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The Tech Report: News (22 unread)

May 15, 2012
17:57
Chrome 19 arrives with tab syncing

Google has started quietly rolling out the latest Chrome update, and there's a new feature that ought to please folks who juggle multiple PCs and Android devices: tab syncing. In a nutshell, the feature lets you bring up tabs from other machines through a menu at the bottom of the new tab page.
...
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May 16, 2012
1:40
Wednesday Shortbread
Eight is Enough
1. Bloomberg: Intel CEO says replacement likely to come from within
2. Bloomberg West: Take a tour of the Intel museum
  and what's next for Intel? (videos)
3. WSJ: Apple fires back in lawsuit over Siri's performance
4. Nvidia launches three new GeForce 600 GPUs for desktops
5. Engadget: FXI Cotton Candy ICS-on-a-stick
  gets May release date, sweetened design
6. Droid Life: Samsung Exynos 5250 spotted in Google Git
  repository, are they collaborating again on the the next Nexus?
7. Computerworld: EU-Microsoft browser deal requires ballot screen in Windows 8
8. Gamasutra's interview with Diablo III's Jay Wilson
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2:55
AMD's A10-4600M 'Trinity' APU

One of the big stories in PC processors over the past few years has been AMD's struggles to match the performance of Intel's high-end desktop CPUs. The much-anticipated "Bulldozer" microarchitecture landed with a thud, unable to mount a serious challenge to the dominance of Intel's Core i5 and i7 offerings. Meanwhile, Intel continues to crank out major improvements to these products at a pretty regular clip, as it did with the introduction of the 22-nm Ivy Bridge chips last month.
However, there is another, even bigger story unfolding in PC processors at the same time, and AMD plays a more intriguing role in it. As you may know, CPUs have swallowed up a whole host of other system components in the past few generations from the memory controller to I/O and graphics. The reasons for this trend ...
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7:00
Kaspersky: Mac OS is 'really insecure'

If the recent FileVault and Flashback trojan security snafus weren't strong enough indications, someone has now come out and said it: OS X's security leaves something to be desired. Or, as Kaspersky Lab CTO Nikolay Grebennikov put it in a chat with UK website Computing, "Mac OS is really vulnerable."
Going by what Grebennikov says, it sounds like the issue might not be so much OS X's inherent ...
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10:55
Aaron Sorkin confirmed as Steve Jobs movie writer

The upcoming film dramatization of Steve Jobs' life and career might not suck after all. According to SlashFilm, Aaron Sorkin has been confirmed as the film's writer. With the backing of Sony Pictures, Sorkin will adapt Walter Isaacson's biography of the former Apple CEO (Steve Jobs) for the silver screen.
Sorkin is, of course, known for penning the screenplay of The Social Network , the dramatization of Facebook's rise to power, and winning an Academy Award for it. That screenplay, too, was adapted from a book: The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal ...
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14:59
Prototype Google Glasses don't have full HUD displays

After Google unveiled its Glasses project last month, we saw a number of Google executives donning prototype glasses out in public. One notable example: the appearance of Google X Founder Sebastian Thrun on Charlie Rose a few weeks back.
However, according to a new story by CNet News, the prototype glasses actually fall well short of the experience portrayed ...
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18:40
DisplaySearch: 'Retina' laptop panels carry a hefty premium

A lot of us are looking forward to high-DPI notebook displays from Apple and other vendors. Some say they might appear as soon as next month, which is definitely an exciting prospect. According to numbers by NPD DisplaySearch, though, the new, denser panels will carry a substantial premium for hardware makers—and of course, one wonders if that premium will be passed on to the consumer.
DisplaySearch's Richard Shim told CNet News that high-DPI 13.3" and 15.4" panels (with resolutions ...
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May 17, 2012
2:36
Thursday Shortbread
Eight is Enough
1. The facts about Xfinity TV and Xbox 360: Comcast is not prioritizing
2. Bloomberg: Biggest attack on Apple computers didn't pay off, Symantec says
3. X-bit labs: WD's HGST begins to use 500GB 2.5"
  platters in new-generation consumer hard drives
4. PC Perspective: Nvidia reveals GK110 GPU -
  Kepler at 7.1B transistors, 15 SMX units
5. X-bit labs: Nvidia introduces Tesla K10, announces K20 accelerators
6. Fudzilla: Nvidia promises impressive things with GeForce GRID
7. WSJ: Apple moves to larger iPhone screens
8. Legit Reviews: Diablo III gaming benchmarks on Ivy Bridge & Trinity laptops
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7:00
Steam's remote library management now out of beta

Stuck at work and eager to try a new game as soon as you get home? Too lazy to get out of bed to start a game download? Good news, then: Steam's remote library management feature has come out of beta.
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10:45
LinkedIn profiles tease new Mirror's Edge, Bad Company titles

Almost a year ago, EA Games President Frank Gibeau told GameTrailers that EA was "actively looking at how to bring [Mirror's Edge] back in the right way." A sequel to the first-person free-running action game based on Battlefield 3's Frostbite 2 engine could be in the cards, he said.
Now, fresh evidence suggests the game has been in development for some time—or definitely was at some point in the past. As GamerZines reports ...
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14:46
Video mockup shows Metro version of Firefox

I apparently missed this last week, but it's worth a look if you haven't seen it. Ever wonder what Firefox will look like in Windows 8's Metro environment? We got an early glimpse earlier this month, when Mozilla announced plans for a unified Firefox visual identity. Now, there's more: a concept video whipped up by the Firefox UX Designer Yuan Wang.
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18:18
Release roundup: New coolers and old motherboards

With the Computex trade show barely three weeks away, the flow of new releases from Far Eastern hardware makers is starting to slow. Still, a handful of notable announcement hit our inbox this week:
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22:43
Windows 8 frightens me, and here's why

Some people just hate change. It can't be helped. Those people cling to old versions of their favorite software as long as they can. When support cycles end and upgrades are forced upon them, they work tirelessly to customize new releases to look just like the old ones. When that fails, they take to Internet message boards and complain endlessly. "Why did they move such and such?" they ask. "Why did they merge this menu and that one? Why does it ask for my permission when I try to do this? Why, why, why?"
Those people are the bane of developers and web designers everywhere. When they're spoon-fed improvements with shiny silverware, they purse their lips and shake their heads and cry and moan until whatever they were offered splatters ...
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May 18, 2012
1:00
Friday Shortbread
7 Up
1. USA Today: Facebook prices its IPO at $38 ahead of Friday's trading
2. PCMag: Comcast ditching 250GB data caps,
  exploring new options (thanks David G.)
3. Verizon clarifies: Unlimited data plans to die slow death
4. Ars Technica: Microsoft will remove the bloatware
  from your PC—for a price (thanks Neutronbeam)
5. Mozilla's Ben Hearsum: Code signing coming to Firefox Mac builds
6. AppleInsider: Filing details Apple's plans for Retina-ready resolution-independent OS X
7. Wired on the next Unreal Engine: Why next-gen video games will rock your world
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7:00
Report: Amazon wants to put ads on the Kindle Fire

Already, Amazon offers versions of its Kindle e-book readers with ads on their home and lock screens. Could the Kindle Fire join that list? Maybe so, according to the folks at AdAge. They claim to have it on good authority that Amazon is rounding up advertisers to slap ads on the Fire.
The ad campaigns would run for two months and also include inventory from Amazon's "Special Offers" product. For $1 million, advertisers ...
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10:40
Microsoft renews 'buy a PC, get a free Xbox' promo for students

People are always comparing and contrasting PCs and consoles, but of course, the ideal is to have both platforms. For students, doubling up will be just as easy this year as it was last year. Microsoft has renewed its promotion that makes students eligible for a free Xbox 360 if they purchase a PC worth a certain price.
Here are the ...
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15:05
Wired shows first Unreal Engine 4 screenshots

Sadly, there's no video to go along with these—but the first Unreal Engine 4 screenshots are now available for your viewing pleasure. Wired inserted them in a lengthy article about Epic, Unreal Engine 4, and technical guru Tim Sweeney yesterday.
The shots depict a fiery figure that looks straight out of The Lord of the Rings , some sort of ruined dungeon-like area, and a mountain range. They're replete with tessellation, particle effects, high-dynamic-range ...
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15:42
Etc.

Howdy, folks. I'm back from Nvidia GTC and am pretty well exhausted. As you might expect, I have plans to write a bit about the GK110 chip, the "big Kepler," that Nvidia talked about quite a bit at GTC. However, I may not have that finished today.
In the meantime, we have a ...
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18:17
Deal of the week: Cheap storage and game bargains

No question about it: SSD prices have a taken a nosedive lately. Just look at Samsung's 830 Series 128GB SSD. Right now, it's on sale at Newegg for only $109.99 with free shipping, if you enter the promo code "EMCNEJB27" on the checkout page. That's half of what the drive cost in early February, when we reviewed its higher-capacity sibling. A 50% price drop in three months isn't anything to sneeze at.
Samsung drives aren't the only ones, of course. OCZ's Agility 3 SSDs are also surprisingly cheap: the 60GB model is selling for $69.99 after a $10 mail-in rebate , and its 240GB ...
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May 19, 2012
2:00
Saturday Shortbread
Eight is Enough
1. Ars Technica: Microsoft wins U.S. import ban on Motorola's Android devices
2. LA Times: Facebook trading debut disappoints investors
3. BusinessWeek: How Mark Zuckerberg hacked the valley
4. Reuters: Worries mount as Nokia burns through cash
5. Ars Technica: Feds considering allowing DVD-encryption cracking
6. VR-Zone: AMD R7970 preferred over Nvidia Kepler in real GPGPU deployments?
7. X-bit labs: Nvidia readies GeForce GTX 680M for high-end laptops
8. Patently Apple: Apple focusing on unitary device designs & processes
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May 20, 2012
6:03
Sunday Shortbread
7 Up
1. Bloomberg: Canada currency tumbles as Europe crisis overshadows data
2. BusinessWeek: AMD CEO Read says flexibility trumps speed in sales race
3. Techeye: 'Inexact chip' allows errors to increase efficiency - massively
4. AT&T mobile chief: Windows 8 can boost Windows Phone
5. Building Windows 8: Creating the Windows 8 user experience
6. Fedora 17 general availability to slip by one week
7. Gaming Blend: Diablo III's launch fiasco proves video game journalism fails
Read more...
May 21, 2012
1:00
Monday Shortbread
7 Up
1. ARM CEO: To capture bigger share of PCs than Intel will gain in phones - WSJ
2. AnandTech: Nvidia launches Fermi-based GeForce GT 610, GT 620 & GT 630 into retail
3. Pocketnow: If Android 4.0 will not improve devices, Motorola will not upgrade them
4. Unwired View: What app problem? Microsoft is developing a service
  to migrate all your Android apps to a new Windows Phone
5. Ad Age: Amazon to sell ads on Kindle Fire welcome screen
6. Winunleashed.tk on Windows 8 build 8400
7. Kotaku: Madden NFL 13 will feature "Tebowing"
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The Tech Report: News (22 unread)