Category Archives: Tech

Sony unveils PlayStation 4 game console with shoot-’em-up game

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The new console faces stiff competition from casual gamers who play games on their cell phones and online, as well as criticism from those who say video game violence is the cause of massacres such as the one at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Sony unveiled the long-awaited update of PlayStation Wednesday — by ignoring critics of video game violence and touting the latest glitz and graphics of the shoot-’em-up classic “Killzone.”

The company unwrapped PlayStation 4, the first revamp of the popular gaming machine in seven years, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in midtown.

“The stakes are high for what we are about to show you,” said Andrew House, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment.

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Outlook.com dumps “Preview” tag, preps for mass Hotmail migration

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Hotmail users will be getting a new outlook on email before long. Late Monday, Microsoft announced that the preview phase for Outlook.com, the software giant’s new and improved Webmail service, is over after being used by more than 60 million people in its six months of existence. Now that’s it’s ready for prime time, Microsoft plans to migrate current Hotmail users over to the new interface by the time summer rolls around. Fear not; the transition shouldn’t be too painful, as your mail, contacts, and current account settings will come along for the ride.

There’s a lot to love about the Outlook.com migration if you’re a Hotmail user. First of all, you get a Webmail service with a clean, modern interface that is much easier on the eyes than the crowded 90’s-style look of Hotmail. Microsoft’s new Webmail service also integrates with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn so you can see social updates from your contacts right in your e-mail window. If you already integrated these accounts with Windows Live, these settings should also come with you.

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Apple Is Said To Be Developing a Curved-Glass Smart Watch

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Disruptions: Where Apple and Dick Tracy May Converge
By NICK BILTON

Dick Tracy had one. As did Inspector Gadget and James Bond. A watch that doubled as a computer, two-way radio, mapping device or television.

Though such a device has been lost to science fiction comics and spy movies of the era before smartphones, the smart watch might soon become a reality, in the form of a curved glass device made by Apple.

In its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., Apple is experimenting with wristwatch-like devices made of curved glass, according to people familiar with the company’s explorations, who spoke on the condition that they not be named because they are not allowed to publicly discuss unreleased products.

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PlayStation 4 may not be the gaming powerhouse we’ve been expecting

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Sony (SNE) is scheduled to announce its next-generation PlayStation 4 console at a press conference in New York City on February 20th. Recent rumors have pegged the system as a gaming powerhouse with 16GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and 1080p HD resolution in 3D at 60 fps, however this may not be what the company is aiming for. According to a report from the Nikkei, Sony hopes the Playstation 4 will act more as a home entertainment “nerve center” than a dedicated gaming system. An unnamed company executive reportedly said that the console’s main selling point won’t be its high-end specs, but rather the new styles of play it will introduce and its ability to connect and share to mobile devices. The PlayStation 4 is rumored to launch in October and could cost more than $400.

BGR >

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Dell Buyout, Once Deemed Unlikely, May Happen If Microsoft Gets Its Way

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Connie Guglielmo

A buyout of Dell Inc., deemed by some financial analysts as unlikely because it would be the largest such buyout since the beginning of the financial crisis and hinder CEO Michael Dell’s ability to do acquisitions, may be closer to completion – assuming Microsoft gets a say in the company.

The deal, which would value the world’s third-largest personal computer maker at $22 billion or more, would “include the nearly 16% Dell stake owned by founder and Chief Executive Michael Dell, contributions from private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners and Microsoft, in addition to about $15 billion in debt financing arranged by banks,” according to the Wall Street Journal.


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Google Offers $3.14159 Million in Hacking Prizes

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Ben Weitzenkorn

Whoever successfully cracks Google’s Chrome operating system at this year’s Pwnium hacking contest will walk away with a piece of the pi.

Google, which had previously offered totals of $1 million, then $2 million, in prizes for successful hacks, is upping the ante at the contest, to be held in March at the CanSecWest security conference in Vancouver, B.C. The company is offering a total of $3.14159 million in cash rewards.

That’s a nod to pi, math’s most intriguing irrational number, and to the added challenges that come with cracking Google’s ever-improving security measures.

It’s unlikely that any single hacker will get the whole pi. Instead, many contestants could win $110,000 for each temporary compromise of Chrome OS, or $150,000 for each compromise that survives a system reboot.


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Kingston Digital Ships Its Fastest, World’s Largest-Capacity USB 3.0 Flash Drive

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2013 International CES Las Vegas, NV and Fountain Valley, CA — January 7, 2013 — Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced the DataTraveler® HyperX® Predator 3.0 USB Flash drive. DataTraveler HyperX Predator 3.0 is the world’s largest-capacity USB 3.0 Flash drive as it will be available in a 1TB capacity later in Q1. It is shipping now in 512GB capacity. DT HyperX Predator 3.0 is the fastest USB 3.0 Flash drive in the Kingston® family, with speeds of up to 240MB/s read and 160MB/s write. It has also achieved SuperSpeed USB 3.0 certification.

For more information visit www.kingston.com.

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The War Z pulled from Steam, Valve calls release ‘a mistake’

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by Erik Johnson

After a launch marred by a string of controversy, The War Z has been completely blocked from purchase on Steam.

While the game remains listed on the PC digital distribution hub, you can no longer buy it. Valve has decided to offer a refund for any customers who felt they were mislead by the current state of the game.

“From time to time a mistake can be made and one was made by prematurely issuing a copy of War Z for sale via Steam,” a Valve rep told Kotaku. “We apologize for this and have temporary removed the sale offering of the title until we have time to work with the developer and have confidence in a new build.”


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The Cameras and Settings That Captured This Year’s Best Photos

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Jamie Condliffe

Every year, Reuters publishes a list of its best photography, and you’ll recognise plenty of the 95 iconic images that capture this year’s biggest news stories. One keen Redditor, though, wanted to know more—so analyzed the EXIF data of all the images to find out how they were captured.

The result, put together by hallbuzz, is a sorted pool of data which reveals which cameras, lenses, and settings were used by the Reuters photographers to snap the best images of the year. Fortunately Peta Pixel points out that another user, mathiasa, took the data and turned it into a bunch of charts. Let’s take a look.

All of which suggests that the most likely kit choice for a photograph that made the list would be a Canon 1D Mark IV with a 16-35mm lens attached, using settings of 1/320 shutter speed, f/2.8, and ISO 200.

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iTunes 11 is here at last. But will I use it?

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By Chris O’Brien

Apple fans can finally stop holding their breath. At long last, iTunes 11 is here.

The latest update to the software that is now the world’s largest music retail store has been hotly anticipated since it was announced way back in September. It was supposed to land in October, but the company delayed it, citing some engineering issues that still needed to be fixed.

Finally, though, it’s here. But while many Apple fans will rush to download it, I have to confess that I’m not one of them.

It’s not that I have anything against Apple products. We now have a MacBook, iPad, two iPhones, iPod Touch and Apple TV in our house.

But in the last year I’ve almost completely stopped using iTunes. That was a big surprise to me. Getting an iPod and then iTunes in 2006 completely changed the way I bought and listened to music

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