Toshiba Corp. this week said that it had developed the world's fastest device controller for embedded NAND flash memory modules compliant with the universal flash storage (UFS) 2.0 and UFS unified memory extension (UME) 1.0 standards defined by JEDEC standard-setting organization. The company has also created embedded NAND flash memory …
Read More »Monthly Archives: February 2014
Microsoft to offer free Windows 8.1 with Bing operating system
Microsoft Corp. is reportedly working on free versions of Windows operating system. The initial product is expected to be called Windows 8.1 with Bing and will mostly be an experimental one. The software giant supposedly wants to investigate how it can monetize its OSes without charging computer makers or end-users …
Read More »Samsung vows to release 64-bit application processors this year
It was a bit disappointing that Samsung Electronics did not reveal its 64-bit application processors for mobile devices at the Mobile World Congress 2014 under its Exynos Infinity initiative. Nonetheless, the company vows that it will introduce its first ARMv8-compatible chips later this year. Samsung’s arch-rival Apple has been selling …
Read More »Sales of Apple TV grew to $1 billion in 2013, says Tim Cook
Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple, said on Friday that sales of Apple TV set-top-box in 2013 were worth more than a billion. While the number is small for Apple, it means that its TV initiatives are slowly but surely taking off and the STB is clearly no longer …
Read More »Exclusive interview with Peter Hirschfeld from Wavemaster
Products designed in Germany always seem to carry a certain reputation. Sure, the Italians have fashion and the Japanese simplicity, but overall the reputation for technical quality seems to land in central Europe. Wavemaster has taken its European audio product designs and had them manufactured in the far east. Speaking …
Read More »Amazon might start bundling music streaming with Prime
Amazon has been attempting to put as much value in to the Prime membership program as possible, just recently it announced that Lovefilm was going away to be replaced by Amazon Instant Video which is free for Prime members but now the company wants to bundle music with its service …
Read More »GCHQ screencapped Yahoo customer nude webcam chats
Unfortunately we now live in a world where government intelligence agencies like the NSA, GCHQ, the GCSB and more are perfectly within their (pseudo) legal rights to record data from our phones and internet connections on the off chance that we might be a terrorist. Apparently it goes far further …
Read More »South Park censored by Ubisoft, not PEGI
We heard a couple of days ago about how the console versions of Matt and Trey's upcoming South Park: The Stick of Truth, were being censored in some specific areas, mainly involved abortion and anal probing. However, it turns out that this wasn't some ratings board or government forcing the …
Read More »EU Commission is investigating ‘free to play’ games
Although EA's recent release and butchering of seminal classic Dungeon Keeper on mobiles was perhaps the worst example of a ‘free to play' game being anything but, the practice of tricking people into playing “free” games that turn out to be little more than an exercise annoying you enough to pay …
Read More »Win a STEAM game of your choice this weekend!
This weekend we are running a little competition on our Facebook page – to win a STEAM game of your choice. All you have to do is join our silly Facebook comment thread and place a funny/entertaining caption to this image from Assassins Creed – Freedom Cry. It means you …
Read More »XFX Type01 Bravo Case Review
Today we are going to take a look at the XFX Type01 Bravo … the companies first attempt at a PC Case. Until now, XFX's range of products has consisted predominantly of graphics cards and power supplies, so it will be interesting to see if the Type01 Bravo can be …
Read More »Radical Heroes is a great looking 8bit Oculus Rift game
Most of the games and demos produced for the Oculus Rift to date have been first person experiences. That makes total sense too, as it makes it easier to give the game a feeling of immersion and if done well it can create a really realistic feeling world, but that's …
Read More »Mojang and Warner Bros might be making a Minecraft movie
With the success of a film about blocks in the Lego franchise, it's no wonder that studios are already looking to sign up another. According to a Tweet from Minecraft creator, Notch, Warner Bros is looking to make a movie about the sandbox builder game. “Someone is trying leak the …
Read More »Developers can now set their own Steam discounts
Valve is handing developers the tools to set their own discounts and sales on Steam, the company has confirmed. This information came to light after a developer posted this screenshot on Reddit: The page is only accessible by developers that have published games through the Steam service and explains how …
Read More »Intel readies 750-series SSDs with PCI Express interface
Intel Corp. is working on its next-generation 750-series solid-state drives aimed at performance enthusiasts and professionals that will sport PCI Express interface in order to maximize its speeds, according to a source with knowledge of Intel’s plans. The new drives will be available late this year. It is not a …
Read More »Qualcomm unveils world’s first 20nm 4G/LTE A chip for cars
Qualcomm this week introduced the Qualcomm Gobi 9×30 platform, which supports 4G/LTE Advanced Category 6 with up to 300Mb/s downlink data rates. The platform is aimed at automotive solutions and is one of the world’s first chips to be made using 20nm process technology. The Gobi 9×30 will improve vehicle …
Read More »Intel reveals 730-series ‘factory overclocked’ SSDs
Intel Corp. on Thursday unveiled its new lineup of high-end solid-state drives (SSDs) aimed at performance-demanding users. The new Intel 730-series SSDs are the first drives featuring controller and NAND components binned and qualified for higher clock-rates, yet, the manufacturer claims ultimate reliability of the drives. Intel solid-state drives 730-series …
Read More »Microsoft to continue to use ‘Nokia’ and ‘Lumia’ brands
Nokia has been one of the most recognized brands in the last 15 – 20 years and it will not disappear from the market of phones after Microsoft Corp. acquires devices and services division of Nokia Corp. later this quarter. The software giant claims that it will continue to use …
Read More »Sapphire readies Radeon R9 290X graphics card with 8GB of memory
Sapphire Technology is working on a new version of AMD Radeon R9 290X-based graphics card with 8GB of GDDR5 memory onboard, a media report claims. The solution with enlarged frame buffer is projected to become available shortly and offer unbeatable performance in ultra-high resolutions. The world’s number one supplier of …
Read More »NZ spies clam up over foreign funding
New Zealands intelligence agencies, the GCSB and SIS, were asked recently whether they received funding from overseas countries like the UK, USA, Australia or Canada and instead of outright denying, or quietly confirming, they decided to say nothing, in effect, refusing to answer questions from MPs about their actions. To …
Read More »AMD debuts its first GCN-based GPU for embedded applications
Advanced Micro Devices this week introduced its first graphics processing unit for embedded applications that is based on the latest GCN [graphics core next] architecture. The new Radeon E8860 will bring graphics capabilities of embedded applications to the level of new-generation video-game consoles, such as Microsoft Xbox One and Sony …
Read More »Xbox boss interested in Knights of the Old Republic Anniversary
Microsoft Studios Vice President, Phil Spencer, has expressed some interest in making a Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Anniversary edition, something I'm sure a lot of fans of the RPG series would like to see happen. Image Credit: RetroGamingAus Things started off when a fan tweeted the Microsoft …
Read More »Reality TV star suing over likeness being used in GTA V
Take-Two Interactive is facing another Grand Theft Auto V related lawsuit today after a former reality TV star claimed that her likeness was used in the game. Karen Gravano, the daughter of Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano, was recently a star of ‘Mob Wives' and is claiming that her life story …
Read More »Dotcom’s Baboom will pay you for browsing the internet
Kim Dotcom's upcoming music streaming service, Baboom, if it takes off, will become a hot new competitor for the likes of Spotify, Youtube and other prominent music streamers. But beyond the musical side of things, Dotcom is also looking to release a tool that could help you earn money just …
Read More »Vodafone miniaturises its emergency phone network
Vodafone has been on the forefront of developing kit that's designed to offer instant mobile network access for hard to reach areas during disasters, but its previous efforts have been giant, bulky affairs that come in multiple boxes, take a while to set up and weigh too much for the …
Read More »MSI R9 290 OC Gaming Edition Review (1600p, Ultra HD 4K)
AMD's R9 290 and R9 290X have been well received by the gaming community over the last couple of months, especially those partner cards featuring enhanced coolers and clock speeds. Today we look at a solution that has received special treatment courtesy of MSI … their R9 290 Gaming Edition. …
Read More »These guys want weapons back in combat sports
Combat sports like boxing or MMA, use the human body as a weapon, but back in the good ol' days, we used to see people beating each other to bloody messes with swords and spears. What happened to that? Apparently I'm not the only one asking that either, as the …
Read More »Nintendo to close DS, Wii online in May
Update: This has now been extended to the US as well. No word on European shut down, but presumably that will be around the same time or not long after. Original story: If you live in Japan or Australia and your favourite game on the Wii is an online one, …
Read More »Sony shutting down two thirds of its US stores
Sony is set to shut down 21 of its 30 US based stores, leaving about a thousand people out of a job. This news follows on from the recent layoffs at the company's Santa Monica Studio, suggesting that Sony could be in financial trouble. The remaining stores are going to be …
Read More »MediaTek reveals its first 64-bit octa-core mobile chip
MediaTek has announced its first system-on-chip for smartphones that features ARMv8-compatible 64-bit general-purpose cores, advanced graphics engine as well as 4G/LTE connectivity. The MT6752 is pin compatible with the previously announced quad-core MT6732 and can be installed into already developed devices. MediaTek MT6752 integrates eight ARM Cortex-A53 cores with up to …
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