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The Oculus Rift is coming in early 2016, preorders before the end of the year
Subject: General Tech | May 6, 2015 - 02:37 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: oculus rift, Oculus, crescent bay
Finally we have a release date for the consumer version of the Oculus Rift, some time in Q1 of 2016. The 2012 Kickstarter lead to the first and second Developers kits which have been out for a while now but not generally available. The most recent news was back in September when John Carmack and others showed off the prototype Crescent Bay model. The Dev Kit 2 model was provided for a cost of $350 to those who qualified which gives a rough benchmark of the cost of the consumer model when it goes on sale. At this point Oculus has not provided much in the way of technical specifications but those will be coming in the very near future. You can see quite a bit of information on the Oculus page about the current version, if you want to tease yourself before news about the consumer package is officially released.
"The Oculus Rift builds on the presence, immersion, and comfort of the Crescent Bay prototype with an improved tracking system that supports both seated and standing experiences, as well as updated ergonomics for a more natural fit, and a highly refined industrial design. In the weeks ahead, we'll be revealing the details around hardware, software, input, and many of our unannounced made-for-VR games and experiences coming to the Rift. Next week, we'll share more of the technical specifications here on the Oculus blog"
Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
- Dell gets Windows apps running on Google Chromebooks @ The Inquirer
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux enters 6.7 beta with a safe pair of hands @ The Inquirer
- Intel raises memory deflector shields in Xeon E7 processor refresh @ The Register
- Nvidia ices Icera modem division, says it's leaving mobile chips biz @ The Register
- Bitten By PCB Defects @ Hack a Day
- NZXT DOKO Streaming Device Review @ HiTech Legion
AMD Previews New Flagship GPU with HBM and 3x Perf/Watt Improvements
Subject: Graphics Cards | May 6, 2015 - 02:21 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: amd, hbm, radeon, gpu
During today's 2015 AMD Financial Analyst Day, CEO Dr. Lisa Su discussed some of the details of the upcoming enthusiast Radeon graphics product. Though it wasn't given a name, she repeatedly said that the product would be announced "in the coming weeks...at upcoming industry events."
You won't find specifications here but understanding the goals and targets that AMD has for this new flagship product will help tell the story of this new Radeon product. Dr. Su sees AMD investing at very specific inflection points, the most recent of which are DirectX 12, 4K displays and VR technology. With adoption of HBM (high bandwidth memory) that sits on-die with the GPU, rather than across a physical PCB, we will see both a reduction in power consumption as well as a significant increase in GPU memory bandwidth.
HBM will accelerate the performance improvements at those key inflection points Dr. Su mentioned. Additional memory bandwidth will aid the ability for discrete GPUs to push out 4K resolutions and beyond, no longer limited by texture sizes. AMD's LiquidVR software, in conjunction with HBM, will be able to improve latency and reduce performance concerns on current and future generations of virtual reality hardware.
One interesting comment made during the conference was that HBM would enable new form factors for the GPUs now that you now longer need to have memory spread out on a PCB. While there isn't much room in the add-in card market for differentiation, in the mobile space that could mean some very interesting things for higher performance gaming notebooks.
Mark Papermaster, AMD CTO, said earlier in the conference call that HBM would aid in performance but maybe more importantly will lower power and improve total GPU efficiency. HBM will offer more than 3x improved performance/watt compared to GDDR5 while also running more than 50% lower power than GDDR5. Lower power and higher performance upgrades don't happen often so I am really excited to see what AMD does with it.
There weren't any more details on the next flagship Radeon GPU but it doesn't look like we'll have to wait much longer.
First Glimpse of the MSI 990FXA-Gaming Motherboard
Subject: Motherboards | May 6, 2015 - 10:21 AM | Josh Walrath
Tagged: usb 3.1, sli, piledriver, msi, gaming, crossfire, amd, am3+, 990FXA-Gaming, 990fx
Some months ago MSI announced that they are releasing a slew of USB 3.1 compliant parts. What was surprising was the mention of a brand new AM3+ board based on the now nearly geriatric AMD 990FX chipset. The 990FX has had quite a lifespan with PCI-E 2.0 support and the accompanying SB950 southbridge with USB 2.0 and SATA6G features.
It looks as if MSI is doing a clean sheet design for the 990FXA-Gaming. This looks to be a class leading product with plenty of features. Not only does it have the USB 3.1 support, but it also implements the enhanced audio design that we have seen on other top end boards from MSI. It also embraces the Killer ethernet software suite (utilizing Qualcomm's Atheros Gig-E chip).
The power delivery system looks to be a full 8+2 unit, so it can officially handle the 220 watt TDP FX-9000 series of CPUs. It supports both SLI and CrossFire. The cooling on the board looks to be top notch as well, with a heatpipe stretching from the Southbridge, through the Northbridge, and finally to the VRMs.
We expect these boards to be available sometime around the middle of this month. We should also be receiving a sample for testing around then. It is nice to see new support for AMD's FX CPUs, and this should be a cost effective member of the club. Though AM3+ is a dead end in terms of socket infrastructure, there is still a lot of value in AMD's FX CPU line.
There is no word on pricing at this time, but I would not be surprised to see it hit the $149 mark. It does not seem as decked out as the 990FXA-GD80 which is priced around $179. With the robust featureset that they do implement, it does look to be a value if it can hit that aggressive price point.
Lenovo Software Vulnerability Is Patched
Subject: Systems | May 6, 2015 - 07:00 AM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: Lenovo
Okay, so some people are drawing parallels between this and Lenovo's Superfish scandal that happened late last year and carried on for the first few months of 2015. I am not a fan of that comparison. In the case of Superfish, Lenovo added third-party software that tampered with security for the purpose of advertising on the user's machine. In this case, a first-party application has a remote code execution vulnerability that was dealt with responsibly.
This happens to pretty much everyone, regularly.
But, so our readers know, they should update their Lenovo System Update. The current version, which seems to be 22.214.171.124 as far as I can tell, has been available since April and is not affected. This bug only concerns 220.127.116.11 and earlier. The issues were discovered in February by IOActive and disclosed to the PC manufacturer, who updated them before the security company published the issue. Unless I'm missing something, this is how it is supposed to be done.
The Asus Z97-P; yours for just over $110
Subject: Motherboards | May 5, 2015 - 03:53 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: asus, Z97-P
If you are looking for a low priced Z97 system you could do worse than base it off of the ASUS Z97-P. It is a trimmed down ATX board, only 21.3cm wide which unfortunately leads to a relatively crowded CPU socket and you would be wise to double check the size of the cooler you intend to use. You will also be limited to a single GPU as only one of the PCIe slots is 16x Gen3, the other 16x slot is in fact a 2x though that does leave enough lanes for the board to sport an M.2 slot. There are sacrifices made on the board but the general high quality of ASUS firmware ensures you get stable performance and, in The Tech Reports' opinion, justifies the slightly higher cost when compared to some of the other budget Z97 boards on the market.
"Asus' entry-level Z97 board is the Z97-P. Does the P in the model name signify that all it can hope for is a passing grade compared to its straight-As brother, the Z97-A? Read on to find out."
Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
- GIGABYTE GA-Z97N-WIFI @ [H]ard|OCP
- Gigabyte X99M Gaming 5 @ Modders-Inc
- Asrock X99E-ITX-ac @ Legion Hardware
- GIGABYTE X99-UD4 Motherboard Review @ Techgage
- Gigabyte X99 SOC Champion: 8Pack world record interview @ Kitguru
- ASRock FM2A88X-ITX+ Motherboard @ Hardware Secrets
Say goodbye to Patch Tuesday
Subject: General Tech | May 5, 2015 - 02:23 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: patch tuesday, microsoft, windows 10
Microsoft is showing off some of the new security features of Windows 10 and one of the announcements heralded the end of Patch Tuesday for everyone but Enterprise customers. For consumers any device running Windows 10 could receive a patch at any time Microsoft approves it and pushes it out, apparently a shot across the bows at Google and their less than regular update schedule for mobile devices. This could lead to some interesting and unexpected behaviour for devices if the patches cause problems on some systems as has happened in the past. The patches can be distributed via peer-to-peer which will help those with limited bandwidth and time constraints, which you can read about at The Register along with information on the new Advanced Threat Analytics.
The Inquirer touches briefly on Windows Update for Business which will replace current patch distribution for the Enterprise and allow far more control on what gets updated, with which patches and when the installations will occur.
"Ignite 2015 - Microsoft has shown off some of the new security mechanisms embedded in Windows 10, and revealed a change to its software updates."
Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
- Nanotube TFETs in new tunnelling current record @ Nanotechweb
- Word to your mother: Office 2016 preview flung at world + dog @ The Register
- USBKill Transforms a Thumb Drive Into an "Anti-Forensic" Device @ Slashdot
- TP-LINK AV1200 Review (Powerline) @ HardwareHeaven
New GeForce Bundle: Witcher 3 and Batman: Arkham Knight
Subject: Graphics Cards | May 5, 2015 - 12:46 PM | Sebastian Peak
Tagged: The Witcher 3, nvidia, GTX 980, GTX 970, gtx, geforce, batman arkham knight
NVIDIA has announced a new game bundle for GeForce graphics cards starting now, and it's a doozy: Purchase a qualifying GTX card and receive download codes for both Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Batman: Arkham Knight!
Needless to say, both of these titles have been highly anticipated, and neither have been released just yet with Witcher 3: Wild Hunt due to be released on May 19, and Batman: Arkham Knight arriving on June 23. So which cards qualify? Amazon has a page specifically created for this new offer here, and depending on which card you select you'll be eligible for either both upcoming games, or just Witcher 3. NVIDIA has this chart on their promotion page for reference:
So GeForce GTX 980 and GTX 970 cards will qualify for both games, and GTX 960 cards and the mobile GPUs qualify for Witcher 3 alone. Regardless of which game or card you may choose these PC versions of the new games will feature graphics that can't be matched by consoles, and NVIDIA points out the advantages in their post:
"Both Batman and The Witcher raise the bar for graphical fidelity, rendering two very different open worlds with a level of detail we could only dream of last decade. And on PC, each is bolstered by NVIDIA GameWorks effects that increase fidelity, realism, and immersion. But to use those effects in conjunction with the many other available options, whilst retaining a high frame rate, it's entirely possible that you'll need an upgrade."
NVIDIA also posted this Witcher 3: Wild Hunt behind-the-scenes video:
In addition to the GameWorks effects present in Witcher 3, NVIDIA worked with developer Rocksteady on Batman: Arkham Knight "to create new visual effects exclusively for the game's PC release." The post elaborates:
"This is in addition to integrating the latest and greatest versions of our GPU-accelerated PhysX Destruction, PhysX Clothing and PhysX Turbulence technologies, which work in tandem to create immersive effects that react realistically to external forces. In previous Batman: Arkham games, these technologies created immersive fog and ice effects, realistic destructible scenery, and game-enhancing cloth effects that added to the atmosphere and spectacle. Expect to see similar effects in Arkham Knight, along with new features and effects that we'll be talking about in depth as we approach Arkham Knight's June 23rd release."
Of note, mobile GPUs included in the promotion will only receive download codes if the seller of the notebook is participating in the "Two Times The Adventure" offer, so be sure to check that out when looking for a gaming laptop that qualifies!
The promotion is going on now and is available "for a limited time or while supplies last".
HP Reinvents the AMD Desktop GPU line ... or at least leaks it
Subject: General Tech | May 4, 2015 - 06:19 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: R9 380, R7 A360, R7 A330, leak, gpu, amd
HP announced their upcoming line up of desktops, including new Pavilions, ENVYs and a Spectre studio display with 4K resolution. An astute reader noticed something else that they announced unintentionally, the models of three unreleased AMD GPUs. The machines will be available starting on June 10th which even gives us a rough release time line. The pricing does not reveal all that much as they reference the base models and so it is hard to know what, if any discrete GPU is in the base model.
The HP Pavilion All-in-One PCs will sport USB 3.0 and your choice of an AMD Radeon R7 A330 or an R7 A360. As these are all in one PCs such as the one below you can expect these cards to represent the mid-range of AMD's upcoming lineup, though they could still put out a decent amount of power as the cooling in these systems is effective enough that HP offers models with Intel i7 and AMD A10 chips.
What most people will likely get excited about is in the HP ENVY and HP ENVY Phoenix Towers, the R9 380 which is offered as an alternative to the GTX 980. These machines also offer USB 3.0 as well as an option for a 512GB SSD as opposed to a 3TB HDD. The R9 380 will be powerful enough to handle the new 32" HP Spectre Studio Display, a 4K display with built in speakers and a viewing angle of 178° which implies an IPS display, albeit with an unknown refresh rate.
That is about all we know for now, but you can keep an eye out for more news about the R7 A330, R7 A360 and R9 380 right here.
Silverstone expands its Argon Series with the AR06
Subject: Cases and Cooling | May 4, 2015 - 04:43 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: Silverstone, SFF, Argon Series, AR06
If the Silverstone Argon Series AR05 was a little too small for you and your SFF system needs something with a little more cooling power you can check out the AR06. At 105x92x58mm it is a little taller than the AR05 and at 263g naked it is a little heavier. [H]ard|OCP tested it on a 4770K overclocked to 4.4GHz and it could keep it at a temperature of 88.5C, a little warm but very impressive for such a little cooler. Even more impressive is that the MSRP for the AR06 is the same as the AR05. Check out their full review right here.
"Many enthusiasts are opting for smaller footprint cases now days, and SilverStone comes to us with its higher performance low profile cooler that measures in at just 52mm tall. It has double the heatpipes of the last SilverStone cooler we reviewed and services a host of CPU sockets for both AMD and Intel."
Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
- Thermalright TRUE Spirit 140 BW Rev.A CPU Cooler Review @ NikKTech
- Noctua NH-D9L Review @ OCC
- Thermaltake Core V21 @ Kitgru
- Fractal Design Define S Full-Tower @ eTeknix
- Raidmax Viper GX II Mid Tower Case Review @ Neoseeker
- Bitfenix AEGIS midi tower in red @ HardwareOverclock
Microsoft's Nano Server, the GUI-less server in the clouds
Subject: General Tech | May 4, 2015 - 02:56 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: microsoft, windows server, nano server
Microsoft has really trimmed the fat off of Windows Server to make Nano Server, in fact they may have cut off some of the meat as well. A Microsoft engineer described it as "a model of 'just enough OS'.", which is why the new Server OS base install is a mere 400MB. The GUI is gone, you will use Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) or the new Core PowerShell which will resemble the old Powershell, but again in a cut down manner. Drivers and APIs are minimal which will take programmers some time to adjust to as the DLL that they current use may not exist on Core and the installer you all know and hate, Windows MSI is one of the ones which has been cut. In order to install drivers and applications which currently rely on MSI, you will need to add them to your image. Read more about this major change in the way you will manage your Windows servers over at The Register.
"Engineers from Microsoft's Windows Server team took the stage at the Build developer conference in San Francisco this week to share more details on Nano Server, the upcoming micro-sized version of the OS aimed at cloud deployments."
Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
- Inside ARM's Cortex-A72 microarchitecture @ The Tech Report
- Quantum CPU upstart D-Wave drills into physics simulations to boost vital magnetic shielding @ The Register
- What Happens When You Pour Molten Aluminum into a Watermelon? @ MAKE:Blog
- Tech ARP 2015 Mega Giveaway : Mi In-Ear Headphones
MSI Launches 8 New FM2+ Motherboards Supporting AMD Godavari CPUs
Subject: Motherboards | May 4, 2015 - 02:49 PM | Sebastian Peak
Tagged: processor, msi, motherboard, Godavari, FM2+, cpu, APU, amd
MSI has revealed a new FM2+ motherboard lineup with support for upcoming AMD Godavari processors, further indicating the launch of these new CPUs will be very soon though no official announcement has yet been made by AMD.
As reported back in January when the lineup allegedly leaked the new Godavari SKUs feature higher clocks on both processor and, more significantly, in GPU cores in upcoming APUs like the rumored 8850K. MSI states that "these new models are available in ATX, micro-ATX, and mini-ATX form factors and are backwards compatible with FM2 processors (Kaveri, Richland, Trinity, 6000 and 5000 series)", so it makes sense to consider these new models for future compatibility if shopping for an FM2 motherboard today. It remains to be seen if vendors will offer support for Godavari through BIOS updates, though it does at least seem likely.
For those interested here is the list of new MSI AMD FM2+/FM2 motherboard models:
- A88X-G41 PC Mate V2
The familiar Military Class 4 and OC Genie 4 branding is visible across the lineup, and the new models also feature "a rich blend of features and technologies, such as onboard LAN, PCI Express 3.0 x16, SATA 6Gb/s, USB 3.0 and multiple display support".
Xigmatek Launches SFF Nebula C Cases In Several New Colors
Subject: Cases and Cooling | May 3, 2015 - 09:33 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: xigmatek, SFF case, SFF, nebula c, mini ITX
Looking for a cute and cuddly case? Xigmatek may have you covered with its latest Mini ITX-friendly Nebula C chassis which will soon be available in pink, purple, yellow, lime, and emerald colors.
Measuring 305 mm (H) x 260 mm (W) x 260mm (D) or roughly 12" x 10" x 10", the Nebula C has a SECC Steel frame paired with an ABS plastic exterior. There is a power button nestled in the top right corner, front I/O (two USB 3.0 and two audio ports) on the right side, and a triangular orange cutout in the bottom left corner for aesthetic reasons. Apart from that, the Nebula C is smooth plastic with little in the way of vents, logos, or other garnishments. Cooling is handled by a large passive mesh vent on the bottom of the case and a single 120mm fan on the rear panel. There is space for regular ATX power supplies, two expansion slots, and external water cooling radiators by way of two rubber grommets.
Internally, the Nebula C can hold a standard Mini ITX motherboard, a CPU heatsink up to 80mm tall, a full height graphics card up to 230mm in length, one 3.5" drive bay and one 2.5" bay. Using an adapter, you can fit a maximum of three 2.5" drives in this system. The support for ATX power supplies is nice to see as there are many more options in this space as well as better quality parts with lower noise at similar price points ( you would have to spend more money to get these features in a small form factor PSU where available).
Judging from Bit-Tech's review of the glossy white Nebula C, the case looks very easy to work with and the ability to remove all three side panels should make it easy to get at just about every bit of hardware without needing to take anything out of the case. They do note that cable management is a pain, and that a modular power supply is recommended. Since the motherboard is mounted on the bottom with the drive bays and PSU mounted above that, I can see how it could easy start to look like a rats nest in there if you don't plan ahead on this part of the build process. In all, it may be a worthy small form factor case if you have less than $100 and want something with a bit of color.
The refreshed Nebula C cases in pink, purple, lime, emerald, an yellow will be available soon. There is no official word on pricing or availability, but expect them to go for around $80 USD (if the glossy white version is any indication).
Falcon Northwest's Updated Tiki PC Packs A Punch
Subject: General Tech, Systems | May 3, 2015 - 04:27 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: z97, xeon e5-2699v3, X99, tiki-z, tiki, SFF, liquid cooling, Haswell-E, falcon northwest, core i7-5960x
Falcon Northwest recently upped the hardware ante on its small form factor Tiki PC. Previously limited to Z97-based hardware, the company is now offering Tiki PCs with X99 motherboards. Even better, the Tiki can be configured with Intel's Haswell-E Core i7-5000 or Haswell-EP Xeon chips such as the Core i7-5960X or Xeon E5-2699V3.
The updated Tiki maintains the same steel and aluminum case measuring 13" x 4" x 13" (HxWxD) with customizable paint work and a removable solid aluminum or granite base as its predecessors (e.g. Tiki-Z). External I/O options include the latest USB 3.1, eSATA, and Dual Intel Gigabit LAN ports. Internally, the Tiki has space for an Intel Z97 or X99 motherboard with a liquid cooled processor, up to 32GB of DDR4 (or 16GB DDR3 with Z97) memory, a dedicated graphics card up to an NVIDIA GTX TITAN X or Quadro and ample storage space in the form of four 2.5" drives or one 3.5" and two 2.5" drives.
All this hardware amounts to an impressive amount performance in general – much less a small form factor system. At the upper echelon, the Xeon E5-2699V3 offers 18 cores (36 threads with HT) clocked at up to 3.6 GHz paired with 45MB of L3 cache. Paired with a Quadro card like the M6000, that is one powerful workstation!
The updated Tiki is aimed at gamers and workstation builds doing intensive workloads like CAD, 3D animation, and video production.
The downside to this stylish powerhouse is, of course, pricing – the Tiki is far from cheap and the boutique premium is quite evident here. Available now, the updated Tiki starts at $1,860 for a base level Z97 system with quad core CPU or $2,492 for an eight core X99-based system. Fully loaded, the Tiki tops $10,000.
It is definitely an extremely niche product, but the engineering and styling is impressive all the same!
ASUS MG279Q 144 Hz Display Caps at 90 Hz with FreeSync
Subject: Displays | May 1, 2015 - 04:27 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: amd, freesync, asus, mg279q
Early in April ASUS and AMD announced that the MG279Q display, first shown at CES in January, would be brought into the world of FreeSync and officially adopt AMD's branding. The original post from the AMD Twitter account clearly mentions the display would support 144 Hz refresh rates, an increase from the 120 Hz that ASUS claimed during CES.
Now however, we have some complications to deal with. According to a FAQ posted on the ASUS.com website, FreeSync variable refresh rates will only be supported in a range of 35 - 90 Hz.
Enable FreeSync™ in the MG279's OSD setting, choose PC's refresh rate timing between 35-90Hz (DP/miniDP only)
On the positive, that 35 Hz lower limit would be the best we have seen on any FreeSync monitor to date. And while the 90 Hz upper limit isn't awful (considering we have seen both 75 Hz and 144 Hz limits on current monitors), it does the beg the question as to why it would be LOWER than the 144 Hz quoted maximum overall refresh rate of the display.
The ASUS MG279Q is an IPS-style display so the quality of the screen should be top notch, but that doesn't alone answer why the upper FreeSync limit and upper refresh rate would not match. We already have the Acer Predator XB270HU G-Sync display in-house that operates at a variable refresh rate as high as 144 Hz with a similar quality IPS display. I've inquired to both AMD and ASUS about the reasoning for this 90 Hz limit, and we'll see if either side cares to comment prior to the display's release.
The Core M powered Dell Venue 11 Pro 7140 Convertible
Subject: Mobile | May 1, 2015 - 02:26 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: dell, Venue 11 Pro 7140, convertible tablet, Windows 8.1
The new Dell Venue 11 Pro is a tablet with a 10.8" touchscreen with 10 point capacitive touch displaying at a 1080p resolution powered by the Intel HD5300 present on the CoreM 5Y71 processor. That processor has a base frequency of 1.2GHz and a much more impressive maximum boost of 2.9GHz, offering both power savings and powerful performance depending on the needs of the application you are using. 8GB of DDR3-1600MHz will help you use many applications and the 256GB SSD is a nice touch for those who prefer to have most of their software and data stored locally.
Check out the camera, ports and other specifics in Mad Shrimps review, they didn't review the dock/keyboard but there are two models available; the less expensive Slim model and the Mobile version.
"If you are looking for a professional looking convertible with the latest available low power consumption Intel Core M processor which is paired with 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD and comes with a fully-fledged Windows 8.1 Pro operating system, then look no further, your answer is here!"
Here are some more Mobile articles from around the web:
- MSI GE62 2QD @ Kitguru
- TSST TB100PA Portable Charger @ Kitguru
- Motorola Moto E 2nd Gen. Smartphone Review @ Hardware Secrets
- HTC Desire 820 @ Kitguru
- BlackBerry Leap: Touching biz users with a budget(ish) device @ The Register
- Meizu MX4 32GB Smartphone Review @ Madshrimps
- LG G4 hands-on @ The Inquirer
Samsung's Galaxy refresh refreshes a bit too often
Subject: General Tech | May 1, 2015 - 01:12 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: Samsung, galaxy s6, Galaxy S6 Edge
No company wants to hear their new flagship product has issues but unfortunately that has become all too common as financially gifted and tattooed Apple fans are well aware. It would seem that Samsung is also having launch pains as users are seeing problems with RAM allocation. The Inquirer reports that the phone will use up to 2.5GB for simple tasks, with Chrome being a major memory thief. The programs do still run and the issue is not causing crashes, instead you can expect to see some stuttering and a lot of refreshes when you return to an app that has lost focus, even for a short time. Samsung is aware of the problem and working on incremental updates which you can pick up via Update Now under Settings.
"SAMSUNG HAS ADMITTED that the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge are suffering performance problems due to a RAM management fault."
Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
- Windows 8 market share grows just 2.5 percent in year since Windows XP's demise @ The Inquirer
- You can now play thousands of classic DOS games on Twitter. Goodbye, productivity @ The Register
- OpenBSD 5.7 Released @ Slashdot
- A Look At Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC @ Techgage
- Who thinks Microsoft Edge SUCKS? Erm, Microsoft @ The Register
- Star Trek TOS Picorder @ Hack a Day
ASRock EPC612D4I Motherboard: Mini-ITX LGA 2011-3 with Quad-Channel DDR4
Subject: Motherboards | May 1, 2015 - 09:25 AM | Sebastian Peak
Tagged: sodimm, quad-channel, mini-itx, EPC612D4I, ddr4, ASRock Rack, asrock
They finally did it! A new mini-ITX LGA 2011-3 has been announced by ASRock, the EPC612D4I, and this server-grade product will offer full quad-channel memory support with a switch to SoDIMM RAM.
Image credit: Tom's IT Pro
While ASRock had previously released a mini-ITX X99 motherboard (the X99E-ITX/ac) there were concessions made based on the limitations of the form-factor, and the motherboard was limited to dual-channel memory with only two DDR4 DIMM slots. So for a full quad-channel experience it became obvious that a switch to SoDIMM's would be required. So are there any DDR4 SoDIMMs available? They certainly aren't cheap, but a quick search for the model number of this new board finds a page from Crucial for compatible DDR4 modules – at a cost of $555.99 for a massive 32GB (4x8GB) of 1.2V DDR4-2133 ECC memory.
Specs for the EPC612D4I from ASRock:
- LGA 2011 R3 Intel Xeon processor E5-1600/2600 v3 series
- 4x SO-DIMM slots, supports quad-channel DDR4 2133/1866 ECC
- 4x SATA 6Gb/s by C612
- 1x PCIe 3.0 x16
- Integrated IPMI 2.0 with KVM and Dedicated LAN (RTL8211E)
- Intel Dual GLAN (Intel i210 + Intel i217)
The new board was first reported by Tom's IT Pro and their article lists the retail price for the ASRock EPC612D4I at $265, which isn't bad for a product like this. While definitely targeting the server market this could potentially be implemented for a very compact workstation setup (and allow creation of a PC to rival the diminutive Mac Pro, perhaps).
GIGABYTE Enables 5th Gen Intel Core CPU Support for 9 Series Motherboards
Subject: Motherboards | April 30, 2015 - 10:32 PM | Sebastian Peak
Tagged: gigabyte, Intel, Broadwell, h97, z97, bios, cpu, processor
GIGABYTE has announced support for the upcoming LGA 1150 variants of Intel's 5th-generation Core (Broadwell) processors for all existing 9-series motherboards via BIOS update.
The full press release appears below:
City of Industry, California, April 30th, 2015 – GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards is proud to announce their entire line-up of Z97 and H97 motherboards now support the soon-to-launch 5th Generation Intel® Core™ processors.
GIGABYTE engineers have tested and validated all GIGABYTE 9 series motherboards including Z97 and H97 chipset-based motherboards to ensure optimal performance for 5th Generation Intel® Core™ processors. Users wanting to take advantage of all the features of 5th Gen Intel® Core™ processors have to offer at launch, simply need to download the latest UEFI BIOS from the GIGABYTE website.
To get the latest UEFI BIOS for your motherboard, please visit the GIGABYTE website: http://www.gigabyte.us
Rumor: Could AMD and PC Gamer Event at E3 Finally Bring New GPU Announcements?
Subject: Graphics Cards | April 30, 2015 - 08:28 PM | Sebastian Peak
Tagged: PC Gamer, gpu, Fiji, E3 2015, amd
We haven't had much more than rumor and speculation about upcoming AMD graphics for a while now, but there is more than enough fresh fuel for the GPU fire today to ignore completely. It seems that AMD and PC Gamer magazine have teamed up to announce a special (what else) PC gaming event at this year's E3 show on June 16, and this would be the perfect place for some new hardware announcements.
Not enough for you? Well, while the AMD Fiji GPU rumors are nothing new to followers of industry news, it has now been indirectly announced that the upcoming Fiji GPU from AMD will in fact feature 2.5D high-bandwidth memory (HBM). As reported by tech news/rumor site wccftech the announcement came via the official schedule for the upcoming Hot Chips symposium, which is slated for August 23-25 in Cupertino, California.
This screenshot was taken this morning from the official online event schedule
(Note: This part of the day 2 schedule has now been changed to read "AMD's Next Generation GPU and Memory Architecture", with all mention of Fiji and HBM removed.)
Whether this gives us insight into the actual release date of the long-awaited Fiji GPU from AMD is unclear, but new AMD GPU products certainly seem to be imminent as we move into the summer months. Speculation is fun (for a while), but hopefully the PC gaming event at E3 in June will provide at least some official news from AMD on the new GPU products we've been waiting for.
BUILD 2015: Windows 10 10074 Released to Fast and Slow
Subject: General Tech | April 30, 2015 - 06:38 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: windows 10, microsoft, build 2015, build 10074, BUILD
When Microsoft forked their build numbers into 100xx and 101xx lines, we predicted that they were preparing a version to release at BUILD 2015. We also predicted that it would be heavily tested and pushed to both Slow and Fast simultaneously, which would give a good entry point for developers and probably even enterprise evaluators. I was surprised when Microsoft released 10061 last week, and then updated it just two days ago (why???) with four patches, but we ended up being correct in the end.
Microsoft has just released Windows 10 build 10074 to both Fast and Slow users. Its comes with a very small list of known issues, and they are much less severe than they were in previous releases. The first issue tells developers that Developer Mode needs to be enabled in Group Policy, rather than the place in Settings that it will eventually be. The next two issues are more severe: some games cannot be played in full screen and the People app is still broken. I am not sure how wide-spread "some games" is, but they plan to patch it via Windows Update "as soon as possible".
One major fix is that now, when certain applications that play audio are minimized, they will continue to play audio. This bug made many media players, such as a few SoundCloud apps in the Windows Store as well as Microsoft's own Music app, pretty much useless. Until 10074, you would basically need to launch them, then cover them up with other windows if you wanted more screen real-estate.
If you were a fan of Aero from Windows 7, then you will like the blurred transparency effect of Start and the taskbar. Personally, while I think it looks nice, I was never really attached to that aspect of the Windows UI. Honestly, it used to drive me nuts when it kicked me out of games to complain about how it cannot properly manage 2GB of video memory, despite running perfectly fine if I select ignore. Hopefully that will not come back with it. But, if it is here without causing any problems, it does look pretty. Also, the Start Menu can now be manually resized to better arrange your apps. It also looks like the semi-horizontal layout is a great compromise between the Start Menu and the Start Screen for desktops.
So, as we expected, this build is what happens when Microsoft picks a target and mostly cleans up all of their relevant branches into a solid release. It is still a bit buggy here and there, but it feels better than 10049, which was itself better than 10041. That said, I also upgraded my NVIDIA drivers from 349.90 to 352.63; that could have something to do with it (although I am using the same Intel drivers).
There has not been too many announcements regarding features that are not present in 10074 though. It makes you wonder, at least a bit, how much will be added to the 101xx path until the OS finally launches.
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text:
In an impoverished Israeli Arab town, women are learning the ABCs of leadership
A leadership project in Jisr al-Zarqa aims to redress an appalling lack of literacy among local women, and to encourage their activism and involvement in local civic affairs.
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Every Wednesday afternoon, a group of women from the town of Jisr al-Zarqa, located on the Mediterranean coast near Caesarea, meet, and, with eyes gleaming, dare to dream together of a better future. These women − among them Nadia Najar, Heifa Jourban, Libia Amash, Kfiya Amash and Munira Trukman − are members of the local women's leadership group, and their dream is both for women in general and also...
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
School Overview
|School Membership(s)School Assoc.
|Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI)
Christian Schools International (CSI)
|Religious Affiliation
|Grades Offered
|Grades Prekindergarten - 8
|Year Founded
Student Body
|Total Students
|116 students
|Student Body Type
|% Students of Color
State avg.: 36%
|Students by Grade
Academics and Faculty
|Total Classroom Teachers
|10 teachers
|Student : Teacher Ratio
National avg.: 13:1
|% Faculty w/Advanced Degree
|Average Class Size
|12 students
|Classroom Dress Code
(School polo shirts required)
Finances and Admission
|Admission Deadline
|None / Rolling
|Tuition Notes
|Tuition for Kindergarten / $5,353 Tuition for grades 1-4 / $6,084 Tuition for grades 5-8 / $6,323 3 Day Pre-K $200 (3 hrs.) 5 Day Pre-K $280 (3 hrs.) Extended Day $4.00/hr.
|% on Financial Aid
|Average Financial Aid Grant
|Acceptance Rate
National avg.: 85%
|Admissions Director
|Sue Vander Ploeg, Principal
|Admissions Associate
|Elaine DeHoogh
|Total Sports Offered
|4 sports
|Basketball, Cross Country, Soccer, VolleyballBasketball, Cross Country,
Soccer, Volleyball,
|Total ExtracurricularsTotal Extra-curric.
|2 extracurriculars
|Before and After school child care, Running Club Running Club, Before and After school child care,
School Notes:
Phoenix Christian School PreK-8 teaches a Christian world view to all students. Our teachers are state certified and highly qualified. We offer a curriculum that intergrates Biblical teachings into every subject area throughout the school day. We offer an after school sports program for students in grades 5-8 with competition against other schools around the valley. We offer technology classes, library, Toastmasters (grades 6-8) yearbook (JH), drama (JH), art (K-8), Physical Education (K-8), instrumental music (4-8) vocal music (PK-8). with two music concerts (Dec and April). Our students and staff attend chapel twice a month and this years' school theme is "Press On."
Profile last updated: 09/04/2014
Nearby Schools:
- School Location Miles Students Grades
Phoenix St Agnes Catholic School
2311 E Palm Ln
Phoenix, AZ 85006
(602)244-1451(Roman Catholic)0.5 mi | 223 students | Gr. PK-8
PhoenixYouth Development Institute School
1830 E Roosevelt St
Phoenix, AZ 85006
(602)256-5350Special Education School (Christian)1.4 mi | 137 students | Gr. 6-12
PhoenixPhoenix Advantage Charter School
3738 N 16th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85016
(602)263-8777(Non-sectarian)1.8 mi | 826 students | Gr. K-8
Phoenix St Thomas The Apostle School
4510 N 24th St
Phoenix, AZ 85016
(602)368-5253(Roman Catholic)2 mi | 516 students | Gr. KG-8
PhoenixChrist Lutheran School
3901 E Indian School Rd
Phoenix, AZ 85018
(602)957-7010(Lutheran Church -- Missouri Synod)2.2 mi | 484 students | Gr. PK-8


text:
Gear Review
Great but need regular hand pockets
- Gender: Female
- Familiarity: I've used it several times
The jacket is great for rainy days, but it needs regular hand pockets. When I'm making a quick dash to the store, I'd rather put my keys/wallet in a pocket than carry my purse. The only pockets are on the chest.
View More Details on The North Face Meru Gore Jacket - Women's


text:
We created Pandora to put the Music Genome Project directly in your hands
It's a new kind of radio –
stations that play only music you like
Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
Features of This Trackelectric rock instrumentation
punk influences
a subtle use of paired vocal harmony
mild rhythmic syncopation
minor key tonality
a prominent accordion part
a dynamic male vocalist
a partially spoken vocal delivery
subtle use of acoustic piano
emphasis on instrumental arranging
These are just a few of the hundreds of attributes cataloged for this track by the Music Genome Project.show more
Similar Tracks
thanks @jimbrady82 for correct lyrics.
set out for a great adventure.
He tore our images out of his pictures,
he scratched our names out of all his letters.
Our mother shoulda just named you Laika!
Come on Alex, you can do it.
Come on Alex, there's nothin' to it.
If you want somethin' don't ask for nothin,
if you want nothin' don't ask for somethin'!
Our mother shoulda just named you Laika!
It's for your own good,
it's for the neighborhood !
For the neighborhood
For a year we caught his tears in a cup.
And now we're gonna make him drink it.
Come on Alex don't die or dry up!
Our mother shoulda just named you Laika!
It's for your own good,
it's for the neighborhood !
When daddy comes home you always start a fight,
so the neighbors can dance in the police disco lights.
The police disco lights.
Now the neighbors can dance! (x4)


text:
When it comes to recruiting, no one does it better than Nick Saban and his staff at Alabama. As Steve Spurrier has recently pointed out, the Crimson Tide seemingly locks up the mythical national recruiting championship every year. (And since they're not winning the SEC every year, the Ol' Ball Coach says they're not maxing out their talent.)
The latest recruiting move by Bama is already catching eyes on social media. As top prospects head to a camp in Oregon called "The Opening," several of them received personalized photos of themselves in Alabama gear. Most went straight to Twitter with their photos.
Along with a photo of each player, the card includes the following stats regarding the Crimson Tide: 15 national championships (yeah, right), 60 bowl appearances, and the #1 ranked recruiting classes of 2012, 2013 and 2014. Even more interesting, beneath each player's likeness and name are the words: "NEXT TO BE BUILT."
There's no question that Alabama effectively sells its ability to develop high schoolers into big money professionals. Again, see the #1 ranked recruiting classes of 2012, 2013 and 2014. But the "next to be built" line -- specifically the use of the word "built" -- flat-out suggests that these kids are commodities. They're product, not players, not kids.
That's certainly how today's student-athlete is viewed and most of these top prospects are looking for a program to develop them, polish them, and then ship them off to the NFL. Still, it's a bit surprising to see Bama referring to its targets in such a manner. Not wrong, mind you, just surprising.


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text:
Originally written on Mets Merized Online | Last updated 3/18/12
After the game today, the Mets optioned Cesar Puello and Jeremy Hefner to minor league camp. The Mets now have 40 players in major league camp. Original Post 3/16 Add infielders Zach Lutz and Val Pascucci to the list of players that were reassigned to minor league camp. The Mets made the decision to cut them at the conclusion of Thursday's game against the Miami Marlins. The Mets now have 42 players in camp, including 12 non-roster invitees. For those of you who need a breakdown, there are 21 pitchers, five catchers, eight infielders and eight outfielders. By the way, Terry Collins told reporters that despite being reassigned to minor league camp, he expects to borrow Matt Harvey to make one or two more Grapefruit League starts in the next two weeks. Yesterday, Mets top pitching prospects Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia were among the first round of cuts this morning and have been reassigned to minor league camp. Other players that were reassigned to the minors include Kirk Nieuwenhu...
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text:
Some Thoughts Concerning Education
Kessinger Publishing, Jul 1, 2006 - Education - 316 pages
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
What people are saying - Write a review
Review: Some Thoughts Concerning EducationUser Review - Goodreads
Incredibly illuminating. Amazing how formative this work obviously was for our current public education system. Read full review


text:
Bumper pads that tie around the inside of cribs are a staple of nurseries. They make cribs look cozy and help prevent babies from bumping their heads or getting their limbs caught in the slats. But as the Tribune reported last year, the popular products also pose a suffocation risk to infants, who can die if their faces become pressed into something soft that stops their breathing.
Meanwhile, in June it became illegal in the U.S. to sell or donate a crib that fails to meet the toughest crib-safety rules in the world. Tribune investigations during four years have found the cribs had become a deathtrap for some babies thanks to bad designs, defective hardware and flimsy parts.
Those stories prompted congressional hearings and recalls, and ultimately led to the new standards that address all of the major hazards that have killed infants in recent years, including "drop sides" that too often broke, creating deadly gaps in which babies got trapped.
Deadly neglect
State authorities moved in March to shutter Alden Village North nursing home in Chicago, subject of a 2010 Tribune investigation that documented a 10-year pattern of death and neglect at the facility. The home, which houses children and adults with severe disabilities, remains open on appeal, and the Illinois Department of Public Health said it expects further action on the case this month.
In June, Quinn signed into law sweeping reforms intended to safeguard thousands of children and adults with developmental disabilities who live in nursing facilities. The new laws, sparked by the Tribune investigation, call for stiffer fines for poor care, fewer roadblocks to closing facilities, stricter rules on the use of psychotropic medicines and increased reporting requirements in cases of death. State officials and some advocates described the legislation as the most significant effort in a generation to help the developmentally disabled in Illinois nursing homes.
Doctor licensing
Two new Illinois laws recently took effect in response to a Tribune series that revealed lax state discipline for doctors who preyed on patients, even for physicians convicted of sex crimes.
The investigation found that at least 16 registered sex offenders held physician or chiropractor licenses within the last 15 years, and not one had his license permanently revoked. A doctor convicted of sexual abuse of a patient was not disciplined by the state in any way.
Under a sweeping new law, doctors and other health care workers convicted of sex crimes, forcible felonies or battery of a patient will be permanently stripped of their medical licenses.
And under the Patients' Right to Know Act, consumers have online access at idfpr.com to detailed histories, including whether a physician has been fired, convicted of a crime or made a medical malpractice payment in the last five years.
"After the Tribune series, we realized it was more important than ever for patients to have access to this information," said state Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago.


text:
Seems we will soon hit 2 million questions. Any plans to mark the big thing? Have or not it is such a great achievement for the community. Keep up the good work guys!
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closed as too localized by Rosinante, ChrisF, Sathya, Josh Caswell, Lance Roberts Aug 29 '11 at 2:44
This question is unlikely to help any future visitors; it is only relevant to a small geographic area, a specific moment in time, or an extraordinarily narrow situation that is not generally applicable to the worldwide audience of the internet. For help making this question more broadly applicable, visit the help center. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
Close it at your peril. (:
Edit: Perilous!