65043257
submission
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.
64954287
submission
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.
64901375
submission
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.
64817789
submission
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.
64803629
submission
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.
64615693
submission
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.
64575091
submission
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...
64440453
submission
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.
64323643
submission
MojoKid writes:
Intel Execs out at IDF this week in San Francisco have let slip some actual benchmark run results on Intel's just-released Broadwell Core M processor platform. Intel has gone into detail on Broadwell's architecture and features previously and has discussed power consumption and performance expectations. However, now we finally have some cold, hard numbers, rather than just percentage comparisons versus previous generation Intel platforms. Intel was demonstrating a 12.5-inch Broadwell-based, Core M 5Y70-powered Windows tablet live and the benchmark runs look promising, with 3DMark scores in the 50K range. The Cinebench results shown place the CPU on par with full-fledged Core i5 notebook variants in the 15 Watt power envelope, but powered by the new 4.5 Watt Broadwell Y Core M processor that will be employed mostly in 2-in-1 hybrid devices and high end tablets.
64288529
submission
MojoKid writes:
Intel took the wraps off it's Xeon E5 v3 server line-up today and the chip, based on Intel's Haswell-EP architecture, is looking imrpessive. Intel's previous generation Xeon E5 V2 chips, which were based on Ivy Bridge, topped out at 12 cores per socket. The new Xeon E5 v3 processors, in contrast, are going to push as high as 18 cores per socket — a 50% improvement. The TDP range is pushing slightly outwards in both directions; the E5 V2 family ranged from 50W to 150W, whereas the E5 V3 family will span 55W — 160W in a single workstation configuration. The core technologies Intel is introducing to the E5 V3 family pull from the Haswell architecture, including increased cache bandwidth, improved overall IPC, and new features like AVX2, which offers a theoretical near-doubling of floating point performance over the original AVX instructions. Full support for DDR4 DRAM memory is now included as well.
64176193
submission
MojoKid writes:
Intel's next-generation Broadwell Y (now known as the Core M processor) is set to ship on schedule for the end of the year. The company, occasionally flagged with criticism of its delays on the chip and with its IDF show ramping-up next week, is sharing more detail on the upcoming speeds, feeds, features and performance characteristics of its new 14nm mobile platform. Intel's Broadwell-Y lineup initially consists of three chips with apparently very little difference, except for clock speed. Base idle frequencies tip-toe along at 800MHz to 1.1GHz, with max turbo frequencies up to 2.6GHz for the dual-core chips that Intel is announcing today. All parts are able to hit a very low 4.5 Watt TDP (Thermal Design Power) power envelope. Intel is also claiming clock-for-clock gains at the CPU level but also a 40 percent gain in graphics performance, versus the previous generation low power Haswell architecture. Larger, premium tablets and 2-in-1 devices are expect to start shipping at a trickle in Q4, with a larger volume ramp in Q1.
64147871
submission
MojoKid writes:
With a few companies introducing smartwatch products at IFA in Berlin, Intel's taking a slightly different approach. The chip-maker's wearable debut in Berlin is far different than those being issued by LG, Samsung, and Motorola, focusing on fashion instead of nuts-and-bolts. It's called MICA, which is short for "My Intelligent Communication Accessory," and Intel's calling it a "feminine accessory blending seamlessly into everyday life." While it handles text messages, push alerts, and other notifications like most other smartwatches, it's also snazzed up on the design front. Details are murky in terms of operating system, etc., but make no mistake: Intel's entry into the wearables arena is a piece like no other.
64001449
submission
MojoKid writes:
Dell's enthusiast Alienware brand has always stood out for its unique, other-worldly looks (sometimes good, sometimes, not so good) and there's such a thing as taking things to the next level, this might be it. However, there's more to this refresh than just shock value. It's actually a futuristic aesthetic with a rather purposeful design behind it. Today Alienware gave a sneak peek at their completely redesigned Alienware Area 51 desktop system. This refreshed system is unlike any previous Alienware rig you've seen. With a trapezoidal shape to its chassis, Dell-Alienware says you can place the Area-51 against a wall and not have to worry about thermals getting out of the control. That's because there's a controlled gap and a sharp angle to the chassis that ensures only a small part of the system actually rests near the wall, leaving extra room for hot air to escape up and away. This design also offers users easy access to rear IO ports. Despite the unique design, there's plenty of room for high end components inside. The retooled chassis can swallow up to three 300W double-wide full-length graphics cards. It also brings to the table Intel's latest and greatest Haswell-E in six-core or eight-core options, liquid cooled and nestled into Intel's X99 chipset. No word from Dell on the price but the new Area-51 is slated to start shipping in October.
63996025
submission
MojoKid writes:
Intel has officially launched their Core i7-5960X Haswell-E desktop processor today. Unlike Sandy Bridge-E and Ivy Bridge-E, which maxed out at 6 cores (12 threads), Haswell-E is an 8-core machine (16 threads), featuring execution units based on Intel's latest desktop microarchitecture. The Core i7-5960X has a base clock of 3GHz with Turbo Boost speed to 3.5GHz and will have up to 20MB of shared L3 cache. It also features an integrated quad-channel memory controller with official support for DDR4 memory at speeds up to 2133MHz, although higher speeds are possible through overclocking. Haswell-E based processors also feature up to 40 integrated lanes of PCI Express Gen 3.0 connectivity. The chip has a 140W TDP, which is slightly higher than the 130W of Ivy Bridge-E based processors. Although it has the same number of pads (2011) as previous-gen Ivy Bridge-E processors, Haswell-E based processors will require new motherboards equipped with LGA 2011 v3 sockets and support for DDR4 memory. Cooler designs from the previous generation are compatible, however. In general, the Core i7-5960X is faster overall than the previous-gen Ivy Bridge-E based 6-core Core i7-4960X. In single threaded tests, where the Core i7-5960X's additional cache and memory bandwidth aren't fully utilized, the 4960X's higher clocks usually push it ahead. In multi-threaded tests though, the 5960X's two additional cores make it significantly faster. Gaming was also much better on the 5960X.
63973191
submission
MojoKid writes:
Twitch streamer and YouTuber Jordan "Kootra" Mathewson is the latest victim in a trend called "Swatting." People who tuned into The Creatures' Twitch channel this past Wednesday to watch Mathewson play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive witnessed SWAT officers enter the room and arrest Mathewson in response to a false report of an active shooter. Mathewson was live-streaming on The Creatures, a group of gamers who create content for YouTube, Twitch channel at the group's office building when SWAT busted in. Police received an anonymous call, via landline, that claimed there was an active shooter. Streamers watched for about six minutes as the police officers arrested Mathewson, searched him, and briefly questioned him before the stream was turned off. Police are still investigating the call that was made, which led to Mathewson's arrest, and are looking for the party responsible. In the meantime, a person that goes by @ScrewPain on Twitter has claimed responsibility on his account for the swatting prank.
