Items tagged with CTE
Ever since it launched last year, Battlefield 4 has been practically synonymous with how not to launch a major entry to a beloved online franchise. Finally, some of the major flaws are being repaired -- or at least, they've been fixed on the beta Community Test Environment (CTE) server. This is the new server system Dice has set up for PC players that subscribe to Battlefield Premium and they've been rolling out new game changes over the past week. One of the major changes coming to BF4 is an increase in what's called the "tickrate." The term refers to how often the game updates the location of objects and players. In BF4, the tickrate has been just 10Hz, or 10x per second, compared to 30Hz in...
Read more...
The enterprising lads over at iFixit sure like to take stuff apart. Then again, that's at the heart of their bread-and-butter--they take the risks with potentially broken parts and lost screws so that they can assemble comprehensive DIY guides for instructing you how you can repair your own Apple products, such as MacBooks and iPods. If you don't know how to take it apart, how are you going to know to put it back together?Their latest disassembly was of the new "unibody" MacBook Pro that was unveiled only two days ago. Here are some highlight of what they discovered during their dissection: The removable battery Bottom plate removed The system board Dissected!(Credit:...
Read more...
We wrote earlier about HP's announcement about NVIDIA GPU failures in 38 of its slimline desktop PCs. While that's bad enough, The Inquirer says it has memos from allegedly from an internal knowledge base at Apple which states that all of NVIDIA's parts based on its G92 architecture sent to Apple have had to undergo the same change in bump material required to fix the issues in the heat-related failures we've been talking about since earlier this year.It should be noted that taking the source into account, a big fat "rumor," or perhaps "unsubstantiated" should be placed right here.However, they're not always off the mark. And, after all, if HP is seeing issues, why not another PC...
Read more...
As the price of gas continues to rise, fewer folks are buying automobiles--especially gas-guzzlers like trucks and SUVs. Throw in a limping economy, record job losses, and a crippled housing market, and it's amazing anyone drives anywhere other than to work and the grocery store. There's also the growing environmentally conscious crowd who is concerned over the impact emissions from internal combustion engines have on global climate change. Short of everyone switching to bicycles as their primary means of transportation, what are cash-strapped, eco-friendly people to do? Philadelphia steel wholesaler Barry D. Bernsten thinks he has the answer: electric cars. Credit: BG Automotive...
Read more...
It seems that the old saying, "truth is stranger than fiction", rings true yet again but depending on your perspective, Yahoo might actually be on to something. The recent offering from the Microsoft-Carl Icahn Dynamic Duo, that came in over the weekend, was tied up with less than a 24hr deadline ultimatum that was firmly underscored with a no-compromises tonality. In the deal, Microsoft was throwing cash around like only Microsoft can, with not only an equity investment of $3.9 billion but also a preferred debt purse of $2.8 billion as well. But wait, behind door number 3 was a cool $2.3 billion in guaranteed annual revenue for search advertising for the next five...
Read more...
38 U.S. and Romanians have been arrested and indicted for phishing and related charges. “The indictments, in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and the District of Connecticut, focus on two related phishing schemes with ties to organized crime, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Phishing involves sending e-mail messages that look like official correspondents from banks or credit card vendors in an attempt to get recipients to go to a fake Web site and enter their account numbers. A grand jury in Los Angeles charged 33 people for their alleged participation in a scheme that targeted thousands of individual victims and hundreds of financial institutions. The...
Read more...
Sony has won the high-definition format war by backing the Blu-ray standard. Toshiba ran up the white flag over their rival HD DVD format, and things seemed settled. Not so fast. Professor Emerita Gertrude Neumark Rothschild of Columbia University told the US International Trade Commission that she believes she holds not only the patent on the Blu-ray laser, but a host of short-wavelength LED designs as well. She's filed a complaint against Sony and 30 or so companies for all sorts of devices that use the technologies. The complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the United States of certain short-wavelength light emitting diodes, laser diodes,...
Read more...
No, we (China) really, really don't want you to hear anything about the Dalai Lama. Or so that's the theory behind search engines such as Yahoo, Google, and Windows Live Search being redirected to Baidu.Various reports indicate that YouTube, Yahoo, Google, and Windows Live Search are all being redirected to Baidu, in a possible move to block out news of the Dalai Lama's receipt of the Congressional Gold Medal.Such a move would not be surprising, considering China has already done something similar in the past. In 2002, it redirected Google surfers away from the site ahead of the Communist Party Congress meetings.In what should surprise no one, there's been no comment from Chinese authorities....
Read more...
Since Amazon MP3 opened, it's been obvious that Apple would have to respond to its lower prices, and they have, by lowering prices on its unprotected music files to match at 99 cents.While there is no reason to think that Amazon has taken the market by storm, it’s clear that it is a competitive force. If iPod users decide to try Amazon’s store in order to save 30 cents a track, suddenly the iTunes would become less central to the online music business. Nothing would do more to please the music labels, which have been increasingly concerned that Apple is dictating the terms of their business.Amazon still has advantages, with MP3 format vs AAC, and with tracks from Universal Music Group. ...
Read more...
Blizzard has taken their commitment to banning gold farmers and account sales quite seriously. Some people read about it and decide not to test the waters, others have to learn the hard way.Enter an as yet unnamed WoW-fanatic believed to be from the EU, who is willing to pay an exorbitant amount of money for a high level Rogue and comedy and/or tragedy ensues (depending on your point of view):“The character was wielding The Twin Blades of Azzinoth (which can be picked off Illidan's defeated corpse in The Black Temple) and had four out of five pieces of the Tier 6 armor set. Originally, the character belonged to Zeuzo from the Method guild on the Sylvanas server and is now the property of Shaks...
Read more...
Today Apple sent out invitations to one of its typically hush-hush press conferences. It's expected that this will be the announcement of the UK version of the iPhone.Apple has began sending out invitations to members of the UK press on Thursday, as it planned to hold an event at its flagship store in London on Regents Street next week. In typical Apple fashion, few details were given in the invitation other than the tagline "Mum's no longer the word." Speculation is rampant, with most analysts expecting the Cupertino company to announce its UK carrier for the iPhone.The UK carrier for the iPhone, though still unconfirmed, is expected to be O2. One good thing - with all the publicity over the...
Read more...
Have you ever wondered why there are so many viruses and other malware out there just waiting to infect your PC(s)? Is it really possible that there are so many people these days who have the intelligence and the lack of scruples required to make so many viruses? Or is it more probable that there are a few bright people out there who have let greed override their sense of right and wrong and are willing to sell the fruits of their intellectual labor to others? It could very well end up being a mix of the two and other factors, but it certainly seems that a program called Pinch could very well be an example of the latter: “One of the most dangerous features of Pinch can be exploited through...
Read more...
OCZ Technology Launches the Highly Anticipated OCZ GeForce 8800 GTX GPU, Hand-Selected for the Extreme Enthusiast and Gamer! Sunnyvale, CA - December 28, 2006 - OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today announced their exciting return to the world of graphics cards. Leveraging a strong expertise in high performance overclocking memory and the unique needs of PC enthusiasts, OCZ is prepared to deliver a differentiated GPU solution to gamers and enthusiasts with the launch of the OCZ NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB PCI Express. Separating OCZ's GPU from the rest is the stringent requirement for the highest level of performance...
Read more...
No, the headline isn't a mistype. Apple as revealed that a small number of video iPods contain the Windows RavMonE.exe virus, which they say found it's way onto iPods shipped after Sept. 12th. This virus won't be any trouble for Mac customers, and can be removed by using free Anti-Virus software found on Apple's site, and also with some popular Windows Anti-Virus tools. "The iPods were infected with the virus at one of Apple's contract manufacturers. The virus does not affect Mac customers. "As you might imagine, we are upset at Windows for not being more hardy against such viruses, and even more upset with ourselves for not...
Read more...
