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Submission + - Teenager Stuns Fellow Geeks By Solving Rubik's Cube In Record 5.25 Seconds (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: Some folks are better at solving the timeless classic Rubik's Cube puzzle than others. However, Colin Burns, a teenager who thrilled a crowd of onlookers over the weekend at Central Bucks West High School in Doylestown, PA, supposedly just broke the record in a big way. It took Colins a mere 5.253 seconds to solve Rubik's 3x3x3 contraption, besting the previous record held by Mats Valk from the Netherlands, who accomplished the same feat in 5.55 seconds. Colins is one of only eight people to have correctly lined up the scrambled colors in less than 10 seconds during an official competition. The video of the feat is impressive to be sure. Just be warned that the ensuing celebration is quite boisterous, so you may want to turn down the volume on your speakers or headphones.

Comment Re:Bad source (Score 1) 17

Dear Anonymous Coward, it matters not what or whom I work for. See, that's the beauty of transparency and credibility. I make no bones about it and the content I'd submit is always relevant. Do you work for Audiostream.com? Do you? I care because you clearly have an axe grind posting off-topic binspam like that.

Comment Re:Bad source (Score 4, Informative) 17

What the heck is this binspam comment? Who you happen to be behind that site you've linked in here by chance? Let's see, HotHardware rips on your support of of $5 - $7K Ethernet cables that supposedly make a difference in audio fidelity, so you go trolling totally unrelated news stories linking to some rebuttal story on your site? Who's the "bad source?" Stay classy behind that Anonymous Coward login, chief.

Submission + - Intel Showcases RealSense 3D Camera Applications And Technologies In New York (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: Intel gathered a number of its OEM and software partners together in New York City recently to showcase the latest innovations that the company's RealSense 3D camera technology can enable. From new interactive gaming experiences to video collaboration, 3D mapping and gesture controls, Intel's front-facing RealSense technology holds promise that could someday reinvent how we interact with PCs. The F200 RealSense camera module itself integrates a depth sensor and a full color 1080p HD camera together with standard technologies like dual array mics, but with an SDK, on-board processing engine and 3rd party software that can allow the camera module to sense numerous environmental variables, much more like a human does. In the demos that were shown, RealSense was used to create an accurate 3D map of a face, in a matter of seconds, track gestures and respond to voice commands, allow touch-free interaction in a game, and remove backgrounds from a video feed in real-time, for more efficient video conferencing and collaboration.

Submission + - Google Apologizes For Maps Snafu Of Android Robot Peeing On An Apple Logo (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: A recent "Easter Egg" of sorts was found in Google Maps, in a sharp jab at Apple. Yes, this is a screen shot of the real Google Maps, just south of Islamabad, Pakistan. Unfortunately, the graphic has already been removed, as well as some others. In case you think Apple was hit too harshly, another now-removed message was seen in a field: "Google review policy is crap". In another area in Lahore, Pakistan, a Skype logo could be seen. Given the other messages, it becomes pretty obvious that Google itself had absolutely nothing to do with a graphic showing an Android robot urinating on an Apple logo. And it's probably a good thing, as you can't get much more unprofessional than that. The reason such messages hit Google Maps isn't because of a hacking; it's because the community is allowed to contribute data. Supposedly, Google is should have the final say on committed changes to map, so either that's not the case, or a seriously slack editor was working this particular day.

Submission + - NVIDIA Quadro M6000 12GB Maxwell Workstation Graphics Tested Showing Solid Gains (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: NVIDIA's Maxwell GPU architecture has has been well-received in the gaming world, thanks to cards like the GeForce GTX Titan X and the GeForce GTX 980. NVIDIA recently took time to bring that same Maxwell goodness over the workstation market as well and the result is the new Quadro M6000, NVIDIA's new highest-end workstation platform. Like the Titan X, the M6000 is based on the full-fat version of the Maxwell GPU, the G200. Also, like the GeForce GTX Titan X, the Quadro M6000 has 12GB of GDDR5, 3072 GPU cores, 192 texture units (TMUs), and 96 render outputs (ROPs). NVIDIA has said that the M6000 will beat out their previous gen Quadro K6000 in a significant way in pro workstation applications as well as GPGPU or rendering and encoding applications that can be GPU-accelerated. One thing that's changed with the launch of the M6000 is that AMD no longer trades shots with NVIDIA for the top pro graphics performance spot. Last time around, there were some benchmarks that still favored team red. Now, the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 puts up pretty much a clean sweep.

Submission + - Tesla To Unveil Its Gigafatory's Home/Utility-Scale Batteries (computerworld.com)

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: Elon Musk is expected to announce batteries that will store power from renewable energy sources in homes and for utilities that will supplement their power supply in off hours at night and during inclement weather. The announcement will take place next Thursday (April 30) at 8 p.m. Musk is also chairman of SolarCity, the largest provider of residential solar systems in the U.S., which controls 30% to 40% of the U.S. market. Tesla plans to mass produce household- and utility-grade batteries in a $5 billion lithium-ion battery factory project it calls the "Gigafactory" — the first one of which is being constructed in Nevada. As battery technology evolves, it could pave the way to cost effectively store both wind and solar-generated energy and connect to electrical power grids. The technology also could be used by businesses and homes, which could virtually remain off the power grid except in emergencies. The grid, essentially, would be the backup. The company is currently beta-testing its batteries in about 330 homes, mainly in California. Those batteries can hold up to 10kWh of electricity. The utility-grade model is expected to have a 400kWh capacity.

Submission + - Intel Compute Stick PC On HDMI Dongle Launched, Tested (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: Intel first offered a sneak peek of their forthcoming Compute Stick HDMI dongle earlier this year at CES but today is officially announcing product availability and has lifted embargo on first tests with the device. The Compute Stick is essentially a fully-functional, low-power, Atom-based system with memory, storage, and an OS, crammed into a dongle much bigger than a USB Flash drive. There will initially be two compute sticks made available, one running Windows (model STCK1A32WFC) and another running Ubuntu (model STCK1A8LFC). The Windows 8.1 version of the Compute Stick is packing an Intel Atom Z3735F processor, with a single-channel of 2GB of DDR3L-1333 RAM and 32GB of internal storage, though out of the box only 19.2GB is usable. The Ubuntu version of the Compute Stick has as a similar CPU, but is packing only 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. All sticks have USB and MicroSD expansion capability.The device is packing a low-power Atom processor, Intel HD graphics and only a single-channel of DDR3L-1333 memory, so it's not going to burn through any benchmarks. For multi-media playback, basic computing tasks, web browsing, HD video, or remote access, the Compute Stick has enough muscle to get the job done and it's cheap too at $99 — $149.

Submission + - Star Wars Battlefront Game Trailer Is So Realistic It Looks Like Movie Footage (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: It has been a tremendous week for Star Wars fans. First we got to see Han Solo and Chewbacca make an emotional reappearance in the newest Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer (the second official trailer Disney has put out). Now, Electronic Arts is treating us to a visual smorgasbord of cinema-quality footage showing the forthcoming Star Wars Battlefront game. Battlefront will support to up 40 players divided between the Rebel Alliance and Galactic Empire, all shooting it out and playing with some of the coolest Star Wars vehicles and weapons around. We're talking jetpacks, AT-AT war machines, AT-STs, TIE Fighters, X-wings, and more. Though the trailer allegedly shows actually "game engine footage," it's questionable whether or not it's actual gameplay or just pre-rendered cut scenes from the game engine. Either way, it's still pretty impressive.

Submission + - Kingston HyperX Predator SSD Takes Gumstick M.2 PCIe Drives To 1.4GB/sec (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: Kingston recently launched their HyperX Predator PCIe SSD that is targeted at performance-minded PC enthusiasts but is much less expensive than enterprise-class PCIe offerings that are currently in market. Kits are available in a couple of capacities and from factors at 240GB and 480GB. All of the drives adhere to the 80mm M.2 2280 "gumstick" form factor and have PCIe 2.0 x4 connections, but are sold both with and without a half-height, half-length adapter card if you'd like to drop it into a standard PCI Express slot. At the heart of the Kingston HyperX Predator in Marvel's latest Marvell 88SS9293 controller. The Marvell 88SS9293 is paired to a gigabyte of DDR3 memory and Toshiba A19 Toggle NAND. The drives are rated for read speeds up to 1.4GB/s and writes of 1GB/s and 130 – 160K random 4K IOPS. In the benchmarks, the 480GB model put up strong numbers. At roughly $1 per GiB, the HyperX Predator is about on par with Intel's faster SSD 750 but unlike Intel's new NVMe solution, the Kingston drive will work in all legacy platforms as well, not just Z97 and X99 boards with a compatible UEFI BIOS.

Submission + - When You're the NFL Commish, Getting E-Medical Record Interoperability's a Cinch (computerworld.com)

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: The NFL recently completed the rollout of an electronic medical record (EMR) system and picture archiving and communication system (PACS) that allows mobile access for teams to player's health information at the swipe of a finger — radiological images, GPS tracking information, and detailed health evaluation data back to grade school. But as NFL football players are on the road a lot, often they're not being treated at hospitals or by specialists whose own EMRs are integrated with the NFL's; it's a microcosm of the industry-wide healthcare interoperability issue facing the U.S. today. The NFL, however, found achieving EMR interoperability isn't so much a technological issue as a political one, and if you have publicity on your side, it's not that difficult. NFL CIO Michelle McKenna-Doyle, who led the NFL's EMR rollout, said a call from a team owner to a hospital administrator typically does the trick. Even NFL Commissioner Roger Godell once made the call to a hospital CEO, "and things started moving in the next couple of days," McKenna-Doyle said. "They're very aware of the publicity."

Submission + - Hasselhoff Stars In Glorious Retro 'True Survivor' Video With Flame-Throwers (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: How does one go from laying on the floor drunk, attempting to eat a cheeseburger, to appearing in one of the most glorious achievements in cinematography ever seen? We don't know, but David Hasselhoff definitely has the secret sauce to send the world into a collective fit with a music video that far surpasses even his rendition of "Hooked On A Feeling." Ooga chaka indeed my friends. "True Survivor" is the lead track for the upcoming Kickstarter-backed short film "Kung Fury." Hasselhoff takes on the lead vocals and stars in this glorious homage to retro 1980s awesomeness. The video has everything from crude 1980s computer graphics to a Nintendo Power Glove, a Lamborghini Countach, fighting robots, awesome stunts straight out of Bollywood flick, hordes of Nazis, Hitler, and did we mention dinosaurs? Oh and flamethrowers...

Submission + - Samsung Enables Blazing Fast NVMe SSD Technology On A Tiny M.2 Stick (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: When it comes to outright speed, NVMe PCIe SSDs are hard to beat. Samsung has just announced its new SM951-NVMe SSD, the industry's first NVMe SSD to employ an M.2 form-factor. Samsung says the new gumstick style drive is capable of sequential read and write speeds of 2,260 MB/sec and 1,600 MB/sec respectively. Comparable SATA-based M.2 SSDs typically can only push read/write speeds of 540 MB/sec and 500 MB/sec, while most standard PCIe versions muster just north of 1GB/sec. The Samsung SM951-NVMe's performance is actually very comparable to the Intel SSD 750 Series PCIe x4 card but should help kick notebook performance up a notch in this common platform configuration.

Submission + - HGST Announces Scorching Fast NVMe PCIe Ultrastar SSDs In Capacities Up To 3.2TB (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: HGST, a Western Digital company, just announced a new NVMe PCI Express SSD that is rated faster than even Intel's new blistering-fast SSD 750. To be fair, the Intel SSD 750 Series is aimed at the consumer/prosumer market whereas HGST's new Ultrastar SN100 is aimed squarely at the enterprise market. The HGST Ultrastar SN100 Series will be offered in both HH-HL PCIe card and SFF 2.5-inch form-factors in capacities up to 3.2 Terabytes. Naturally, these SSDs support UEFI boot, PCIe Gen 3.0, and feature power fail protection, "enterprise-grade reliability," and secure erase. HGST is targeting the Ultrastar SN100 series at a number of applications including virtualized computing, high frequency trading, and cloud/hyperscale or enterprise/high performance computing. Max reads speeds of 3,000 MB/sec and writes of 1,600 MB/sec have been specified and Read/Write random 4k IOPs are listed at 743,000 and 160,000 IOPS respectively. All drives come with a 5-year warranty.

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