Items tagged with Gaming
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has been a busy beaver as of late; we've previously discussed his thoughts on the importance of the Internet and the FCC's request for comments on how its Internet development funds should be allocated and used. The FCC chair spoke at the Brookings Institute in Washington today; his speech emphasized the FCC's support for network neutrality.If you aren't familiar with the arguments, or haven't paid attention, the question of net neutrality has been percolating for years, at a steadily increasing rate. The question at the heart of the debate is simple—should all Internet traffic be treated equally? Telcos and ISPs generally argue that it shouldn't; Comcast has particularly...
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Logitech introduced the Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller for Wii and the Logitech Wireless Drum Controller for Wii. Both controllers are licensed by Activision Publishing and feature similar materials as you’d expect to see in real guitars and drums. “Logitech’s premium guitar and drum controllers have made it easier for Guitar Hero gamers to get into the music with even more realism,” said Ruben Mookerjee, Logitech’s director of product marketing for gaming. “Now if you love to rock out on Wii, you’ve got the gear to match your level of commitment to the game.” The Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller for Wii features a maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, and metal frets. It has a white finish...
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By now, many of you are probably aware that the launch of AMD's next-generation, DirectX 11-compliant graphics cards is imminent. Rumors about the launch and the products themselves has been trickling out for quite a while now and lots of information--some right and some wrong--is already available at various places around the web. While we can't disclose any detailed specifications or product specifics just yet, we do have some information about a new feature being implemented in the next-gen Radeons that we are able to share with you now.The feature is called Eyefinity and what it does in essence, is allow for multiple monitors to be used as a single display. As it stands today, for the most...
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If you’re looking to take advantage of Intel’s new Lynnfield based Core i5 and i7 800 series processors, and don’t want to build a rig yourself, then CyberPower’s latest systems might be just what you’re looking for. In all, CyberPower is offering five new customizable, high performance gaming rigs that can be overclocked directly from the factory. The base price for the Gamer Xtreme i5/i7 systems with P55 chipset starts at $749. Check out the press release below for more details on these new rigs. CyberPower Announces New Factory Overclocked Intel Core i5 and Core i7 800 Gaming Rigs Get Your Venom Boosted Core i5 and i7 Rigs BALDWIN PARK, CA (September 8, 2009) – CyberPower Inc., www.cyberpowerpc.com...
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What is it that keeps you up at night? According to a recent study from Internet security firm Arbor Networks, more Americans have been staying up late to surf the Internet this summer. Compared to previous years when most Internet activity was in the daytime, the study found that the peak usage time for the whole day has recently been at 11 p.m. Eastern time.The study also found that people using the Internet at work and school produce a smaller peak in traffic around 4 p.m. Eastern time on weekdays. Internet activity then declines as people head home. Traffic levels begin to pick up again at 8 p.m. Eastern and stay surprisingly strong past midnight. According to Arbor Networks, overall traffic...
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CyberPower has been known to crank out a pretty wide variety of gaming machines, and that's not changing with its latest rig. Shortly after it announced a monstrous Viper tower and super powerful Xplorer X7 notebook, the company is now introducing us to one of the world’s smallest water cooled desktop gaming machines.The LAN Mini H2o is a small form factor (SFF) system that measures just 11.25 (L) x 8.75 (W) x 7 (H) inches and weighs just 10 lbs. CyberPower designed this to be a perfect travel companion when heading out to gaming parties, and it outfitted the machine with Intel's Core 2 Duo/Core 2 Quad processors along with an array of GPU choices from ATI and NVIDIA. There's also optional...
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You know those times when you think: "Why didn't someone think of this earlier?" Yeah, this is one of those times. MTV Networks and Harmonix have teamed up to show just how brilliant their respective marketing teams are by pushing Rock Band into a place that just seems so fitting: bars.You heard right. Rock Band is stepping out of the living room and into the watering holes of the world starting this month, as the two companies have joined up to outfit bars with equipment to give tipsy patrons the ability to struggle through their favorite songs on "Easy" and spill booze all over plastic instruments.The aptly named "Bar Nights" program offers support to registered bars with everything from exclusive...
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Sony's newer, slimmer, sexier PlayStation 3 console is a nice piece of hardware. There's no doubt that the 120GB hard drive, lower power drain, sleeker look and $299 price tag will draw more than a few folks in, but those holding tight to yesteryear now have reason to pause. Unlike some of the first PS3 machines to hit the market, the new PS3 'Slim' doesn't support PlayStation 2 titles. Backwards compatibility was a big draw way back when, and even today it's a hot-button topic. All Xbox 360s still support original Xbox titles, though Sony seems to be fading that away from its PS3 consoles. For good. Ars Technica recently sat down with Sony's director of hardware marketing, Mr. John Koller. Aside...
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When building or buying a desktop gaming system, enthusiasts don't normally put much thought into how much it's going to weigh, or how hard it will be to carry around when attending a LAN party. Notebook and netbook end users are much more weight-conscious consumers than are folks looking at desktops, obviously. And in the case of a gaming desktop, users tend to opt for power over form factor. Then the day comes that you decide to bring the system to someone's house, or to a hotel ballroom, for a LAN party. That's when you realize your desktop, in its steel tower case, throws your back out when you try to load it into your car. AVA Direct's custom GT3 series is aimed squarely at the LAN party...
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When building or buying a desktop gaming system, enthusiasts don't normally put much thought into how much it's going to weigh, or how hard it will be to carry around when attending a LAN party. Notebook and netbook end users are much more weight-conscious consumers than are folks looking at desktops, obviously. And in the case of a gaming desktop, users tend to opt for power over form factor. Then the day comes that you decide to bring the system to someone's house, or to a hotel ballroom, for a LAN party. That's when you realize your desktop, in its steel tower case, throws your back out when you try to load it into your car. AVA Direct's...
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Not sure if you've noticed, but Razer has definitely been on a tear of late. Following up the already impressive Orochi BT mouse and Kabuto surface, the accessories powerhouse has today revealed a new one-two punch over at GamesCom in Germany. Hailed as the company's first ever MMO gaming mouse, the Razer Naga promises to add a whole new level of reality to those who spend hours on end within World of Warcraft and the like. The mouse, which was tested in participation with leading MMO gamers and community sites such as Curse.com, offers a wild new level of customization and offloads some of the strain on one's keyboard and places it onto the mouse. We get the feeling it'd take a bit of getting...
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You have a leather-covered steering wheel in your car, why not in your house?That would appear to be the thinking behind Logitech's new G27 Racing Wheel. It is "designed to deliver the definitive sim racing experience." Just like a luxury car, this $299.99 (MSRP) gadget is designed to eliminate virtually all noise and "unwanted" vibration.It's compatible with PCs running Windows XP or Vista, so long as you have 20 MB of available hard disk space, and Sony's Playstation 2 and 3, on any games that support Logitech's force feedback racing wheel. So, yes, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue.It has LEDs to show you the RPM/shift indicator to let you know exactly when to up- or down-shift on the six-speed gated...
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Recently, we've seen the meteoric rise of netbooks in the mobile space. Their ultra portability in conjunction with the global economic climate seems to have led consumers to think twice about spending large amounts of cash on mobile devices. This is especially true when netbooks offer the same basic services (word processing, internet surfing, email) for a considerably smaller investment than most other models. But with netbooks, problems surface when users want to do more than just the basic tasks. While no one can argue against their usability, size, and price point, netbooks don't have the processing power to play the latest games or handle significant multimedia workloads, which are key...
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Recently, we've seen the meteoric rise of netbooks in the mobile space. Their ultra portability in conjunction with the global economic climate seems to have led consumers to think twice about spending large amounts of cash on mobile devices. This is especially true when netbooks offer the same basic services (word processing, internet surfing, email) for a considerably smaller investment than most other models. But with netbooks, problems surface when users want to do more than just the basic tasks. While no one can argue against their usability, size, and price point, netbooks don't have the processing power to play the latest games or handle significant multimedia workloads,...
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There's little doubt that media buying is changing. iTunes is selling more and more singles while physical disc sales dwindle. GameStop is hiring executives to manage digital aspects of business. And Redbox is dabbling in video games after years of sticking to DVDs and Blu-ray Discs alone.You heard that right--the famous red box that somehow manages to steal a dollar or two each time your visit the supermarket is about to snag even more from your thinning wallet. Starting in Reno, Nevada, Redbox is evidently planning to fire up a test run on video game sales, using the same basic principles that folks are now used to with its DVD boxes. You just pop $2 in (versus $1 for movies), select your video...
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BlizzCon may be stealing the limelight in terms of gamer-centric expos right now, but for those in the know, QuakeCon is still a sight to behold. The 2009 edition kicked off today in Grapevine, Texas, with a truckload of interviews and product showcases dazzling the crowds. Hailed as the world’s premier multiplayer gaming festival, dedicated to fans of id Software’s legendary games, the show became home to around 6,000 attendees. id Software's own John Carmack is the event's keynote speaker, and over $100,000 in cash and prizes are up for grabs. Best of all, the show is completely free to attend, and while the list of events is far too long for us to cover in this space, here's a quick rundown...
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Microsoft unveiled a number of significant upgrades to its Xbox 360 platform with the latest Xbox LIVE Update. While the update is available today, a few of the new features won’t be available until tomorrow, August 13th. Here’s a quick look at what you can look forward to with the update. Games on Demand Starting tomorrow, you’ll be able to browse and purchase games through the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. New game titles will be added every Tuesday, and your game licenses will be linked to your Xbox LIVE account, so you’ll be able to download your purchased games to any console you’re logged into. No disc will be required to play these games and Microsoft has also said that you can delete and re-download...
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StarCraft II may be looking at a faraway 2010 release, but that's not stopping accessory makers from cashing in on the hype. Just weeks after we saw StarCraft II gaming surfaces, um, surface, Razer has now teamed up with Blizzard Entertainment in order to push out its own line of game-themed peripherals. Razer has conjured up a tournament-grade mouse, keyboard and headset specifically designed to maximize the StarCraft II gameplay experience, with Razer's own president proclaiming that he is "extremely excited to be working with Blizzard Entertainment on the StarCraft II gaming peripherals and gear." The first Razer StarCraft II tournament level gaming peripherals are poised to make some serious...
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Tony Hawk: RIDE, a game that made all sorts of waves when it debuted earlier this year at the E3 Expo in California, has finally notched a date with destiny: November 17, 2009. That's the date in which Activision's next must-have Nintendo Wii title will hit stores, and that means you'll be shoving yet another motion-sensing periperal in your closet.This time it'll be the lifelike Tony Hawk skateboard, which will allow owners to "pull off tricks, such as grinds and ollies, by stepping on a motion-sensing controller that resembles a skateboard, without wheels." The entire game is designed to be controlled by the board, with the accessory boasting not one, but two two tilt-sensing accelerometers...
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Let's face it: the mobile arena is more crowded than ever, and with that overpopulation comes confusion. Specifications begin to run together, prices seem to be all over the map, and actual standout features are harder than ever to locate. If you know someone that has grown frustrated by trying to separate the worthwhile from the worthless, trust us, we feel your pain. So much so, in fact, that we've decided to break it all down in an easy-to-digest mobile computing guide. Within the pages to come, we'll cover the five main categories of notebooks available today: netbooks, thin-and-light notebooks, midrange notebooks, desktop replacements / gaming rigs and then "everything else", which touches...
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iBUYPOWER Launches Chimera Killer Special Edition Gaming PC New gaming rigs are designed to provide online PC gamers with an edge over their competition El Monte, CA – August 6, 2009 – iBUYPOWER, leading innovator in gaming PCs, is excited to announce two new Chimera Killer Special Edition Gaming PCs, optimized for online gaming. Built in iBUYPOWER’s signature Chimera “Inferno” case, the Killer Edition Systems feature the innovative Killer Xeno Pro gaming network card, and the latest gaming technology to create a system truly optimized for the best multiplayer online gaming experience and maximum gaming edge in games such as the popular World of Warcraft and Call of Duty.“Bigfoot Networks’ prime...
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It's the signs of a changing world. Changing demands. Changing norms. And a changing face of gaming. It's the digital era, and it's officially being ushered in at GameStop. While many tied to the brick-and-mortar gaming industry have wondered just how they'd cope with the increasing demand from gamers to have new titles "on-demand," GameStop is staying one step ahead of the curve. Of course, when you see just how far Blockbuster has fallen now that Netflix has entered the picture, you can better understand the company's desire to keep up with the times.The self-proclaimed "world’s largest video game and entertainment software retailer" has today chosen Chris Petrovic to fill a newly created role...
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