell 88SS9189 SATA 6Gbs controller, which has been used by a variety of other SSD manufacturers as well. The M600 family of solid state drives performed relatively well throughout a battery of tests, though it couldn't quite catch Samsung's 850 Pro. Pricing for the M600 reportedly will be competitive at approximately $.45 — $.55 per GiB.

Submission + - Nixie Wearable Drone Camera Flies Off Your Wrist To Capture The Moment (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: Over the past couple of years, drones have become popular enough to the point where a new release doesn't excite most people. But Nixie is different. It's a drone that you wear, like a bracelet. Whenever you need to let it soar, you give it a command to unwrap, power it up, and let it go. From the consumer standpoint, the most popular use for drones is to capture some amazing footage. But what if you want to be in that footage? That's where Nixie comes in. After "setting your camera free", the drone soars around you, keeping you in its frame.Nixie is powered by Intel's Edison kit, which is both small enough and affordable enough to fit inside such a small device.

Comment Re:$799 for a 4K 28" panel is a PREMIUM price??? (Score 1) 64

by MojoKid (#48005855) Attached to: Acer Launches First 4K Panel With NVIDIA G-Sync Technology On Board
The note was versus "standard 28-inch panels"... not 4K. Yes, this is a solid price for a 4K 60Hz panel, with or without G-Sync. However, you can get standard 28-inch panels for a lot less and even Samsung, Dell and Asus non-G-Sync 4K panels for as little as $429 to about $600 now.

Submission + - Acer Launches First 4K Panel With NVIDIA G-Sync Technology On Board (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: Save for a smattering of relatively small, 3K and 4K laptop displays, we haven't quite gotten to the same type of pixel density on the PC platform, that is available on today's high-end ultra-mobile devices. That said, the desktop display space has really heated up as of late and 4K panels have generated a large part of the buzz. Acer just launched the first 4K display with NVIDIA G-Sync technology on board. To put it simply, G-SYNC keeps a display and the output from an NVIDIA GPU in sync, regardless of frame rates or whether or not V-Sync is enabled. Instead of the monitor controlling the timing and refreshing at say 60Hz, the timing control is transferred to the GPU. The GPU scans a frame out to the monitor and the monitor doesn't update until a frame is done drawing, in lock-step with the GPU. This method completely eliminates tearing or frame stuttering associated with synchronization anomalies of standard panels. There are still some quirks with Windows and many applications that don't always scale properly on high-DPI displays, but the situation is getting better every day. If you're a gamer in the market for a 4K display, that's primed for gaming, the Acer XB280HK is a decent new option with this technology on board, though it does come at a bit of a premium at $799 versus standard 28-inch panels.

Submission + - Euclideon Teases Photo-Realistic Voxel-Based Game Engine (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: Not many would argue that current console and PC graphics technologies still haven't reached a level of "photo-realism." However, a company by the name of Euclideon is claiming to be preparing to deliver that holy grail based on laser scanning and voxel engine-based technologies. The company has put together a six-minute video clip of its new engine, and its genuinely impressive. There's a supposed-to-be-impressive unveil around the two minute mark where the announcer declares he's showing us computer-generated graphics rather than a digital photo — something you'll probably have figured out long before that point. Euclideon's proprietary design purportedly uses a laser scanner to create a point cloud model of a real-world area. That area can then be translated into a voxel renderer and drawn by a standard GPU. Supposedly this can be done so efficiently and with such speed that there's no need for conventional load screens or enormous amounts of texture memory but rather by simply streaming data off conventional hard drives. Previously, critiques have pointed to animation as one area where the company's technique might struggle. Given the ongoing lack of a demonstrated solution for animation, it's fair to assume this would-be game-changer has some challenges still to solve. That said, some of the renderings are impressive.

Submission + - Warpgate: iPhone 6 Plus Users Reporting Bent Phones From Seemingly Normal Use (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: Apple's new iPhone 6 Plus packs a bevy of improvements into its phablet-sized frame. Its battery life dwarfs all previous iPhones, its screen quality and resolution are excellent, it's just six ounces, and a scant 7.1mm thick. As an added bonus, according to a number of users, it has a hidden feature — it bends. And not in a good way, unfortunately. What's even more troubling is that many of the users who are reporting bent devices also claim that they were carrying it in front pockets or in a normal fashion as opposed to sitting on it directly. Either some of the iPhone 6 Plus hardware is defective (the vastly preferable option) or it's because these early reports illustrate that users are putting different kinds of stress on the chassis that either is or is not typically seen in normal use. Either way, it probably shouldn't be happening. It's not clear what the story is but hopefully Apple will clarify things soon and address the issue.

Submission + - Users Report Warping Of Apple's iPhone 6 Plus And It's Not A "Feature" (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: Apple's iPhone 6 Plus packs a bevy of improvements into its phablet-sized frame — its battery life dwarfs all previous iPhones, its screen quality and resolution are excellent, it's just six ounces, and a scant 7.1mm thick. As an added bonus, according to a number of users, it has a hidden feature — it bends! And no, we don't mean it bends in a "Hey, what an awesome feature!" sort of way. More like a "Hey, the entire phone is near to snapping" kind of way. What's even more troubling is that many of the users who are reporting bent devices also claim that they were carrying it in front pockets or in a normal fashion as opposed to sitting on it directly. Either some of the iPhone 6 Plus hardware is defective (the vastly preferable option) or it's because the tests run by other venues are putting different kinds of stress on the chassis.It's not clear what the story is. Hopefully Apple will clarify in the very short term.

Submission + - NVIDIA Launches Maxwell-Based GeForce GTX 980 And GeForce GTX 970 GPUs (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: NVIDIA has launched two new high-end graphics cards based on their latest Maxwell architecture. The GeForce GTX 980 and GTX 970 are based on Maxwell and replace NVIDIA's current high-end offerings, the GeForce GTX 780 Ti, GTX 780, and GTX 770. NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 980 and GTX 970 are somewhat similar as the cards share the same 4GB frame buffer and GM204 GPU, but the GTX 970's GPU is clocked a bit lower and features fewer active Streaming Multiprocessors and CUDA cores. The GeForce GTX 980's GM204 GPU has all of its functional blocks enabled. The fully-loaded GeForce GTX 980 GM204 GPU has a base clock of 1126MHz and a Boost clock of 1216MHz. The GTX 970 clocks in with a base clock of 1050MHz and Boost clock of 1178MHz. The 4GB of video memory on both cards is clocked at a blisteringly-fast 7GHz (effective GDDR5 data rate). NVIDIA was able to optimize the GM204's power efficiency, however, by tweaking virtually every part of the GPU. NVIDIA claims that Maxwell SMs (Streaming Multiprocessors) offer double the performance of GK104 and double the perf per watt as well. NVIDIA has also added support for new features, namely Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR), Multi-Frame Sampled Anti-Aliasing (MFAA), and Voxel Global Illumination (VXGI). Performance-wise, the GeForce GTX 980 is the fastest single-GPU powered graphics card ever tested. The GeForce GTX 970 isn't as dominant overall, but its performance was impressive nonetheless. The GeForce GTX 970 typically performed about on par with a GeForce GTX Titan and traded blows with the Radeon R9 290X.

Submission + - Latest Logitech Harmony Remotes Can Now Control Smart Home Devices Too (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: In an ongoing effort to put every device in your house under the control of a Harmony Remote, Logitech is also now claiming they're ready to take over other devices in addition to those that reside in your living room. The company stepped into the home control market, releasing two high-end home remotes and the Logitech Harmony Home Hub, which manages the traffic between the remotes and your home's door locks, garage door opener, thermostat, lights and window shades, among other devices. Interestingly, the most important part of the Logitech Harmony Home series is also one of the cheapest. The Logitech Harmony Home Hub, which will set you back $99.99, use a variety of connectivity options (including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth) to send commands from your wireless remote to your thermostat and other devices. It's compatible with home automation tools from industry brands, including August, Honeywell, Kwikset, Schlage, and Sylvania (to name just a few). For controlling those devices, you have three options: an app for your smartphone, the Logitech Harmony Home Control ($149.99), or the Logitech Harmony Ultimate Home ($349.99).

Submission + - Netropolitan Is A Facebook For The Affluent, And It's Only $9000 To Join (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: Facebook has become too crowded and too mundane. With around 1.3 billion Facebook users, it's understandable to be overwhelmed by everything and want to get away from it all. However, unlike Facebook which is looking to connect everyone to the internet, there is a new site called Netropolitan that focuses more on exclusivity and privacy. The site was founded by composer and former conductor of the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra James Touchi-Peters who wanted to provide a social media site for affluent and accomplished individuals. People wishing to join need only pay a mere $9,000 to join. Of that amount, $6,000 is the initiation fee and the remaining $3,000 is for the annual membership fee which users will continue to pay. So what does the initiation and annual fee get you? For starters, Netropolitan will offer an ad-free experience and will not promote any kind of paid promotions to its members. However, it will allow the creation of groups by businesses in which members can advertise to each other under certain guidelines. $9K just to join? There must be another hook...

Submission + - Tables Turn: Samsung Disses Apple iPhone 6 As A Big Imitation (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: It's said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, though Apple certainly wasn't flattered when it accused Samsung of copying the look and feel of the iPhone with its Galaxy line. Instead, the cranky Cupertino outfit took Samsung to court in several territories and at one point won a $1.05 billion verdict (it was later reduced in half). Well, turnabout is fair play, and now Apple's the one being called a copycat by its South Koren nemesis. Samsung's U.S. arm is taking swings at Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in a series of ads. Interestingly enough, Samsung is willing to dole out some collateral damage in the process by taking certain members of the press to task for not recognizing how forward-thinking Samsung might have been by jumping into the phablet category several years ago.

Submission + - Early iPhone 6 Benchmark Results Show Only Modest Gains For A8 (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: Historically speaking, we typically see impressive performance gains each time Apple releases a new custom processor for its mobile products. Certainly that was true of the A7 SoC, the world's first 64-bit smartphone processor that Apple said offers "desktop-class" performance. So, can we expect the same kind of performance bump from the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, both of which sport the new custom A8 SoC? Maybe not. The iPhone 6 recently surfaced in results for the Basemark X benchmark and armed with a dual-core 1.4GHz Cyclone CPU and A8 GPU, the iPhone 6 scored 21,204.26 and a earned a place at the top of the chart, though not by much. By comparison, the iPhone 5s scored 20,253.80 in the same benchmark. In other words, the iPhone 6 is currently less than 5 percent faster than the iPhone 5s, at least as far as the Basemark X benchmark is concerned.

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