|  |  |  | | | | | Maximum PC - All Articles | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ever since it debuted a month ago, we've been hopelessly obsessed with Fable's Coin Golf. It's everything we want in an app game: simple, bite-sized, turn-based, and possessing enough depth and variety that it doesn't become boring. Golf is a bit of a misnomer here—this is more like a hybrid shuffleboard game. The goal is to maneuver a disc-looking object to the "hole" in as few a turns as possible. You do so by applying force; pull back from the puck to launch it, and the harder you pull, the harder you launch. The twist is that Fable Coin Golf has an assortment of hazards, monsters, power-ups, and environmental effects, making each hole like a puzzle of sorts. The sword power-up allows you to kill monsters, the axe power-up allows you to cut through trees, and so on. The real genius of the game is the level design, which is talented, unpredictable, and just maddening enough to keep you playing hole after hold. 
Oh, one other thing. As you play through each hole, you accumulate coins by running over them with your puck. If you have an Xbox Live account and play Fable 3, the game will automatically deliver the coins you collect in Fable Coin Golf into your Fable 3 character's account. This is fairly rudimentary example of the potential interactivity between Windows Phone devices and Xbox gaming, but it's intriguing. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Just as swapping parts in your rig can make all the difference, so can custom building an interface in your very own OS. Mods like Rainmeter have spawned communities dedicated to trickin' out their user interfaces--many with dramatic and beautiful new looks. Check out our 20 favorite in the gallery below! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  By the time you read this, it is possible that New Zealand will have passed a highly controversial anti-piracy bill. The legislation is a so-called 3-strikes law that would require ISPs to disconnect those accused of repeated copyright infringement. The bill came up unexpectedly, catching many law makers off guard.
The 3-strikes provisions were attached to a bill authorizing relief funding in the wake of the Christchurch earthquake. The law would allow copyright holders to force ISPs to pass along infringement notices to their customers. New Zealand's Copyright Tribunal will be examining cases of repeated offences and could impose fines of nearly $12,000. The third offence also carries the threat of a 6-month web disconnection. One member of parliament, Gareth Hughes noted that the bill was complete surprise. "It really surprised me because we haven't debated it since November," he told reporters. New Zealanders are calling for protests hoping to stop the law from going into effect. Do you think a 3-strikes law like this can ever work? | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Twenty years ago, Tim Berners-Lee was instrumental in the invention of the Internet. In a recent speech at MIT, Berners-Lee has called access to the web that he created a "human right". The tech pioneer even went so far as to compare web access to access to water. His bottom line, to thrive in a competitive world, web access it a must.
Berners-Lee clarified that it is obviously possible to live without the web, unlike water. Though, web access has proven itself to be hugely important over time. He continued, "The difference between somebody who is connected to the Web and is part of the information society, and someone who (is not) is growing bigger and bigger." Berners-Lee is also an outspoken supporter of network neutrality who often cautions not to allow ISPs to exercise too much control over the Internet. In closing, Berners-Lee described the web in an organic way, stating that the number of websites has exceeded the number of neurons in the brain. Unlike the brain, where we can only observe, we can study and improve the Internet. Apparently the first step is to make sure everyone has access to it. Do you think Internet access should be considered a human right? | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  WordPress is silently running many of the sites you visit every day, but it seems like every time you hear about it, something has gone terribly wrong. Well, today is no exception. WordPress has announced that a person or persons recently gained root access to several of the WordPress servers. The site source code for VIP customers was likely downloaded by the intruders.
Much of the WordPress code was open source and not of any particular value. However, some sites' source code contains API keys and passwords that could be exploited. Needless to say, affected sites are rushing to change the compromised information. In the WordPress post on the matter, they claim that the information disclosure was "limited". The investigation is ongoing, but information is still limited. Do you think we'll see any repercussion online form this attack? | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Some beauty in this beast From the outside, the Enermax Hoplite doesn't really stand out. Its generic industrial look has been done before, and better—it owes a lot to Cooler Master's HAF series, by way of example. What it lacks in the looks department, however, it makes up for with ease of use. Couple that with a $100 price tag and a pretty spiffy LED-enabled front fan, and you've got yourself a deal. Kind of. The Hoplite is a mid-tower chassis that is painted black throughout. The side panels are made of sleek, lightweight steel, while the front and top panel (now with a built-in SATA dock!) are made of matte plastic, lined with steel mesh underlain by screen. The front panel offers two USB 2.0 ports, an eSATA port, and the standard audio jacks. 
The Hoplite takes most of its cues from Cooler Master's HAF series but adds a cool front LED, too. The case itself is actually quite small, measuring 8.25 inches wide by 19.3 inches high by 18.5 inches deep, narrowly beating the already small Thermaltake V9 BlacX Edition we reviewed in March. The Hoplite can accommodate both ATX and microATX motherboards. Its hard drive cage has room for four toolless 3.5-inch bays and two 2.5-inch bays, and the front of the case conceals two hotswap SATA trays. Despite the Hoplite's relatively small size, it can fit a full 12.2-inch GPU, though this should definitely be one of the final steps in your build, as trying to work around the massive GPU in such a small form factor can be cumbersome. 
The hard drive cage has room for four toolless 3.5-inch bays and two 2.5-inch bays. The case comes stock with just two fans—a variable-speed 12cm front fan with blue and red LED lights and a slide-out dust filter, and a 12cm rear fan. The LED lights are customizable via a switch on the front panel—you can set them to blink on and off, blink in a circular pattern, or stay on. The top panel can accommodate two 14cm or 12cm fans, and the side panel can take either two 12cm fans or one 20cm fan. The motherboard tray features five rubber-grommeted cable-routing cutouts that allow for easy cable management. The mobo tray also has one of the largest CPU backplane cutouts we've ever seen in a case, plus a cutout near the PSU to route power cables behind the case. Our test build was easy, fast, and organized. Given the Hoplite's impressive cable-routing options, it's kind of a shame that the left side panel doesn't have a window so you can ogle your highly organized innards. You'll have to make do with mesh. 
The five rubber-grommeted routing cutouts in the mobo tray make organization a snap. So is the Hoplite worth the price tag? It depends. For the price, it's far less feature-laden than cases like the Thermaltake V9 BlacX Edition, which sports an additional top SATA dock (of better build quality, no less), a front-panel USB 3.0 port, and a 23cm top exhaust fan—but no cable-routing cutouts in the motherboard tray. Where the Hoplite really shines is organization—the five cutouts make constructing a polished- and professional-looking computer easy and fast. Whether or not the Hoplite is a good deal for you will depend on whether you value those cable-management features more than the fancier hardware other $100 cases provide. 
Top panel SATA docks are convenient and all, but this one is pretty flimsy. $100, www.enermax.com | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | For anyone who deals with images on a regular basis—whether they're photographers, bloggers, or digital artists—Adobe Photoshop is an indispensable tool. And while the program can be used to make extensive alterations to a single photo, there are times when what you want is to make more simple alterations to lots of photos. Fortunately, Photoshop makes that easy. Here's how you can use the batch-processing capabilities in Photoshop to kick-ass-ify all your photos at once. 1. Create an Action The basis of Photoshop's batch processor is always an action—a predefined set of commands that can be set to run on any picture. Photoshop comes with a set of built-in actions ranging from the mildly useful (Sepia Toning) to the downright befuddling (Molten Lead? Really?). But unless your job down at the boardwalk Old West photo booth requires you to apply sepia tone en masse, you're going to want to be able to create your own actions. Here's how you create an action: First, open a file like the ones you will want to batch process. To record an action, you'll have to have an image to perform that action on. 
Next, open up the Actions window (above) if it's not already visible. It will appear as a tab next to the History browser. Then, click the Create New Action button at the bottom of the Actions window (it looks just the same as the Create New Layer button). You'll be asked to give your action a name (pick something descriptive), and then the action will start recording. Carefully perform the action or set of actions that you'll want to apply to all photos in the batch. When you're done, either save the image (if you want to overwrite the original) or save it to a new location, close the file (but not Photoshop), and hit the Stop Recording button in the Actions pane. You don't have to save and close the image as part of the action—the batch processor can do that automatically—but by making it part of the action, that action becomes more useful if you want to use it as a stand-alone macro. 2. Batch Process Your Files Now that you've got your action recorded, you're almost ready to go. Group all of the images you want to process into a single folder, and start the Photoshop batch processor by clicking File > Automate > Batch. This will open the batch processor itself, which has three sections you should worry about. 
The first section lets you select the action to apply to all images (above). If you stored your action in any set other than the default one, you'll have to select that set from the first drop-down list. The second section is where you define the input for the batch processor (below). Frequently this will be a folder, though you can also perform an action on all images open in Photoshop. 
The third section tells Photoshop what to do with the images the action outputs (below). If your action has its own save process built in, you can select None. If it doesn't, choose Folder to output all your processed photos to a folder. Even if your action includes a save, you can choose to overwrite it by checking the Override box. The six drop-down boxes in this section allow you to define a naming convention for the files the batch process will output. 
Once you've got all three sections filled in, you're set. Just click OK, and Photoshop will open every file in the input folder, apply your custom action, then save the result to the output folder. It's a little complicated the first time, but can save you a ton of time over the long run. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Don't throw away your Sharper Image gift card just yet. In the coming weeks, you may be able to use it. Not for merchandise, mind you, but in exchange for cold, hard cash. Sharper Image, which is now called TSIC, wants to reimburse gift card holders almost three years after the company closed up shop. It's now up to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware whether or not the company formerly known as Sharper Image will be allowed to pay that money back.
According to Wall Street Journal report, Sharper Image asked the court for permission to spend up to $60,000 on a media campaign to find gift card holders and let them know about the reimbursement. Sharper Image then plans to pay back up to $2,245 per gift card. Should the claims end up totaling more than Sharper Image has saved in its piggy bank, the company then plans to distribute the funds among card holders. Those who submit photocopied proof of their gift cards will be paid back first, while those submitting an "affirmation" will be next in line, if funds remain. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  The Nintendo Wii has always held a pricing advantage over its two main competitors, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 consoles. That's no longer the case with Microsoft now selling a 4GB Xbox 360 for $199, the same price as the Wii. To regain its competitive edge at the register, rumor has it that Nintendo is going to knock another $50 off the Wii on May 15th.
When it first came out, the Wii sold for $249, less than half the initial price of the PlayStation 3 in 2006 ($599) and a good chunk lower than the Xbox 360's introductory price in 2005 ($399). Partially because of its pricing advantage, Nintendo to date has sold about 86 million Wiis, compared to 53 million Xbox 360s and 49 million PS3s, GamesBeat reports. Not bad for a company that makes "babysitting tools," as Sony called Nintendo's products. However, Nintendo 'only' sold 7 million Wiis in the U.S. in 2010, down from 9 million in 2009 and 10 million in 2008. Meanwhile, both Sony and Microsoft have gone and added motion controlled gaming to their existing consoles, which previously was a Wii-only feature. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  With Intel pushing its Light Peak (Thunderbolt) initiative, is it any surprise that AMD would win the 'race' to natively implement SuperSpeed USB 3.0 into its chipsets? We'll let the conspiracy theorists ponder that one, but regardless of what Intel's real intentions are, AMD is getting ready to officially support USB 3.0 in its A75 and A70M Fusion chipsets, becoming the first major PC chip vendor to back the SuperSpeed spec, The Inquirer reports.
You can already buy motherboards from both Intel and AMD with USB 3.0 ports on them, but they're not natively integrated into the chipset. Instead, they've been added on using third-party chips from companies like NEC and VIA. The downside to this approach is the added cost As for Intel, some have accused the chip maker of ignoring USB 3.0 in order to promote its Thunderbolt bus, however Intel has stated the two technologies can and will co-exist. One advantage USB 3.0 has over Thunderbolt is backwards compatibility with USB 2.0. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  One of the most frequently asked questions would-be builders ask is whether to buy parts now or wait for what's just around the corner. Generally speaking, you're usually better off building something new when your current gear is no longer able to get the job done, but it never hurts to at least take a peek at what products are in the pipeline. To help you do that, a leaked Intel roadmap is making the rounds. Let's have a look.
The roadmap (click image to enlarge) reveals Intel's high-end Sandy Bridge-E platform will launch in the fourth quarter of 2011, with the 22nm Ivy Bridge scheduled for release sometime in the first half of 2012. There aren't any specific prices listed in the roadmap, but given that Sandy Bridge-E is listed in the 'Extreme' and 'Premium Performance' categories, don't expect a bargain priced chip. Ivy Bridge, on the other hand, will mostly reside in the mainstream sector. Coming out a little sooner is a vanilla Core i7 980. Don't confuse this with the 980X Extreme Edition, which comes with an unlocked multiplier. The non-Extreme Edition 980 is set to debut in the second quarter of 2011. Image Credit: wccftech.com | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Toshiba claims it went back to the drawing board and re-engineered from the ground up a new range of thin, light, and highly-durable business laptops. These high-performance oriented models include the Tecra and Portege lines, both of which Toshiba says are the thinnest business notebooks the company has ever made.
"Our new business laptops build on the success of our award-winning Portege R700 ultraportable laptop, providing professionals what they need and want – the performance needed to handle demanding business tasks in lightweight and durable designs," said Carl Pinto, vice president of product development, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "We focused on delivering what our customers asked for by reducing weight, increasing battery life and without sacrificing performance." Specs vary by model, but all of the new laptop models sport a 2nd generation Intel Core processor, 7200RPM hard drive or 128GB SSD, optional Radeon discrete graphics with 1GB of video memory, USB 3.0, eSATA/USB combo, USB Sleep & Charge technology, DisplayPort or HDMI, ExpressCard, Gigabit Ethernet, and docking connectors. The 14-inch Tecra 840 also boasts an LED-backlit display and is about 25 percent thinner and 20 percent lighter than its predecessor, the Tecra M11. Meanwhile, the 15.6-inch Tecra 850 features a built-in numpad, weighs 5.3 pounds, and is about 19 percent thinner and 6 percent lighter than the Tecra 11. Finally, the Portege R830 measures 13.3-inches and is a full-performance ultraportable with an integrated DVD drive. The R830 weighs just 3.1 pounds and measures about an inch thin, Toshiba says. The Tecra R840 ($899 to $1,479), Tecra R850 ($879 to $1,399), and Portege R830 ($1,049 to $1,649) are available now. Image Credit: Toshiba | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Hewlett-Packard on Tuesday announced a bunch of new additions to its workstation portfolio. The reinforcement exercise adds a lot of variety to the company's EliteBook series of mobile workstations with three new models - 8760w, 8560w and 8460w, whereas the Z210 is the only new workstation of the desktop variety.
Talking of variety, the new mobile workstations include both HP's most powerful mobile workstation, the 17.3-inch EliteBook 8760w, and its lightest and smallest mobile workstation, the 14-inch HP EliteBook 8460w. The latter tips the scales at only 4.9 pounds. The new EliteBook workstation lineup also includes the 15.6-inch 8560w. The sturdy laptops feature second-generation Intel Core i7 and i5 dual- and quad-core processors, up to 32GB of RAM and AMD FirePro or NVIDIA Quadro pro graphics cards with up to 4GB dedicated memory. The notebooks can be configured using a variety of storage options, "including SMART SATA, Self Encrypting or Solid State Drives, with up to RAID 5 capability." Further, they all sport diagonal, HD displays, with the EliteBook 8760w and 8560w featuring the HP DreamColor display option, allowing for "more than 1 billion active color combinations – 64 times the capabilities of a traditional display." The 8760w and 8560w come with an 8-cell battery option, whereas there is a choice between a 6-cell or 9-cell battery as far as the 14-inch 8460w is concerned. According to the press release, the 8760w, 8560w and 8460w begin at $1,899, $1,349 and $1,299, respectively. The company expects to begin shipping the new EliteBooks sometime next month. Now that we are done talking about the EliteBooks, it's time for the Z210 desktop workstation to bathe in the notional spotlight. Available in convertible mini-tower (CMT) or highly compact small form factor (SFF) options, the Z210 starts at $569 (SFF model) and can be configured around either an Intel Xeon E3 processor or one of the second-generation Intel Core processors. Graphics options include entry- to mid-level pro graphics cards from NVIDIA and AMD. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  With the meteoric rise of streaming services like Netflix, Vudu, Hulu, and a handful of others, cable and satellite TV providers need to rethink how to best serve their customers, lest they become obsolete in favor of Internet TV. Perhaps for this reason, satellite provider DirecTV just announced the launch of HBO's new authenticated online video destinations, HBO GO and MAX GO, both of which are provided free to DirecTV customers who subscribe to the premium channels.
"The addition of HBO GO and MAX GO is the next step in bringing quality video content to our customers anytime, anywhere," said Derek Chang, executive vice president, Content Strategy and Development, DirecTV. "Giving our customers the opportunity to experience their favorite programming, no matter where they are, truly enhances their overall viewing experience and helps them get the most out of the content they subscribe to." No small deal, HBO GO offers more than 1,4000 titles online, including instant access to current movies and TV shows like Game of Thrones (premiering April 17), Boardwalk Empire, and True Blood. New titles are available immediately after their premiere on the networks, which is a huge advantage over Netflix, the grandaddy of streaming media. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Eye-Fi on Tuesday announced its new Mobile X2 card, an 8GB Secure Digital card that provides instant uploads anywhere by wirelessly connecting the camera to a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet. This big new feature is what Eye-Fi calls 'Direct Mode,' which supports both iOS and Android. With Direct Mode, the Eye-Fi can can establish a direct connection to the mobile device by creating its own Wi-Fi network, even if you're miles away from a hotspot, Eye-Fi says.
"Direct Mode helps us bridge the gap between classic digital imaging and the exploding world of mobile devices," said Jef Holove, CEO of Eye-Fi. "With Direct Mode and our new Android and iOS apps, the pervasive connectivity of mobile is made available to existing cameras." Such storage and sharing luxury doesn't come cheap. The Eye-Fi Mobile X2 in 8GB form sells for $80 (available for pre-order from Amazon.com, and at Apple and Best Buy stores on April 17, 2011). If you've already invested in an Eye-Fi X2 card, don't kick yourself. The company says Direct Mode will be available as a free upgrade to all Eye-Fi X2 cards later this week. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Forget about the weary, there's no rest for the legal team of the rich of famous. In yesterday's episode in 'As the Social Networking World Turns,' an appeals court essentially told the Winklevoss twins to figure out how to be happy with a combined $160 million in cash ($20 million) and ownership in Facebook (worth about $140 million). And today? A convicted felon is stepping forward saying Mark Zuckerberg agreed to give him a 50 percent stake in Facebook in exchange for startup funding. Sounds shady, so why is anyone taking him seriously?
Paul Ceglia, the ex-con charged with fraud in connection with a wood pallet company and possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms in 1997, says he has emails from Zuckerberg that support his claim, Business Insider reports. "Paul, I have a rather serious issue to discuss with you, according to our contract I owe you over 30 percent more of the business in late penalties which would give you over 80 percent of the company," an alleged email from Zuckerberg reads. "First I want to say that I think that is completely unfair because I did so much extra work for you on your site that caused those delays in the first place and second I don't even think it is legal to charge such a huge penalty. Mostly though I just won't even bother putting the site live if you are going to insist on such a large percentage. I'd like to suggest that you drop the penalty completely and that we officially return to 50/50 ownership." This purportedly took place back in 2003, which brings up the question of why Ceglia waited to long to file suit. Ceglia says he waited because he thought he lost the documents supposedly proving his investment. As the story goes, he recently found them, which include not only the above email, but several others, and is now being represented by a much bigger law firm than the one he teamed up with last summer. If the emails are indeed fake, they're at least convincing. "The emails don't read 'fake,'" Business Insider writes. Reuters came to the same conclusion saying, "The emails Facebook says are fake don't seem that way to me." Image Credit: classmates.com | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Logitech is launching a new app for iPad owners that will allow for remote viewing and management of their Logitech Alert digital video security system from any place they take their tablet. It's called "Logitech Alert," and it's just one of a family of apps Logitech says it is designing for the iPad. With it, iPad owners who left their notebook at home can still check in and make sure everything is as it should be.
"The Logitech Alert app for the iPad was designed to be a true mobile extension of the Logitech Alert HD video security system, and delivers on our promise to help you protect what matters most anytime, anywhere," said James Lopez, general manager of digital video security for Logitech. "The Logitech Alert app for the iPad enhances our digital video security system by bringing users brilliant and clear HD video combined with audio for monitoring on the go." According to Logitech, this is one of the first iPad apps developed specifically for tablet-based HD digital video surveillance. Logitech Alert gives home security buffs access to 720p HD video coupled with high quality sound captured by the user's Logitech Alert cameras. Logitech Alert is available now from the Apple Store at no charge. For $80/year, the Logitech Alert Web and Mobile Commander service enables additional functionality on the iPad, Web browsers, and mobile apps. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  After the launch of the original G1 (HTC Dream) in what seems like eons ago, there haven't been very many smartphones to get excited about if you're a T-Mobile subscriber. Things have been steadily improving as of late, and coming soon, HTC will release what it claims is one of its most advanced smartphones ever in the dual-core HTC Sensation 4G.
"The HTC Sensation 4G delivers the ultimate in speed and entertainment on America's Largest 4G network," said Andrew Sherrard, senior vice president of marketing for T-Mobile USA. "With a lightning-fast dual-core processor and 4G speeds, customers will experience the difference when accessing rich media and content on the HTC Sensation 4G's beautiful qHD display. We look forward to adding the HTC Sensation 4G to our industry-leading lineup of 4G smartphones." The dual-core chip races along at 1.2GHz. Other specs include 1GB of internal storage, 768MB of RAM, 4.3-inch touchscreen with a 540x960 resolution, Gorilla glass, GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 8MP rear-facing camera with dual LED flash, VGA front-facing camera, 1080p HD video recording, and a 1520 mAh batery. The HTC Sensation 4G will ship this summer with pricing yet to be determined. Image Credit: HTC | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Seeing as kindness isn't an officially accepted currency, we're not entirely sure how the Humble Indie Bundle continues to stay afloat, but one thing's for sure: we love it to pieces. For the uninitiated, here's the gist: you spend whatever amount you want – from one cent to your life's savings – on five great indie games. Next, you distribute your spendings among charities and game developers as you see fit. And lastly, the world becomes a better place.
This time around, developer Frozenbyte is the star of the show, with fantastic fantasy platformer-RPG Trine leading the pack. Meanwhile, Shadowgrounds: Survivor, Shadowgrounds, Splot, and the never-before-finished Jack Claw round out the package. But wait, you're probably wondering, what's the catch? Probably some utterly heinous DRM, right? Nope. No DRM, actually. None whatsoever. So then, get to it. Unless you literally have less than one cent, you have no excuse. If that is your problem, though, we're very sorry. Have you tried starting some form of indie game bundle? | | | | | | | | | |  | |  | |  |
