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Gizmodo: Microsoft Beats Xbox to Pieces for Getting an RRoD

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:02:48 GMT

Rosa Golijan: Nic H tells us that this is how his Xbox was returned after being sent to Nurse Microsoft. If that's really true, then it looks like Microsoft is getting brutal on Xboxes that dare get an RRoD.

Microsoft Fined For Abusing Power to Harass Pirates

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:17:07 GMT

The Delhi High Court has fined Microsoft for harassing alleged software pirates by taking them to court in the national capitol, instead of the cities where the crimes had supposedly occurred. According to the ruling, using money as a power tool is not condoned without repercussions.

Microsoft Declares War on Software Pirates

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:04:55 GMT

The software giant currently takes legal action against about one UK reseller a week, but expects that number to rocket over the coming months.

SteelSeries' Iron Lady Headset Under Scrutiny

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:46:39 GMT

IncGamers' writer Belinda Vaughan takes a look at the Iron Lady headset by SteelSeries:

"I was initially thrilled at the prospect of trying out this swish new headset, but when the package arrived the next day I must admit I was slightly put out after opening the box. You see, this headset is bright pink."

Gameplanet: PC Buyer's Guide: Monitors

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:42:42 GMT

Gameplanet writes: "In the buyer's guide this week we are looking at monitors - specifically what features and specifications you should be looking for, and what is available in New Zealand right now.

There are a lot of variables when it comes to monitors such as size, resolution, response time, contrast ratio/brightness, inputs, aspect ratio and panel type to name a few. Let me take you through a few of these main ones before we jump in and see what is out there."

Tiny Nuclear Batteries to Power Micro Devices

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:56:21 GMT

Typical chemical batteries just don't cut it when a device needs to run for years without fail. Enter the betavoltaics, or tiny nuclear batteries that harvest energy from radioactive sources such as tritium.

Now a company called Widetronix has developed new betavoltaics that can run for up to 25 years and perhaps power tiny devices in everything from military hardware to smartphone sensors.

Another MW2 hack, collect 22/45 intels by collecting only 1 intel

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:16:35 GMT

We've seen several savegame hacks for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. We've seen the leaderboard hack, prestige 10, spec ops 69 stars hack and a hack which gives you all the trophies for the singleplayer missions on veteran. With patch 1.16 we'd all think that these hacks would be patched but it isn't. Because now there's a hack which allows you to earn 22/45 intels. Of course there's a tutorial of it. We hope Infinity Ward will patch these hacks as soon as possible.

Supercomputer Blizzard: Over 8,000 CPU cores to calculate climate models

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 05:16:07 GMT

A new supercomputer has been brought online in Germany. The Blizzard as the HPC Cloud is called has more than 8000 CPU cores and is used to calculate climate models.

PS3 Portable: This is how you can play everywhere with your PS3

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:39:18 GMT

Just put a PS3, a power cell and an Epson EH-TW450 on your back.

Best Graphics Cards For The Money: December ' 09

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:20:02 GMT

Detailed graphics card specifications and reviews are great-that is, if you have the time to do the research. But at the end of the day, what a gamer needs is the best graphics card within a certain budget.

So, if you don't have the time to research the benchmarks, or if you don't feel confident enough in your ability to pick the right card, then fear not. Tom's Hardware have come to your aid with a simple list of the best gaming cards offered for the money.

Public schools get $60 million from Microsoft settlement

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:47:42 GMT

DES MOINES -- Iowa public schools will get more than $60 million for the purchase of new technology as a result of a class-action lawsuit settlement with Microsoft Corp. Gov. Chet Culver announced Tuesday.

The money is part of a $179.95 million settlement in a class-action suit against Microsoft Corp. alleging that Microsoft overcharged Iowa consumers and businesses for certain products. The Iowa School Microsoft Settlement program was established under the settlement so that Iowa schools would receive approximately half of the funds not claimed by consumers.

nVidia GF100/Fermi SLI-powered Maingear PC pictured

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:43:24 GMT

Continuing to raise hype about the upcoming launch of their first NV100-class hardware for the consumers, nVidia's Twitter page posted an image of Tom Petersen, Director of Technical Marketing showing his latest baby - a Maingear SHIFT machine powered by an Intel Core i7 processor, 6 or 12GB of Kingston DDR3 memory and two GeForce GTX 300-series cards paired together in SLI mode.

40 Million Gamers Will Have 3DTVs By 2014

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:27:02 GMT

NowGamer: Research firm Insight Media has predicted that there will be a global total of 40 million stereoscopic 3D displays in gamers homes four years down the line

Nvidia preparing Geforce 315 desktop rebrand

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:00:04 GMT

A week and a half ago, news hit the internet that Nvidia had launched its first Geforce 300-series desktop card, which garnered hopes from its massive consumer base that it was preparing to unveil the full next-generation series over the next few months. Unfortunately, the unveiling of the "behemoth" Geforce G 310 was overhyped too quickly, as prospective consumers and media analysts alike soon realized it to be a simple rebranded, refreshed version of the Geforce G 210 marketed for OEM distributors.

Toshiba CELL Processor TV Debuts This Week for Over $11,000

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:39:57 GMT

Toshiba has been promising a Cell-based television for years and it's finally set to deliver this week (in Japan) with the Cell Regza 55X1. Some people forget that Cell is the product of a joint venture between Sony, IBM, and Toshiba. While Sony has its PlayStation 3 and IBM has all sorts of Cell-based supercomputers, Toshiba hasn't had anything to show for its investment. That changes on Thursday.

Screw Charging: An Absurd Recommendation Against the PS3

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:27:04 GMT

As part of their continual "smart saving" guides, today Yahoo! Finance republished a poorly worded thus unintentionally hilarious holiday season shopping guide from SmartMoney written by Anne Kadet. Listing electronic items to avoid giving as gifts, the first pick of the litter is the PlayStation 3.

Don't Be Misled By Best Buy's HDTV + PS3 Bundles

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:13:59 GMT

Below are the twelve PS3/TV packages along with the actual current Best Buy HDTV price. Regardless of the misleading savings, a number of the packages are sweet deals.

iPhone iPhlops: 5 Sales in China

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 17:58:23 GMT

GN writes, "You didn't read that wrong: the iPhone's launch in China faces criticism for selling an amount to be counted on one hand.

If you want to get the phone in China, it can be had at 6,999 Yuan ($1,024) before contract. Hong Kong's grey market is disposing of the phone for $800, still a solid hit to anyone's bank. Sales were hamstrung by..."

Gaming with the Zune HD: is it already able to take on the PSP, iPhone and DS?

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:56:39 GMT

Cnet: While there are no shortage of handheld game systems on the market--the Nintendo DS and DSi are still selling well and the PSP continues to hang in there, while the App Store continues to expand its catalog every minute--one of the seemingly no-brainer bets in the mobile gaming realm hasn't happened yet: the Zune. We say "no-brainer" for several reasons:

Black Screen Of Death Hits 50,000 PCs

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:58:45 GMT

A security firm that's developed a fix for the so-called "black screen of death" affecting Windows PCs said more than 50,000 users have downloaded the utility in just five days-an indication that the problem is widespread.