Both AMD and Nvidia have traditionally offered “bundles” of free games with their graphics cards, a carrot to lure buyers to their hardware. Now, AMD plans a similar strategy with its Gaming Evolved app, powered by Raptr. In the future, users who download from the Raptr Web site will be able to sign up for a “loyalty program” that will reward those who use it. The entire premise of the Raptr app is to provide optimized settings, based on AMD hardware, for a number of games. Since Raptr bases its recommendations on anonymized data plucked from gamer PCs, there’s an obvious benefit to expanding its data net as wide as possible. Peter Ross, the ISV relations manager for AMD, said that about $250,000 in hardware and games had already been given away in the fourth quarter, and that would apparently be added to over time. All told, 20 million users have adopted the app, he said.
WhatsApp -- the little messaging system that could -- announced today that it had surpassed a major user base milestone, topping 400 million monthly users, and active ones at that.
The new Online Entertainment system will integrate with major streaming music providers. BMW's own ConnectedDrive app can read Facebook and Twitter updates as well as provide car status. You'll be able to use either your phone or the car's own connectivity to download the data.
Most webcams have a warning light that indicates when they’re active, but it’s possible for malware to disable this important privacy feature on older Mac computers, according to research from Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in Baltimore. JHU Assistant Research Professor Stephen Checkoway and graduate student Matthew Brocker investigated the hardware design of the first-generation iSight webcam model installed in Apple’s iMac and MacBook computers released before 2008 and found that its firmware could easily be modified to disable the indicator LED. At the hardware level, the LED is directly attached to the webcam’s image sensor, particularly its STANDBY pin. When the STANDBY signal is active the LED is off and when not active, the LED is on, the JHU researchers said in a recently released . In order to disable the LED, the researchers had to find a way to activate STANDBY, but also configure the image sensor to ignore it because when STANDBY becomes active the image sensor output automatically gets disabled, so the webcam cannot be used to capture images.
Kill-switch technology that can render a lost or stolen smartphone useless would become mandatory in California under a new bill that will be proposed to the state legislature in January. The bill will be introduced by Senator Mark Leno, a Democrat representing San Francisco and neighboring towns, and George Gascón, the district attorney for San Francisco. Gascón has been spearheading a across the U.S. for more to be done to prevent smartphone theft. The proposed law could reach well beyond the borders of California. Because of the difficulty and added cost of producing handsets solely for sale in California, it could serve to make kill-switch technology a standard feature on phones sold across the U.S.
You won't be able to get your hands on Apple's high-end workstation for several weeks.
You're going to need a new TV to see Kevin Spacey scheme in glorious pixel-packed 4K resolution.
Finnish smartphone start-up Jolla has launched its online shop, where European customers can buy its first device. The shop is for now open to consumers in European Union countries, Switzerland and Norway, selling the Jolla smartphone for €399 (US$545) including VAT. All pre-ordered devices will have been shipped to E.U. customers by Christmas, whereas the shipments of new orders from the stores will begin in early January, according to Jolla. The company has suffered some delays due to “technical logistics issues.” Consumers who buy the smartphone in the online store can expect to receive their Jolla smartphone in two to four weeks, Jolla said. Jolla was founded in 2011 by a group of former Nokia employees who wanted to continue the development work the phone maker had done on the MeeGo operating system. The smartphone has a 4.5-inch screen, an 8-megapixel back camera and LTE.
In its first move since ordering a company reorganization, Acer said it is focusing more on software and services to revive its struggling PC business. But analysts expect the company to face a tough road with its new direction, at a time when rivals are also focusing on the cloud. To carry out its plan, Acer said on Wednesday it will develop so-called “Build Your Own Cloud” products that will work on its notebooks, tablets and smartphones, and enable users to store and share content between devices. Details of these new software services are still scarce, but an Acer spokeswoman said the company plans to enhance its existing cloud apps. The Taiwanese PC maker announced its new plan on Wednesday after two days of meetings by 40 company executives. But the focus on cloud services is nothing new. Two years ago, Acer acquired U.S. software provider to support its own Acer Cloud platform.
There’s an old saying apropos to building a new PC or upgrading an old one: “Use the right tool for the right job.” Sure, you could use a butter knife to loosen a screw, or a pair of pliers to tighten a motherboard stand-off, but it won’t make the job go any smoother, and you can bet it might do some harm. Using the right tool for any given job simply makes the job easier, and it usually improves the ultimate quality of the finished product. Every system builder needs a number of tools to complete any PC build or upgrade with the efficiency and precision of a surgeon. Some of the tools will be obvious, others less so. It’s best to have numerous screwdrivers or a bit-driver and multiple bits on hand to accommodate any type of nut or screw. For the vast majority of PC builds and upgrades, a basic No. 2 Phillips screwdriver will be the only tool you’ll need. As you start working with more diverse hardware and accessories, or if you delve into the warranty-voiding world of PC modifications, you'll need different-size screwdrivers and nut drivers.
As people have moved to Windows 8.1 in the past two months, the drumbeat of reports that the OS update has affected the SkyDrive cloud storage service has grown louder. Frustrated users have started more than 120 unique discussion threads on the of Microsoft’s Community site. There are other threads dealing with this topic in other sections of the site, and in third-party discussion forums. Most of the threads on the company’s Community site are active, and few have received a satisfying answer from Microsoft forum moderators. The problems for the affected users began after installing Windows 8.1, the update to Windows 8 that started shipping in mid-October. The complaints include .
Toyota will use January’s CES to unveil its fuel-cell concept car for the first time in North America. The world’s biggest automaker will disclose its plans for fuel-cell vehicles in a news conference scheduled to take place alongside CES in Las Vegas on Jan. 6. Toyota’s fuel-cell concept vehicle, called the FCV, will also be on show at the event. The uses a fuel cell that converts hydrogen to electricity. Unveiled first at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show, the FCV is the kind of car Toyota hopes to put on the market in 2015. The company is aiming the produce a car with a range of at least 500 kilometers (311 miles) and a refueling time of about three minutes—close to the amount of time it takes to refuel a gasoline vehicle. One of the advantages of such a technology is that it relies on a readily available fuel source, hydrogen, and produces only water as a by-product. The liquid hydrogen fuel is manufactured using electricity.
The Washington Post’s servers were recently broken into by a group of unknown origin that gained access to the user names and passwords of its employees, the paper said on Wednesday. The extent of the loss of company data was not immediately clear, though officials are planning to ask all employees to change their user names and passwords, the newspaper said in a . The Post said the passwords were encrypted. However, hackers in some cases have been able to decode encrypted passwords. The Post did not see any evidence that the hackers accessed information about its subscribers, such as credit cards or home addresses. Nor were there immediate signs that they accessed the Post’s publishing system or email, nor sensitive personal information of its employees, such as Social Security numbers. Post officials learned of the intrusion on Wednesday from Mandiant, a cybersecurity contractor that monitors the paper’s networks. The breach was of relatively short duration, maybe a few days at most, and an investigation is ongoing, the story said, citing a Post spokeswoman. It marks at least the third intrusion for the paper over the past three years, according to the paper.
The team will work to include Intel-based gear at Levi's Stadium, and Intel will show off products there.
Grössenwahn bei LG und Samsung: Die Unternehmen wollen im Januar in den USA ihre gekrümmten Ultra-HD-Fernseher präsentieren. Der Clou: eine Bilddiagonale von 105 Zoll.
Digitale Bodyguards, schlaue Schulzimmer, DNA-Tests für alle, intelligente Städte und mehr Offline-Shops: IBM blickt in die Glaskugel und sagt, wie wir in fünf Jahren leben werden.
Mit dem Instant Lab gibt es nun einen Weg, digitale Fotos innert Minuten auf Polaroids zu bannen. Das Gadget bietet kurzweilige Unterhaltung für Analogfans, hat aber seinen Preis.
Alarmierung auch ohne Handynetz: Rechtzeitig zur Wintersport-Saison kommt die Uepaa-App für mehrere europäische Länder in den Apple App Store und in den Google Play Store.
Der reichste Mann der Welt hat beim Secret-Santa-Spiel des Online-Forums Reddit mitgemacht und eine Nutzerin beschenkt. Diese begriff erst später, welch berühmter «Bill» das war.
Freuen Sie sich mit uns auf Weihnachten: Öffnen Sie jeden Tag das «Türchen», um eine herzige Adventsgeschichte zu lesen. Heute: der Weihnachts-Spot von Apple, hochkant süss.
Als erste europäische Fluggesellschaft ermöglicht British Airways den Passagieren die Nutzung elektronischer Geräte während der ganzen Flugdauer. Telefonieren bleibt aber verboten.
Entwickler Rovio bietet seine Spiele neu auch für PC und Konsolen an. Mit der Bildschirmdiagonale wächst aber auch der Preis. So kostet «Angry Birds» auf der PS4 rund das 40-Fache.
Bisher war Apple der unumstrittene Herrscher im Mobilespielemarkt. Google hat nun stark aufgeholt und konnte die täglichen Einnahmen von 3,5 auf 12 Millionen Dollar am Tag erhöhen.
Nicht nur im Strassenverkehr droht Ablenkungsgefahr durch das Smartphone, auch zu Fuss. Eine Australien-Touristin war so mit Facebook beschäftigt, dass sie von einem Pier stürzte.
Die Läden des iPhone-Konzerns sind durchgestylte Pilgerstätten für Apple-Fans. Das hat Samsung inspiriert: Für ihre eigenen Shops holen die Südkoreaner Verstärkung von Apple.
Im Frühling kommt Samsungs neues Smartphone-Flaggschiff Galaxy S5. Gerüchten zufolge könnte es mit einem Iris-Scanner und einem QHD-Display ausgerüstet sein.
Ein Entwickler aus den USA wollte mit einem Mac Plus aus dem Jahr 1986 im Internet surfen. Das Resultat ist beeindruckend - und der neue Inbegriff von Langsamkeit.
Während «Der Hobbit» derzeit in den Kinos läuft, warten Gamer gespannt darauf, selbst nach Mittelerde zu reisen. Im Action-Spiel «Shadow of Mordor» erkundet man die Heimat von Sauron.