Techie Today

I do not know about you, but for me, a gaming notebook is a poor (an extremely poor one at that) substitute for a full fledged gaming desktop. After all, you do not have the luxury of a really large display for your eyes to enjoy superb visuals, not to mention the kind of audio that is pumped out from your notebook speakers tend to be lame – very. Of course, if you are a gaming addict, then at any time that you need to get that gaming fix of yours going, a gaming notebook would be the ideal solution. After all, something is better than nothing at all, right? MSI certainly knows that they have a couple of models in the market that will appeal to the masses, and they are the new MSI GX70 and the GX60.

These are armed with the AMD A10-5750M processor, and will have the Radeon HD 8970M graphics and Killer Game Networking card to accompany the notebook for a totally enthralling gaming experience on the go. In fact, the new and refreshed MSI GX70 and GX60 notebooks would also be the first AMD Richland A10-5750M powered gaming notebooks in the world.

We are looking at an increase in visual performance by up to 40% over previous generations, and not only that, the new processor will also increase battery life and CPU performance, which results in longer gaming sessions alongside a crisper, brighter and a more realistic visual experience. The MSI GX70 will be the higher end model between the two, where it also sports AMD’s Eyefinity 3D technology which enables users to run multiple independent display outputs at once, while the Killer E2200 Game Networking card will theoretically eliminate lag time and a full color backlit SteelSeries Gaming Keyboard to get it going. Not only that, THX speakers with a built-in subwoofer are there for an ear thumping experience. Unlike just about all Ultrabooks in the market today, these two models will arrive with Blu-ray disc readers, a 1920×1080 full HD anti-reflective display and a 9 cell battery for extended mobile gaming pleasure. No idea on pricing or availability just yet though.

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Article source: http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20130524/msi-gx70-gx60-gaming-laptops/

Microsoft’s Xbox One

(Credit:
James Martin/CNET)

Microsoft’s policy concerning used Xbox One games has proven a bit confusing, but a new report may have spilled more concrete details.

Citing information from “retail sources,” gaming news site MCV claims that Microsoft and gaming publishers will take a bite out of the sale of each used Xbox One game. In the process of selling a used game, original owners would also see the game wiped from their online accounts so they no longer can play it.

Microsoft has already confirmed that Xbox One users who install a game on the console’s hard drive will no longer need the disc as the game is then tied to their online accounts.

To deal in used games, retailers will reportedly have to agree to Microsoft’s terms and use Microsoft’s online Azure-based pre-owned system. After the used game is registered through Microsoft as having been sold, the seller’s access to that game is then removed. That final step may shed some light on a comment from Microsoft corporate vice president Phil Harrison that the
Xbox One needs to check in with Microsoft servers once every 24 hours.

Retailers can sell the used game at any price they choose but with the understanding that Microsoft and the game’s publisher will each share in the proceeds. MCV cited unconfirmed reports from U.K. Web site ConsoleDeals that the retailer’s cut of the action could be a little as 10 percent.

The same reports also claim a customer in the U.K. would pay a total fee of 35 pounds to buy and activate a used game. Those 35 pounds translate into around $52, which seems a hefty price to pay for a used game, assuming the same cost would apply in the U.S.

Microsoft has been mum about specific details regarding used games and has said only that Xbox One customers would be able to trade in and resell games at retailers. CNET contacted Microsoft for comment and will update the story with any further information.

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cnet/pRza/~3/Ga4IVo4e69c/

Having a good posture (regardless of whether you are a guy or a gal) is always a plus point, especially when you are “on the market” so to speak and are looking for a life partner. After all, there is always that air of authority that one emanates whenever you sit up or stand with the proper posture for sure. For those of us who due to a lack of self discipline and “could not be bothered” attitude, perhaps a gizmo like the $89.95 Biofeedback Posture Trainer might come in handy in the long run.

The Biofeedback Posture Trainer is a biofeedback device whose sole intention is to train users to develop good posture as it will beep or vibrate whenever it detects anyone slouching. Specially designed by an occupational therapist, this is a lightweight trainer that can be worn like a backpack over clothing, where it will teach the right spinal alignment which would then help prevent back pain and promote good breathing and joint health. Sporting soft, adjustable shoulder straps and a belt that are connected to a central strap which holds the biofeedback monitor over the spine, each time you slouch, the straps will tug on the monitor, triggering a buzzer or vibration. As to whether you prefer to be alerted by a buzzer or a vibration, that really boils down to the settings of your choice. Silencing the alarm is a snap – all you need to do is straighten that back up, and you’re good to go. It is said that wearing the Biofeedback Posture Trainer for three weeks for two 20-minute sessions a day would help you develop the kind of muscle memory required so that you employ good posture all the time.

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Article source: http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20130523/biofeedback-posture-trainer/

Newly created Wiplabs Design LLC has huge plans for the future, and in order to kick things off, they will first need to launch their maiden product that they have dubbed the iDockAll. IdockAll will not be made available to the masses right away, as it needs to have that crucial user base before things can happen at the production line, considering how iDockAll is a crowd-funding project over at Kickstarter. Just what makes the iDockAll so special from all the other docks that are available in the market? For starters, the iDockAll dock will boast of a unique design which enables continuous charging of the iOS devices. For the layman, that would mean you are able to answer calls even when your device’s battery is running low, checking out private messages while synchronization, writing emails on the iPad, just about anything and everything is possible.

In a nutshell, you can do all of the above mentioned while ensuring that the lithium battery is being charged up. The iDockAll sports a minimalistic design that is so well executed; users might actually figure out that the iDockAll was a creation by the folks over at Apple themselves. The iDockAll project kicked off on Kickstarter earlier this month, and it has until the end of June to gather the relevant funds.

Here is a little bit of context on how the iDockAll came about. Apple enthusiasts Nathalie De Clercq and Kevin Wippermann are old mates who hail from Belgium and were frustrated with the difficulties of docking and displaying their iOS devices (be they iPhones, iPads or iPods) considering how docks kept on changing with each device iteration released. March 2013 proved to be the turning point, as they decided to tackle the issue themselves, resulting in the iDockAll. This is the maiden non-constraining dock that plays nice with the whole iOS product range (Lightning and/or 30pin connector) and their covers, and in line with Apple’s design philosophy, it has been crafted out of a single block of aluminum for that added touch of class.

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Article source: http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20130523/idockall-kickstarter-project/

A mockup of the PS4.

(Credit:
Andy Gilleand)

When Sony has a secret up its sleeve, the company loves to tease. If you missed last week’s video enigma, Sony revealed very brief pictures of the mysterious PlayStation 4 hardware, leaving gamers in the dark about what the highly anticipated gaming console will look like.

Luckily, graphics guru Andy Gilleand has the imagination (and skills) to piece together Sony’s puzzle, and created a general conceptual rendering of the
PlayStation 4.

While Gilleand’s interpretation will have most Sony purists crying foul, the render does align with the general shape and accents seen in the official teaser videos. It’s widely expected that Sony will finally show off the PlayStation 4 during a company press event at E3 2013 on June 10.

Another angle showing what the front of the PS4 could look like.

(Credit:
Andy Gilleand)

A rear angle.

(Credit:
Andy Gilleand)

Based on what’s been shown so far, Gilleand believes the top of the console contains three different shades — a monochromatic spectrum ranging from black to gray — while the lower portion appears dark gray. A ventilation strip wraps around most of the console, while the front contains a disc slot front and center with rows of ventilation ports nearby. A previous PS4 mockup drawing emits a similar vibe.

Gilleand added the circular fan based on what was shown in the video, but even he notes that it may have been part of an accessory and not the actual hardware. Gilleand added the buttons, LEDs, and USB ports in logical areas as those items weren’t shown in the video.

What do you think about this conceptual mockup of the PlayStation 4?

A rear shot. Circular exhaust likely to change, says Gilleand.

(Credit:
Andy Gilleand)

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cnet/pRza/~3/kiJCY_SOr6w/

They say springtime is a season of rebirth and renewal, and we’ve had ample illustration of that truth here in the Linux blogosphere this year.

Not only have we seen the
birth of Cloverleaf — initially FuSE — from the
ashes of Fuduntu, but now Cinnarch has gone through a similar transformation, albeit less dramatic.

No real death was involved this time, Linux Girl is pleased to report. Rather, the Arch-based distro decided to give the Cinnamon desktop at its foundation
the proverbial boot, calling it “too much a burden to maintain/update going forward.”

Their choice instead? None other than GNOME, with the result that Cinnarch has now renamed itself “Antergos,” a
Galician word “to link the past with the present,” as the team put it.

Heads still spinning from the Fuduntu-to-Cloverleaf transformation, Linux bloggers have been struggling to process this latest news — greatly assisted, as per usual, by the freely flowing tequila down at the blogosphere’s Punchy Penguin Saloon.

‘They Risk Losing Momentum’

“It really seems that distros are dropping like flies around here, but this one isn’t really going away,” mused
Linux Rants blogger Mike Stone, for example.

“I can’t speak to the contention that Cinnamon was too much of a burden to maintain/update, but I would say that’s up to the people doing the development,” Stone added.

“What an organization chooses to name their distro is their business,” agreed blogger
Robert Pogson. Still, “changing the name had better reflect a new ethos or they risk losing some of their brand’s momentum.”

‘They Could Have Used Debian’

Of course, “in the case of Cinnarch, the group has chosen to change their default desktop environment to GNOME and to offer alternatives of Xfce, KDE, Cinnamon and Razor-qt,” Pogson pointed out.

“I don’t see a compelling reason to rename the OS because of a change like that to the installer,” he added. “It’s still based on Arch GNU/Linux… They could have called the new release Cinnarch II or New Cinnarch or Cinnarch with Choice… or they could have used Debian GNU/Linux, as I do.”

In fact, “Debian has more than enough choice for everyone doing anything,” Pogson opined.

“At least this ‘new’ one has various DEs to let the users choose and not be chained to a group of developers,” Google+ blogger Gonzalo Velasco C. chimed in. “These days I advocate for new users only distros with more than five years and no ‘commercial’ changes in view.”

‘Resistant to Change’

Google+ blogger Kevin O’Brien wasn’t surprised by the move, he told Linux Girl.

“When KDE 4.0 came out, a lot of people got pissed and found ways to perpetuate the 3.5 version,” he explained. “Flash forward to 2013, and only a handful of folks even care about that; KDE 4 is doing just fine.”

The GNOME Project “has done some good stuff in GNOME 3,” O’Brien asserted. “Comparatively few people are working on the GNOME 2 forks.”

Looking ahead, “I think eventually we’ll see only a handful of folks sticking to the old,” he predicted. “FOSS people are notoriously resistant to change, but when they have exhausted the alternatives they get with it.”

‘The More the Merrier’

As a fan of both Arch and GNOME, Google+ blogger Brett Legree was particularly interested in the news.

“I love the name that was chosen, Antergos, as it has a special meaning to the team and definitely stands out,” Legree told Linux Girl. “I did not know what it meant, and I had to go find out immediately.”

Meanwhile, “I have already been testing via virtualization, and so far, I really like it since it gives me just what I want (a rolling release GNOME distro) and very little cruft,” he concluded. “With Linux, the more the merrier.”

‘Of Little Significance’

Robin Lim, a lawyer and blogger on
Mobile Raptor, wasn’t sure how to react to the news.

“A distribution I never heard of has changed its default desktop, stopped supporting Cinnamon (though it is still included) and changed its name,” he explained. “To me, it really is of little significance. No offense meant to the development team — I am sure it is a fine distribution — it is just that it is floating in a sea of fine distributions.”

A lot has changed in the past 10 years, Lim pointed out.

“Ten years ago I had Red Hat, OpenOffice and Gimp, and with those I could day goodbye to Windows — at least until I moved onto a laptop,” he explained. “Now I could have Antergos, LibreOffice and Gimp.

“Still, I only use Linux desktop distributions on devices that spend their life on a wall socket,” Lim added. “Ten years, and power management is not as good as

Article source: http://www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/78117.html

Photo: Alex Washburn/Wired

For those who crave a wireless audio experience in the home, you have two distinct options. One is to use Bluetooth, which is remarkably stable, but limited in range and quality — it makes Wolf Parade sound like Wolf Mush. The other option is to use a Wi-Fi speaker which sounds great, but forces you to deal with the hiccups, dropouts, proprietary limitations and other stupid tricks.

The new system from Phorus promises to provide the best of both worlds: Wi-Fi-level audio quality and Bluetooth-level stability. It uses a technology called Play-Fi that was developed by DTS to stream lossless audio, either from an Android device or from a networked DLNA drive, over a home Wi-Fi network. It employs some load-balancing in the streaming (akin to quality-of-service on a router) to make sure your stream stays glitch-free. Everything can be controlled by native Android apps.

Phorus provided a multi-room system — three PS1 Speakers ($200 each) and a PR1 Receiver ($150) — for me to test. The company is also offering some bundled pricing through the end of May, starting with a speaker and receiver together for only $300.

If you hook up one receiver in your home, you can spread multiple wireless speakers throughout the different rooms. The speakers look like triangular cones, and the receiver is a flat, dull-as-paint base. Both are all black and made from a less-than-high-end plastic material.

I distributed the PS1 Speakers in different areas: the living room, the bedroom and the kitchen. I planned to connect the PR1 Receiver to a Denon receiver in my basement, but I started by setting it next to my router. Normally, you have to put a wireless speaker in “network” mode and connect to it from your computer, then follow the setup. With the Phorus, however, you can do all the setup tasks from within an Android app, an important distinction.

At first, the lights on all four units started pulsing rapidly. After a few seconds, the lights all started pulsing more slowly. This means they were able to find my open Wi-Fi network and latch on to a signal, but that they were waiting for the app to continue the setup. I installed the Play-Fi app on my Samsung Galaxy SIII and fired it up. In an instant, the app found all four Phorus devices and walked me through the rest of the setup. One by one, I enabled each device and picked a room name (bedroom, den and so on).

Since I live in the country where Wi-Fi snoopers aren’t a problem, I don’t use a network password so I didn’t bother with the secure setup. But connecting it to a secure network is still very easy — just launch the app and enter your network password, and the Phorus components will join your LAN. If your router supports Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS), you can just press the Wi-Fi button on the front of the Phorus and it will connect to your network without requiring you to enter your password.

Photo: Alex Washburn/Wired

The PS1′s speakers gets as loud as 90 decibels and pumps out 15 watts through a pair of class D amps, but the audio quality is only passable. The speaker uses dual neodymium drivers, a computer-modeled Energy Port that monitors sound waves inside the speaker and amplifies accordingly, and dual-core digital signal processor to keep distortion from creeping in at higher volumes. While that all sounds impressive, the PS1 sounded just OK. The saving grace is that, after streaming several full albums from my phone, the audio never stuttered or paused, which is a testament to Play-Fi’s stability. Phorus would not provide details about how it works, but said both the app and the speaker help make sure the lossless stream does not degrade.

The Play-Fi app lets you play music stored locally on your phone, from a DLNA server (say, your Windows 8 computer), from a network drive, or streaming from Pandora radio (the only streaming service DTS has named as a partner for now). You can’t stream your Google Music collection directly to the device. Nor can you use any other apps to stream music from your phone via Play-Fi, like Spotify or Rdio, as you can with AirPlay speakers. Oddly, while there are both a USB port and a micro-USB port on the PS1 Speaker, they are for charging your phone, not for playing music. There is a 3.5 mm

Article source: http://www.wired.com/reviews/2013/05/phorus/

You know something? Each time the brand name K-TOR comes across my mind, all I can think of is actually KOTOR, which happens to be short for Knights Of The Old Republic, which happens to be one of those Star Wars titles that only fanboys will be able to appreciate. Well, K-TOR so happens to be under our radar this time around, which is why I have started to get flashbacks of KOTOR, but I will do my utmost best to put those aside and concentrate on just what the K-TOR Pocket Socket 2 is able to deliver to the masses.

For starters, you are able to more or less tell that the Pocket Socket 2 has something to do with charging capabilities. It makes perfect sense, after all, K-TOR happens to be a designer and manufacturer of portable power generators, so the second generation release of the Pocket Socket hand crank generator has been named the Pocket Socket 2, which is definitely far from being inspiring by any means. The Pocket Socket 2 is a highly affordable human powered generator, where it boasts of a standard outlet interface that is capable of delivering backup energy and emergency power to a wide range of electronic devices.

After all, you can never quite tell just when a blackout is going to happen, and it makes perfect sense to be prepared at all times, so having the Pocket Socket 2 right by your bedside is always a good idea. There is the patented technology within the Pocket Socket 2 (in addition to the other K-TOR portable generators, of course) that enable the efficient conversion of human energy into a 120 volt power source. Just what are some of the other devices that the Pocket Socket 2 is able to charge? We are looking at smartphones, tablets, GPS equipment, handheld radios, digital cameras, and medical equipment among others. The Pocket Socket 2 can be yours for $64.95 a pop.

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Article source: http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20130522/ktor-pocket-socket-2/

If Earth had rings, Congress would have even more glory to bask in, according to this Ron Miller illustration.

(Credit:
Ron Miller)

The sunsets would be impossibly beautiful. The evening sky would glitter with a thousand silver arcs. If Earth had rings like Saturn, you’d only have to look up to get a spectacular show.

Veteran astronomy artist Ron Miller has created some stunning views of what our skies would look like if Earth were a ringed planet, and they make me want to start a Kickstarter campaign to make it happen.

In a recent article for io9, Miller presented his wild visions of a ringed Earth and what the sky would look like from various places on our planet.

He notes that Earth did have a ring, long ago. It was the result of a cataclysmic planetary crash that precipitated the formation of the moon.

Saturn’s existing rings did not form moons because the material lies within its Roche limit. That’s the radius within which orbiting bodies will generally disintegrate under gravitational stress. What if the material that went into our moon had been within Earth’s Roche limit? Miller’s visions are a possible answer.

A former art director at the National Air Space Museum’s Albert Einstein Planetarium, Miller has produced illustrations that have graced nearly every publication with cool science ideas, from Scientific American to Starlog; he has designed U.S. postage stamps, translated works by Jules Verne, and worked as a production illustrator on “Dune” and “Total Recall.”

He has also authored numerous books, including “The Dream Machines,” a comprehensive history of manned spacecraft, and a series of novels. He has also illustrated dozens of covers for fantasy and science fiction books.

“I am an astronomical illustrator by profession and have always had a special fondness for Saturn,” Miller tells CNET.

“I was looking through some of my old space books and ran across an illustration of what Saturn’s rings might look like from London if the earth possessed the rings, which had been done in the late 1920s.

“It started me thinking that this might make an interesting series of pictures, showing what the rings would like like from different latitudes.”

Check out more of Miller’s visions of a ringed Earth in the gallery below.

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cnet/pRza/~3/F5uyBLt9Ojk/

For those of you who tend to do a whole lot of typing in your line of work, surely you would know that there is nothing quite like a responsive keyboard with fantastic tactile feedback. Having said that, those projected keyboards are novelty devices that are unable to beat the real deal when it comes to churning out those reports as requested by the upper management. Single folks can just give this particular story the once over, or skip it altogether as they do not have to deal with typing in bed or in the bedroom while your partner is doing his or her darndest best to fall asleep. What you need is definitely something that works great as a keyboard, but is whisper quiet. The candidate to fill this pair of shoes would be the new Das Keyboard Quiet Mechanical Keyboard.

With the introduction of the Das Keyboard Quiet Mechanical Keyboard, it would mean that Das Keyboard’s popular range of high-performance mechanical keyboards has just gained another family member, where it is said to be able to reduce audible feedback to a minimum without sacrificing on performance. In fact, it claims to deliver one of the best tactile experiences. This latest newest member of the Das Keyboard family will boast of Cherry MX Red key switches that are combined with a new Quiet Key Design. In a nutshell, it would require far less force to actuate keys, where we are looking at 45g instead of 55g to 60g for majority of the keyboards out there, and users would then end up with a softer, more tactile and “whisper quiet” typing experience.

Daniel Guermeur, creator of the Das Keyboard and CEO of Metadot Corporation, said, “Professionals who use modern communication tools like Skype, GoToMeeting, Google Hangout and other means to interact during the workday need a quiet keyboard during their calls to help reduce background noise and distractions. People working in open space environments have expressed the same need. The growing demand for a keyboard that could deliver such an experience is what motivated us to design our newest product. The Das Keyboard Professional Quiet is the total package, delivering outstanding tactile feel and a whisper quiet typing experience. ”

You will be able to pick up the $149 Das Keyboard Professional Quiet in the following layouts – US, UK, German and Nordic.

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Article source: http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20130521/das-keyboard-quiet-mechanical-keyboard/