71828677
submission
MojoKid writes:
Last night Robert Downey Jr. turned up at the MTV Movie Awards with an extended heretofore mostly unseen clip from Marvel Studios' cannot-get-here-fast enough Avengers: Age of Ultron. It's a let 'er rip 90 seconds of the Iron Man versus Hulk battle that the film trailers, promos, and television commercials have only teased up until now. Throughout the scene Downey Jr.'s Iron Man is bedecked in the "Hulkbuster" armor that has had fans all a-tizzy since the first trailer for the film debuted back in October. And Mark Ruffalo's Hulk is, well, wearing his timeless and always-fashionable purple pants.
71732021
submission
MojoKid writes:
Today, Microsoft has let it slip that it is taking things a step further with Windows 10 and a single, unified app and media Store. That means that the new Microsoft Store will serve not only as a home for apps, but also as a repository for music, movies, and TV shows. The new Store Beta, which will roll out to customers currently test driving the newest build of the Windows 10 Technical Preview over the next 24 hours, will populate the Movies & TV section within the Store. This option was previously available, but you couldn't access the content within.
71693959
submission
MojoKid writes:
Dell unveiled a new Android 2-in-1 today, the Venue 10 7000, which brings with it many of the same hardware features that we saw with their popular Venue 8 7000 8-inch tablet. It's powered by a quad-core Intel Atom Z3580 processor with 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and a 2560x1600 10-inch display. You'll also find a microSD slot that supports up to 512GB of additional storage, 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0, Miracast, front-facing stereo speakers, a 2MP front-facing camera, and an 8MP Intel RealSense 3D camera on the rear. Where things get more interesting, perhaps, is with the design of the tablet. Whereas the Venue 8 7000 features a more traditional tablet form-factor, the Venue 10 7000 features a cylindrical "barrel edge" which Dell says makes the tablet easier to hold and carry. It's reminiscent of Lenovo's Android-powered Yoga Tablet family. In addition to providing a handy place for your hand to grip the tablet, the cylindrical spine also serves as an attachment point for an optional keyboard that transforms the Venue 10 7000 into a laptop. The keyboard accessory allows the tablet to be used in five different configurations: Tablet Mode (w/o keyboard), Tablet Mode (w/ keyboard), Laptop Mode, Tablet Stand Mode, and Tent Mode.
71657761
submission
MojoKid writes:
Windows 10 isn't even out the door yet, so what better time than now to talk about its successor? Believe it or not, there's a fair bit of information on it floating around already, with its codename being particularly interesting: Redstone. Following in the footsteps of 'Blue' and 'Threshold', Redstone is an obvious tie-in to Microsoft's purchase of Minecraft, which it snagged from Mojang last year. Redstone is an integral material in the game, used to create simple items like a map or compass as well as logic gates for building electronic devices, like a calculator or automatic doors. The really important news is that we could see Windows Redstone sometime in 2016.
71566021
submission
MojoKid writes:
Wondering if Apple Watch is going to be worth the money? Well, that depends on several factors, including price, features, and how eager you are to jump into the smartwatch category at this point. To help tackle the latter two, Apple has posted a handful of videos that demonstrate what an Apple Watch can do. They play out like tutorial videos and are labeled "Guided Tour," followed by what specifically the video is showcasing. Currently, there are four Guided Tour videos available, one of which is a general introduction to Apple Watch labeled "Guided Tour: Welcome." It's the longest video of the bunch at 4 minutes and 45 seconds.
71511051
submission
MojoKid writes:
Today, Intel took the wraps off new NVMe PCI Express Solid State Drives, which are the first products with these high speed interfaces, that the company has launched specifically for the enthusiast computing and workstation market. Historically, Intel's PCI Express-based offerings, like the SSD DC P3700 Series, have been targeted for datacenter or enterprise applications, with price tags to match. However, the Intel SSD 750 Series PCI Express SSD, though based on the same custom NVMe controller technology as the company's expensive P3700 drive, will drop in at less than a dollar per GiB, while offering performance almost on par with its enterprise-class sibling. Available in 400GB and 1.2TB capacities, the Intel SSD 750 is able to hit peak read and write bandwidth numbers of 2.4GB/sec and 1.2GB/sec, respectively. In the benchmarks, it takes many of the top PCIe SSD cards to task easily and at $389 for a 400GB model, you won't have to sell an organ to afford one.
71448643
submission
MojoKid writes:
Samsung is introducing a number of new members to their SSD 850 EVO line-up of Solid State Drives today, based on different form factors than their standard 2.5-inch drives. Samsung's new mSATA and M.2 Samsung SSD 850 EVO drives that were just announced, however, leverage all of the same technology. The last few generations of Samsung's 2.5" Solid State Drive utilized PCBs that barley filled up half of their encloses, and a large portion of those PCBs were dedicated to the standard SATA power and data cable connectors, so it's no surprise to see these new, smaller variants arrive with mSATA and M.2 support. Samsung will be offering SSD 850 EVO series drives with capacities ranging from 120GB all the way up to 1TB in mSATA flavors, but the M.2 models top out at 500GB. The 120GB, 250GB and 500GB models feature dual-core Samsung MGX controllers. The controller is fundamentally similar to the triple-core MEX controller used in the recently released 850 Pro series, though a core has been removed. Samsung claims it made this move in order to save power, because the extra core didn't help performance on the lower capacity drives. Note, however, that the 1TB mSATA drive has the original MEX controller. Performance-wise, the 500GB drive tested here performed well throughout a battery of tests, whether large sequential transfers, or small file random workloads. It also offered very low access times. The compressibility of the data being transferred across the Samsung SSD 850 EVO had no impact on performance as well.
71391989
submission
MojoKid writes:
Late last week, Google quietly began inviting people to opt into the beta channel for ChromeOS to help the company "shape the future" of the OS. Some betas can be riskier than others, but Google says that opting into this one is just a "little risk", one that will pay off handsomely for those who crave new features. New in this version is Chrome Launcher 2.0, which gives you quick access to a number of common features, including the apps you use most often (examples are Hangouts, Calculator, and Files). Some apps have also received a fresh coat of paint, such as the file manager. Google notes that this is just the start, so there will be more updates rolling out to the beta OS as time goes on. Other key features available in this beta include the ability to extract pass protected Zip archives, as well as a perk for travelers. ChromeOS will now automatically detect your new timezone, and then update the time and date accordingly.
71386009
submission
MojoKid writes:
Since Intel started pushing its NUC (Next Unit of Computing) platform, manufacturers have been designing various versions of these tiny computers that serve as solid Home Theater PCs, public kiosks, etc. One difference between these Ultra small form factor PCs and traditional PCs is that these little boxes are mostly sold as barebones solutions. The basic load-out consists of a CPU, power supply, motherboard, chassis, and wireless card; so it's up to you to install your own memory and storage. Gigabyte just refreshed their Brix line of these tiny PCs with Intel's latest 14nm Broadwell architecture that is perfect for the form factor. The Gigabyte Brix S is powered by a Core i7-5500U, which is a 15 Watt dual-core Broadwell variant that turbos up to 3GHz, though it still manages to stay cool and quiet even under heavy loads. The little fella holds its own in the benchmarks but none of these systems will ever blow you away with its performance. It's just the nature of the beast as they're essentially like putting an ultrabook in a palm-sized box, although it's absolutely silent, and you can still upgrade storage capacity and RAM down the road.
71345975
submission
MojoKid writes:
One of the most anticipated new features in Windows 10 is the Spartan web browser, which will replace the long-serving Internet Explorer. We've seen Spartan in action on the desktop/notebook front, but we're now getting a closer look at Spartan in action on the mobile side thanks to some newly leaked screenshots. Perhaps the biggest change with Spartan is the repositioning of the address bar from the bottom of the screen to the top (which is also in line with other mobile browsers like Safari and Chrome). The refresh button has also been moved from its right-hand position within the address bar to a new location to the left of the address bar. Reading Lists also make an appearance in this latest build of Spartan along with Microsoft's implementation of "Hubs" on Windows 10 for mobile devices.
71313873
submission
MojoKid writes:
Both Micron and Intel noted in a release today that traditional planar NAND flash memory is reaching a dead-end, and as such, have been working together on 3D memory technology that could open the floodgates for high densities and faster speeds. Not all 3D memory is alike, however. This joint development effort resulted in a "floating gate cell" being used, something not uncommon for standard flash, but a first for 3D. Ultimately, this 3D NAND is composed of flash cells stacked 32 high, resulting in 256Gb MLC and 384Gb TLC die that fit inside of a standard package. That gives us 48GB per die, and up to 750GB in a single package. Other benefits include faster performance, reduced cost, and technologies that help extend the life of the memory.
71254377
submission
MojoKid writes:
OCZ Technology just launched another new Solid State Drive, built around the company's tried-and-true Barefoot 3 controller. The Vector 180 series SSD is packing some of Toshiba's latest A19nm MLC NAND Flash memory and has some welcomed features normally reserved for more expensive, enterprise-class drives. Crack open a Vector 180 and you'll see a Barefoot 3 M00 controller on board and that controller is paired to A19nm Toshiba MLC (Multi-Level Cell) NAND flash memory and a DDR3-1333MHz DRAM cache. Something new to this drive, that's not very common on consumer SSDs is power-loss protection. OCZ calls the feature PFM+ or "Power Failure Management Plus." There's a large capacitor on the PCB that protects the drive itself and at-rest data. Unlike more advanced power loss protection schemes, however, in-flight data is NOT protected. Even still, PFM+ is a welcome feature that should minimize the chance of bricking the drive due to a power-related issue. Performance-wise, the Vector 180 is solid, just missing some of the top-end numbers put up by Samsung's 850 EVO series SSDs. These new OCZ drives do come with a longer 5 year warranty, however.
71232271
submission
MojoKid writes:
NVIDIA released its Quadro M6000 at last week's GPU Technology Conference, but interestingly, it was without much fanfare. Perhaps that has something to do with the card belonging to the professional market that NVIDIA didn't feel the need to trumpet the new release. As the "M" in its name implies, this is a Maxwell-based Quadro — the first of its kind. Just as with the desktop GeForce series, the move from Kepler to Maxwell on Quadro offers a slew of benefits, from improved general performance to increased power efficiency. Specs-wise, the M6000 is effectively a GeForce GTX TITAN X, but clocked down ever-so-slightly. It's comprised of 3,072 CUDA cores, a 988MHz clock speed, and memory throughput of 317GB/s (vs. 336.5GB/s of TITAN X). Also, like the monstrous TITAN X, the M6000 features 12GB of memory and a 250W TDP. While higher-end Kepler-based Quadro K6000 cards offered solid double-precision performance, the M6000 doesn't target that as much. The reason for this is that NVIDIA decided to push the single-precision performance higher, since that's the major demand lately and it also offers improved ray-tracing performance. In that comparison, the M6000 should be close to 20% faster than the K6000, although real-world performance gains greater than that might be achieved, depending on the scenario.
71199607
submission
MojoKid writes:
When the Android Wear platform was unveiled last year, the star of the show was undoubtedly the Motorola Moto 360. With its stainless steel body and round display, the smartwatch looked futuristic while retaining styling that was somewhat familiar to traditional time pieces. However, it's been a year since the original Moto 360 was unveiled and there have been a number of round-faced Android Wear devices that have either hit the market or will in the coming months. Motorola, of course, is still pushing ahead with a second generation Moto 360 and it appears their new parent company — Lenovo — may have just leaked the design of the upcoming smartwatch. Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing posted an image to Weibo, which shows a number of smartwatches in various states of assembly. The image is interesting, because it provides us with two interesting bits of information. First, the new Moto 360 appears to adopt a traditional, exposed-lug design, which should make it easier for users to swap out the band that comes with the Moto 360 for a wider variety of third-party bands. Also, what you can glean from the photo is that, it appears that the "flat tire" display found on the original Moto 360 will carry over to its successor. The Moto 360 currently houses its ambient light sensor and display driver in the crescent-shaped cutout at the bottom of the display.
71198883
submission
MojoKid writes:
Augmented Reality seems to be all the rage these days. Last week at GTC 2015, we saw some rather interesting augmented/virtual reality demos from Google and some of its software development partners, using the Project Tango Development Tablet. But perhaps the most amazing demo of augmented reality that we've seen yet — at least with regards to gaming — comes from Magic Leap, a company that has received half a billion in venture capital funding from Google and a number of other backers. The company recently posted a video entitled "Just another day in the office at Magic Leap" on YouTube. The video shows a person interacting with a YouTube clip and opening Gmail to flip through some emails, before spinning a carousel-like on-screen menu to select a game. And that's where the action really starts to liven up. The person in the video then picks up a weapon and proceeds to start zapping enemy robots that drop from out of the ceiling. The demo is meant as a showcase for Magic Leaps augmented/virtual reality headset and it definitely looks very impressive. But we have to ask, how much of this is actually possible with current hardware and software technology? In fact, the demo looks a little too good to be the real deal. What do you think?
