Jeff Butts
Jeff Butts was a nerd long before they got their revenge. He’s been voiding warranties since the early 1980s, when he took apart his uncle’s 286 to try coaxing a bit more power out of the Hercules graphics controller. Either by luck or skill (or both), nobody ever knows he’s voided their warranty because Jeff knows and lives by the most important rule: don’t get caught. These days, when Jeff’s not voiding warranties, he’s writing about voiding warranties.
Opinions and content posted by HotHardware contributors are their own.
Opinions and content posted by HotHardware contributors are their own.
Recent posts
In spite of the fact that Nintendo has been manufacturing fewer Switch consoles this year, we have some good news. Retailers seem to finally have them in stock, at least for now. The major retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target have the new Nintendo Switch OLED models available at standard retail...
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Gamers are always on the prowl for deals on triple-A titles, and Valve’s multiplatform Steam Store has a whole treasure chest of them right now. The game platform’s winter sale has kicked in, with discounts as high as 95 percent off. These deals last through the New Year. Let’s take a look at some of the top game...
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Streaming game services have proven hugely popular, and NVIDIA continues to lead the market in a number of key areas. In October, NVIDIA's GeForce NOW launched a tier that allows gamers to enjoy RTX 3080-class graphics on their PC, Mac, Shield TV, and select Android devices. Even more recently, the service added...
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When the US and Russia first launched the International Space Station, it was a partnership that boosted ties between the two nations. Now, as US-Russia relations slide, it’s the astronauts who suffer. Despite the importance NASA sees in the partnership with Russia, the future of that collaboration is in serious...
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There are more than a few people who think 5G transmitters are bad for your health. Some have gone so far as to claim the transmitters cause COVID-19. To protect themselves and others from the purported ill effects of 5G cellular networks, they’ve developed a number of products to purportedly shield you from the...
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Hardware marketed at audiophiles is nothing new. Digital-to-analog converters, high-fidelity sound cards, excellent headphones or speakers, and powerful amplifiers all contribute to an enjoyable listening experience. Unfortunately, some hardware manufacturers will try to sell you on the need for something that has no...
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If you’re still trying to finish up your holiday shopping, there’s a huge Flash Sale going on at Best Buy stores nationwide right now, as well as the retailers web site. If a new 4K TV is on your shopping list, here are some of the best deals you can find. These prices are good until 11:59 PM CST 12/19/2021 (9:59 PM...
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In the spy thriller series Mission Impossible, Ethan Hunt’s directives from his superiors always self-destruct after being viewed. Information security isn’t just for spies, though. Many people face an uphill battle maintaining digital security, but the toughest challenge may be physical attack. You can only do so...
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The night when Santa Claus soars through the air is fast approaching, but there’s something else to see in the evening sky even before that. Comet Leonard is still making its way across the solar system. Under the right conditions, you don’t even need binoculars or a telescope to see it, and in fact it could easily be...
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One app on the Google Play store has sent users’ contacts to a Russian server on the sly. Then, it signed them up for expensive subscriptions. That one app has already been downloaded half a million times. If you’re among those 500,000 users who downloaded the app, you’d best delete it now. The app is called Color...
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The US government just imposed trade restrictions on more than 30 Chinese research institutes and entities. The move comes in response to human rights violations and the alleged development of brain-control weapons. According to the Biden Administration, which has been very vocal on tech issues, those technologies...
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Criminal ransomware distributors have evolved dramatically over the past few years. Operators that were once splinter groups or lone individuals have become highly sophisticated and organized. Security experts say it’s not getting any better, either. Rather, some say we’re in the “golden era of ransomware” and 2022...
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If you’ve been maddened by the difficulty buying a new GPU, this may make it worse. One full-time cryptocurrency miner has offered a peek into his mining server farm, and it’s made up almost entirely of Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 GPUs.
Jaxson Davidson has offered a glimpse into “building 1/4” of his mining farm. In...
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There’s no argument that Minecraft is one of the most popular video games ever. Microsoft has capitalized heavily on that, but has also used the platform to offer free educational content to kids stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Minecraft is so insanely popular, in fact, that it’s broken a huge record...
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How cool would it be if your smartphone could last a week between charges instead of 15 hours? Thanks to a breakthrough announced by a joint effort between IBM and Samsung, that could be a reality soon.
In addition to bolstering its investment in the US, Korean-owned Samsung Electronics is working alongside IBM to...
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In a first for humanity’s space race, a NASA probe has touched the Sun. The Parker Solar Probe flew through our sun's upper atmosphere, also known as the corona. Some might argue semantics, saying the probe didn’t actually “touch” the celestial body, although the sun is in fact not a solid mass. Regardless, it’s...
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Ahead of the Christmas release of Matrix Resurrections, Epic Games has released The Matrix Awakens on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Built around the recently-unveiled Unreal Engine 5, the interactive tech demo reintroduces us to the boundary-pushing universe at the core of the Wachowski’s films.
Director Lana...
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Our headline here may be a bit tongue-in-cheek, but regardless, a data center in Chiang Mai, Thailand burst into flames the morning of December 3, 2021. The fire, which reportedly caused around 2 million baht ($60,000 USD) of damage likely has a few gamers chuckling at the irony. This data center was, in all...
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There's a new neighborhood watch available, courtesy of NASA. This program is, of course, a bit more far-reaching than just who’s cruising down your street though. Through a web-based app, NASA is letting you explore a 3D view of objects in our orbital neighborhood.
Twice each day, NASA will update its new Eyes on...
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A new holiday gift for PC gamers is coming in just a few days, courtesy of the developers at Square Enix. Available soon on the Epic Games Store, PC gamers get Cloud Strife’s story in Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade. If you want to enjoy it, though, you’d best have a big SSD to install it.
Cloud Strife is a...
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued an Airworthiness Directive for pilots in response to concerns that mid-band 5G wireless signals may interfere with aviation electronics. Under the new rule, pilots are forbidden from using auto-landing or certain other flight systems at low altitudes. The worry lies...
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Mobile gaming and non-game app adoption and spending really took off in 2020. However, market trend started normalize in 2021, and worldwide consumer spending should reach $133 billion on in-app purchases, premium apps, and subscriptions. That includes spending on both the iOS App Store and Google Play, but Apple is...
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