That newfangled “MOBA” genre makes its way from PC to console.
Tag Archives: PC
Guardians of Middle-earth Review
“A console MOBA?” you ask while scratching your head and looking shiftily at your League of Legends client. “How would that even work?” As it turns out, rather well, if Guardians of Middle-earth is any indication. The truth is, hobbits and elves bring the traditionally PC-centric genre to home consoles with flying colors.
While anyone who learned to play the DOTA-inspired genre on PC (“inspired” is actually be too weak a word here) is probably shaking their heads and mumbling about a lack of precision with a controller or something. Sorry to disappoint you guys, but this Mobile Online Game Arena (hence the acronym) is damn near every bit as hardcore as the genre’s biggest entries during its explosion over the past couple of years. All it had to do was make some very clever choices to adapt to the console set.
Source: IGN Video Games
Cracking the gadget pricing code: Buy now or wait?
I get an uneasy feeling every time I belly up to the Best Buy cash register and fork over my credit card to buy a big ticket item. My worst fear? A sudden drop in retail pricing—one that occurs immediately after I make my purchase.
Ever since I paid $250 for a Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader back in 2010—and then saw it drop to $100 a few months later—I’ve become gun shy when buying anything more expensive than a thumb drive.
There’s no such thing as a sure bet when it comes to anticipating price swings. Who knew that devastating floods would hit Thailand in 2011, and jack up the prices of hard drives nearly 50 percent in the following months. And now, as we all splurge on buying tech gadgets for the holidays, I scratch my head and ask a seamingly unanswerable question: What consumer electronics gear is dropping in price the fastest right now, and which purchases should be delayed a few months to best leverage pricing trends?
As a public service, I’m here to help other reluctant buyers like myself. I’ve spent the last week asking pricing experts the big, tough questions: Is now the best time to buy a PC, tablet, TV or camera? And what about game consoles, storage, e-readers and more? Here’s what I found out.
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Medal of Honor Warfighter Gets Big Update Next Week
A new update is headed to Medal of Honor Warfighter next week. According to the game’s official site, an update will be released on December 17th for PC players, followed by December 18th on Xbox 360 and PlayStation in North America and December 19th for PlayStation 3 in Europe.
The update is required on all platforms for any players downloading the upcoming Zero Dark Thirty downloadable content.
The following “tweaks, fixes and additional content” are included:
Office wars: Microsoft, Google, and Apple jockey for position
Most people have gotten past the sentiment that tablets can’t be used for “real work”. The simple reality is that a tablet is capable of doing most of the core functions a traditional PC can perform: email, Web surfing, social networking, instant messaging, and so forth. But, before you rush out to get a tablet to replace your laptop you should be aware that your choice of productivity apps may be dictated by your mobile platform.
Why? There are a variety of factors involved, and it depends on which combination of office suite and mobile platform you’re talking about.
Choosing a tablet may depend on which office software is available for which platform
Google has stated that it has no current plan to develop for Windows 8 or Windows Phone 8. I assume the existing versions that work with Windows 7 will continue to work in desktop mode on Windows 8 systems, and that Google is referring specifically to developing apps for the Modern UI to be offered through the Windows App Store.
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Source: PCWorld
Linux 3.8 will drop support for Intel 386 chips
Launched back in 1985, the venerable i386 processor has served countless PC users around the globe long and well, but recently the developers of the Linux kernel decided to drop support for it.
“This tree removes ancient-386-CPUs support and thus zaps quite a bit of complexity,” wrote developer Ingo Molnar when submitting the change on Tuesday.
That complexity has meant extra work for kernel developers for years, Molnar pointed out.
‘Good riddance’
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Source: PCWorld
Veteran PC game designer Chris Roberts talks Star Citizen
Back in 1990, Chris Roberts introduced PC gamers to an epic space drama packed with intense battles and political intrigue. But unlike George Lucas, who oversaw the more linear Star Wars games, Roberts put players in control of all those interspace dogfights and galactic drama. After several sequels and the advanced space simulation Freelancer in 2003, Roberts left the video game business to work in Hollywood.
Now he’s back, and he’s turned to his fans to crowdfund his most ambitious space sim to date, Star Citizen. Later, Roberts talks about his return to game development and explains why he sees the PC as the future of gaming in this exclusive interview.
Star CitizenStar Citizen cockpit concept art
Game On: How big will your team be for creating Star Citizen?
Chris Roberts: We built the prototype with less than 10 people. The team for this is probably going to be about 60 or 70 people on staff by the time we finish. The funny thing is with this online game, especially this nature of game, you ramp up and then you ramp down towards the end. We’re also going to use a lot of contractors for the art assets and production and sound and that kind of stuff, so that will ramp us beyond that number.
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Source: PCWorld
Microsoft flooded with Windows Phone app submissions, none from Google
Microsoft says Windows Phone app reviewers will be working into the holidays to deal with a flood of new app submissions to the Windows Phone Store, but at least one major company isn’t buying into the Windows Phone hype. “Since the launch of Windows Phone 8 in late October, we are experiencing a sustained 40 percent increase in Windows Phone app submissions,” the company said in a blog post. Microsoft says it will close on December 24 and 25, and January 1 but remain open the rest of the holiday season to keep its approval turnaround time to five days for app submissions.
While Microsoft’s announcement was directed at app developers, it suggests Windows Phone users can expect to see more apps hitting the Windows Phone Store in the coming weeks. That does not appear to be same story for the Windows Store, Microsoft’s tablet and PC app store built into Windows 8. The software maker said in a separate blog post that the Windows Store team would have a reduced staff between December 22 and January 1. Windows 8 does not appear to be experiencing the same flood of apps as the Windows Phone Store supposedly is. The Windows Store app count surpassed 20,000 in late November.
It’s not clear if the Windows Phone Store is experiencing a higher volume of app submissions because of an effort by Microsoft to reach out to developers or if more developers are willing to bet on Windows Phone than the fledgling tablet interface on Windows 8.
Whatever the reason for the Windows Phone app uptick, we’ll have to see if the apps will be high-quality popular apps from services like Facebook and Dropbox or just more drek such as fart sounds, wallpaper catalogs and other novelty apps.
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Source: PCWorld
End mind-numbing repetition with these 5 powerful PC automation tools
Once again, you find yourself sitting in front of your computer, eyes glazing over as you press the same sequence of buttons over and over to get something done. Maybe you had to create a complex folder hierarchy for a set of projects. Or maybe you had to copy, paste, and format the same sort of data multiple times.
Whatever the task was, it probably wasn’t much fun.
The good news is that you can code your way out of such busywork, even if you’re not a programmer. Here are five powerful automation tools that can help.
Directory Opus
When trying to automate something, it’s wise to stop and think about the domain you’re trying to work with. Does your task mainly involve repetitive text entry, or is it about moving and creating files? Narrowing the field will help you find the right tool for the job more easily—and when it comes to file operations, you can’t go wrong with Directory Opus.
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Source: PCWorld
Are Mass Effect 1 And 2 Headed to Wii U?
BioWare has suggested that more games in the Mass Effect series will be heading to the Wii U.
Speaking with GamerSyndrome, a representative for the company was asked what he thought about rumours that the first two games in the series would be ported to Nintendo’s console.
He replied, “I can’t really comment on rumored speculation about the game or the franchise. Wii U is a console we feel is really cool and that more Mass Effect would look great on it, so we do have plans for Wii U but nothing to announce at this moment.”
It’s always possible that he may be referring to the upcoming Mass Effect 4, but many have noted previously how odd a decision it seems to just have the final game in the trilogy on Wii U. With all three games now available on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, it makes sense that BioWare would want to do the same for Nintendo’s console.
Continue reading…
Source: IGN Video Games
10 great PC accessories that cost less than $200
PCs are incredibly useful tools, but if you want to get the most from your desktop or laptop, you’’ll need to look beyond CPU speeds and storage capacities, and pick the right accessories. Gamers are well serviced here—check out our guide to gaming upgrades if you’re looking to get more from shooters, strategy games, and so on. And if you’re just looking for an inexpensive new monitor or a comfortable keyboard, we’ve got you covered too.
But there’s a lot of stuff to choose from, and prices can vary wildly. We took a look at peripherals and accessories that won’t set you back more than $200, and rounded up 10 of the best.
Harman Kardon SoundSticks III
Harman Kardon SoundSticks III
Desktop speakers don’t have to be ugly. Consider Harman Kardon’s SoundSticks III, a 2.1 channel sound system that sports a gorgeous transparent design. The down-firing plastic subwoofer complements a pair of skinny speakers, and the speakers are controlled with touch-sensitive volume and mute buttons. The speakers are compatible with all devices with a stereo mini-jack output, and while they won’t necessarily match the raw output you’d get out of a full surround-sound system, they will make a stunning visual statement on your desk.
Price: $154.99, Amazon.com
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Source: PCWorld
Kids' size KDE
More than a year ago I started an experiment: to bring KDE Education to the kids in Kindergarten.Now my son was starting exactly at the same time his own adventure in Kindergarten, so I jump at the opportunity and suggest to the educators to have a period of testing. They accepted and I installed a Kubuntu 11.10 on an old PC, the Kindergarten bought a 22″ Touchscreen, and I also installed the first alfa version of Pairs (selfcompiled) that I was working on.Now, I am computer scientist, so to comply to the scientific method I needed:1- an Hypotheses: KDE Edu is good for children2- an Experiment: give the children a computer and KDE Edu3- a Thesis that tells me if the hypotheses is right or not.So after two months of testing, I asked the educators to tell me what was the value of this computer. I was actually surprised to see that even the skeptical educator, not so “into” computers, had a really positive impression.After this, I was encourage to go on and install all the updates until the last 4.9.2 KDE release. Now I cannot wait to install the Kde 4.10 which has the new Pairseditor program, that educators should learn how to use.I also prepared 4 different presentation to Introduce the teachers of Kindergartens to KDE, KDE-Edu and Cooperative Learning.It was a success! Now I already installed 3 computers and we are waiting to buy two more Touchscreen.Also the teachers agreed to participate to our KDE-Edu mailing list, and I guess anyone knows how much we need educators in that mailing-list.
And what next? The experiment has to be peer reviewed.If someone wants to do something similar in her/his local Kindergarten, I’ll be happy to give her/him my presentations as a guide (they are both in English and German).Who knows maybe really soon we can have an event called “KDE Game In” where little children tell us “old” programmers how to code better game for them.
Source: Planet KDE
The irrepressible evolution of the PC mouse
Input devices entered a new age with the 2009 arrival of Apple’s Magic Mouse—the first consumer-focused mouse to support multitouch gestures. Swiping, scrolling, two-fingered double tapping, it was all there, and those finger-friendly capabilities have since popped up in Windows 8-optimized mice by manufacturers like Logitech and Microsoft.
The Magic Mouse and its ilk haven’t been universally loved, however. While gesture controls are a nice extra touch, the seamless “blank slate” surfaces sometimes eschew traditional mouse functionality—like middle clicks—and simply don’t offer the same precision as traditional mouse controls. BOOM! Body shot.
Source: PCWorld
How to waste a scammers time
The phone rings. The first alarm bell was the display which read ‘withheld’. I answered it to be greeted with the second alarm bell, the phone ringing, clearly an automated call, which was answered by a kind indian gentleman a few moments later.
Over the next few minutes we established that he was giving me a curtesy call regarding the serious infections on my computer and would like to help.
Now, normally i just hang up when cold called (ive given up even being curtious), but, i wondered how long i could drag this out for.
Playing the part of the gullible computer user i followed his instructions. First, could i press win+r. I was stuck at the first hurdle, the run dialog didnt appear, could this this a limitation of KDE?? Wanting to see what he wanted me to do i fired up virtual box, only to be greeted with the fact i had to recompile the vbox modules! A quick ‘sudo /etc/init/d/vboxdrv setup’ and some delay tactics and i was ready to resume my Windows XP machine.
I hit Win+R and as intructed, typed e-v-e-n-t-v-w-r very slowly, why he couldnt just tell me to open Event Viewer i dont know! I asked me to confirm if there were any red exclamation marks, to my horror there was, apparently the ‘Microsoft Searc Service‘ was having issues, but his explanation for this was that my computer was infected with many types of the worst malware and that theoves were stealing my details. Im sure if i was someone else i would be concerned, which reinforced my view that i should waste his time.
Next i was asked to hit Win+R again, and type w-w-w-.-f-a-s-t-s-u-p-p-o-r-t-.-c-o-m. At this point i switched back to Chrome on Linux, not wanting to compromise my mostly unused VM, and went to said website. The site asks for a Customer Name and Support Key. I typed something appropriately witty as a name, and he read me out the key. I clicked ‘start support session’ and was prompetd with an error message from citrix stating that my OS/Browser was unsupported.
He was confused. It should work in Chrome, but alas he failed to as which OS i was in, and assumed it to be a browser problem.
So instead we tried showmypc.com. This site loaded upa java applet. Chrome prompeted me that Iced Tea was out of date and should i allow it. i dont think he knew what Iced Tea was, but reccomended i allowed it, which i did. He was surprised that it didnt download an executable, but i went into great detail about what i saw on the screen. He eventually gave up on that site and deciced i needed to speak to someone higher up as my computer was definitely in trouble!
At this point i was about 30 minuted into the call. I tweeted, and got a few RT‘s and replies.
There weer several iterations of trying fastsupport.com and showmypc.com, all with the same consfusing outcome, so next up was to try www.ammyy.com. he asked me to download and run the free program which i did, although i couldnt follow his instructions precisely, as i had to drop to a terminal and load it in wine! Now, this was getting a bit more risky, running random execuables, even within wine probably isnt a great idea, but i was willing to risk it. Unfortunately (or fortunatley) it crashed. I relayed the information from the crash window slowly over the phone. This could mean my computer is even worse than previously thought!
We again tried some of the original websites, but then tried teamviewer.com. Unfortunatley for him, the teamviewer site know i was in linux and displayed a different page to what he was expecting. he asked me to click the download button, which took me to the Linux page. I read what i saw, and he prompted me to click on the Windows section, and download the free program.
Again, i ran this in wine, and this one didnt crash. Slighly concerned and ready to disconnect if needed, i read out the numbers and pass code from the window that would allow them to connect and fix my computer. Fortunately, although the program loaded in wine, it didnt seem to have all the functionality and they were unable to connect.
This reinforced their view that my computer was horribly compromised as they were unable to connect.
He asked me to reboot my PC, then hung up. This was at ~57 minutes. I was a little shocked by this abrupt ending, but got back to coding, only to be called again 2 minutes later. The helpful technician asked if i had rebooted (i lied and said i had) and then asked what kind of connection i had. I replied ‘wireless’ and he asked me to reconnect (i lied again). He then asked me to visit the original fastsupport.com again. Again it errored with my unsupported OS.
His final words, which were spoken by what sounded like a broken man were along the lines of ‘right ok then’ and he hung up.
And that is how to spend an hour wasting a scammers time.
Source: Planet KDE
Petition Started Asking For Dark Souls II on Wii U
Following on from Friday’s announcement that Dark Souls II will be winging its way onto PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC at some stage in the future, it seems Nintendo fans are put out that the game isn’t slated to appear on Wii U.
According to NintendoLife, a group of frustrated gamers have banded together to start a petition asking Namco Bandai and developer From Software to reconsider porting the game to Wii U as well.
Continue reading…
Source: IGN Video Games
10 killer PC upgrades for less than $250
The holidays present an excellent opportunity to trick out your laptop or desktop PC, especially if Santa, your boss, or your favorite gift-giver directs a sudden influx of cash your way. And even if your holiday haul was heavy on sugarplums and light on spending money, you still don’t have to break the bank to add some meaningful system upgrades. These days, you can stretch your PC upgrading dollar farther than ever before—as the items on our list clearly demonstrate. Here are ten meaningful hardware upgrades with a ceiling of roughly $250 (and in some cases a lot less) each.
Crucial M4 SSD
1. A solid-state drive
This one’s a biggie, especially if you’ve already ponied up for Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 8. SSDs continue to become more and more affordable, and you can probably score yourself a decent one with a capacity of at least 200GB for about $250.
If you’ve done your homework and selected a speedy, problem-free SSD, you should see a huge improvement in loading times and a major lift in overall system performance, compared to what your conventional hard drive delivered. And because Windows 8 is big on “hibernating” your kernel, drivers, services, and other processes when you shut down your PC, a cold boot your new SSD has the potential to zip through cold boots like nothing you’ve ever seen before.
Our recommendation: Check out Crucial’s M4. It offers 256GB of speedy, SATA 6Gbps storage, and you can find it for less than $250 retail.
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Source: PCWorld
New ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch: a focus on gestures
Lenovo wants to make sure business laptop users are not left out of the Windows 8 touchscreen fray. The company Monday announced the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch Ultrabook, which builds on durability of the original carbon fiber-clad X1 Carbon with the addition of a 10-finger, 14-inch HD+ touch display.
Lenovo Product Group president Peter Hortensius said “gesture control was “a big step towards fulfilling our promise to bring computers into a new PC+ era.”
In addition to durability, the Ultrabook’s carbon fiber chassis also shaves off weight. At 3.4 pounds and less than one inch thick, Lenovo claims the Carbon Touch is the world’s lightest touch laptop.
Inside the reinforced shell, Lenovo offers either Core i5 or i7 processors suited for both productivity and multimedia—something the company plays up with the inclusion of Dolby Home Theater v4 audio. The X1 Carbon Touch also features an HD face-tracking camera and a dual microphone array for better video and audio conferencing.
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Source: PCWorld
Mass Effect PS3 Review
Mass Effect’s extremely late appearance on the PlayStation 3 seems to prove the old adage “nothing is impossible”. After all, Microsoft published the original game, which came to Xbox 360 in 2007 and PC in 2008. Even after Electronic Arts acquired developer BioWare in 2008, it appeared Microsoft’s stranglehold on the original remained as tight as ever, as PS3 gamers got Mass Effect 2 and 3 with no sign of the first third of the trilogy.
Yet, here it is: Mass Effect on PlayStation 3, running in much the same fashion as the original did on Xbox 360 some five years ago. It’s about as late to the party as you could possibly imagine, yet for PlayStation 3 gamers, it may be the very first chance you’ve ever had to play the first game in the trilogy. Whether it’ll be your maiden foray through the game or if you simply want to enjoy it again on a different platform, Mass Effect on PS3 is well worth your time and money.
Continue reading…
Source: IGN Video Games
Apple and Samsung are now top mobile device makers
Apple and Samsung have emerged as the global kings of smartphones, tablets and PCs even though the two vendors have very different product and pricing strategies, IDC said Monday.
On price, Apple’s average selling price (ASP) for all its products is $310 more than Samsung’s ASP, IDC said. That meant Samsung was able to ship to retailers about 20 million more smartphones, tablets, and PC’s than Apple during the third quarter.
In all, Samsung sold 66.1 million “smart devices” in the quarter, outpacing the 45.8 million from Apple, IDC said.
In terms of market share, Samsung had 21.8 percent of all tablets, smartphones, desktops and laptops shipped during the period, while Apple had 15.1 percent. At that rate, Samsung grew by 97 percent over the third quarter of 2011, while Apple grew by 38 percent.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Source: PCWorld
Space Hulk Headed to PC, Mac, iOS
Games Workshop has announced a new Space Hulk game for 2013. Based on the Games Workshop board game of the same name, Space Hulk will be developed by Full Control and will be available on PC, Mac and iOS.
According to a blog post on Games Workshop’s official site, Space Hulk will be “a turn-based game that emulates the look and feel of the board game, but with full 3D animation.” Players will take control of a strike force of Blood Angels Terminators “as they make their way through the close confines of the Space Hulk – Sin of Damnation.”
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Source: IGN Video Games