Night Hunter

The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Call of Duty: Black Ops III will not come with the game's campaign mode. Instead, last-generation players are only getting multiplayer and Zombies. Activision made the announcement Friday, saying the game was designed from the ground up to "harness the full power" of PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. As such, the game's campaign isn't making the cut on last-gen systems. "The ambitious scope of the 1-4 player co-op campaign design of the PS4, Xbox One, and PC versions could not be faithfully recreated on old generation hardware," Activision said.The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Call of Duty: Black Ops III will not come with the game's campaign mode. Instead, last-generation players are only getting multiplayer and Zombies. Activision made the announcement Friday, saying the game was designed from the ground up to "harness the full power" of PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. As such, the game's campaign isn't making the cut on last-gen systems. "The ambitious scope of the 1-4 player co-op campaign design of the PS4, Xbox One, and PC versions could not be faithfully recreated on old generation hardware," Activision said.http://gameroteca.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Call-Of-Duty-Black-Ops-3.jpg The last-generation version of Black Ops III is being developed by Beenox and Mercenary Technology, not principal developer Treyarch Studios. The multiplayer mode featured in the PS3/Xbox 360 version of Black Ops III includes the game's new movement abilities and new characters, just as it does on current-generation platforms and PC. In addition, the zombies mode, "Shadows of Evil," will be playable in its entirety. However, Activision did not say if multiplayer or Zombies were in any way dialed back for last-generation systems (outside of graphics). In addition, Black Ops III's new Weapon Paint Shop and its new esports-focused tools will only be present on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. These changes will be noted on the game's box. Finally, Activision announced today that Black Ops III for PS3/Xbox 360 won't be full-price game, as it will sell for $50 instead of $60. The company also revealed that it will come with a free copy of the original Call of Duty: Black Ops. The Black Ops III release date is set for November 6 across all platforms. Source http://www.gamespot.com/

http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/BMW-X3-2015-640x353.jpg Fallout from the Volkswagen diesel scandal continues to grow, as this morning brings reports that Audi’s head of research and development Ulrich Hackenberg and Porsche’s engine chief Wolfgang Hatz are both out — two of the top engineering figures in the Volkswagen’s other flagship brands. That comes as a bit of a surprise, even though it’s widely expected more heads will roll at VW aside from Martin Winterkorn, the CEO of the company’s worldwide operations, who resigned effective yesterday. Meanwhile, there’s word from the German newspaper Auto Bild that BMW’s diesel engines were also “significantly” exceeding regulatory limits, CNBC reports, with the BMW X3 2.0-liter diesel model spitting out 11 times more nitrogen oxide than the current level set by the European Union. “[We did not] manipulate or rig any emissions tests. We observe the legal requirements in each country and adheres to all local testing requirements,” BMW said in a statement in response to the allegations. “When it comes to our vehicles, there is no difference in the treatment of exhaust emissions whether they are on rollers (e.g. test bench situation) or on the road…We are not familiar with the test mentioned by Auto Bild concerning the emissions of a BMW X3 during a road test. No specific details of the test have yet been provided and therefore we cannot explain these results.” http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2012_audi_a3_wagon_20-tdi-premium_s_oem_1_1600-640x426.jpgLate last week, news of the diesel scandal broke as VW admitted to cheating on emissions tests with the use of a software-based defeat device on almost 500,000 of its 2.0-liter “clean diesel” TDI engines sold in versions of the Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Golf, new Golf SportWagen, Passat, and Beetle, as well as the Audi A3, since the 2009 model year. The scandal encompasses both the 140-horsepower, 236 lb-ft-of-torque blocks and the newer 150-hp engines released beginning with 2015 models. Later VW admitted that the software is actually installed on over 11 million vehicles globally. While diesel engine sales account for less than one percent of the passenger car market in the US, it had been growing, and it composes much more of the European car market thanks to higher fuel prices, looser emissions standards, and widespread fudging — reports abound of car manufacturers taping the doors shut and folding in mirrors to improve aerodynamics during tests, for example. It’s already known that VW has cheated in both the US and Europe. But the fact that its other brands may be exposed in the same manner, and that other auto manufacturers like BMW may also be involved, improve the odds that diesel may soon be dead in cars in the US once more. Source http://www.extremetech.com/

Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide, the first-person co-op game that combines shooter elements with melee mechanics, will launch for PC on October 23, developer Fatshark Games (Escape Dead Island) has announced. The game is also coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but release dates for those versions have not been announced. They are penciled in for sometime in the second half of 2015. Fatshark has also announced the minimum PC requirements for Vermintide, which you can see below. OS: Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 10Processor: Intel Core2 Quad Q9500 @ 2.83GHz or AMD Phenom II X4 940Graphics: GeForce GTX 460 or Radeon HD 5770 /w 1GB VRAMDirectX: Version 11Network: Broadband Internet connectionHard Drive: 20 GB available spaceVermintide is set in the the besieged city of Ubersreik. Players choose from five unique heroes with different play-styles, abilities, gear, and personalities, and must work together to fight off the rat-like Skaven enemies. The game is set in the End Times of the Warhammer universe, and Fatshark CEO Martin Wahlund says Vermintide will "stay true" to the well-established lore, including familiar foes and locations. You can preorder Vermintide through Steam for 10 percent off right now.http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/536/5360430/2897720-bright_wizard_close-uppng.jpghttp://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/536/5360430/2897717-bright_wizard_screenshot_004.jpghttp://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/536/5360430/2897714-bright_wizard_screenshot_001.jpg Source http://www.gamespot.com/

http://ec0c5a7f741a6f3bff65-dd07187202f57fa404a8f047da2bcff5.r85.cf1.rackcdn.com/images/VlpOXhgLCx7c.878x0.Z-Z96KYq.jpg Io Interactive has announced that Hitman, which was originally slated to come out on December 8, will not be released until sometime in March of 2016. The studio said the decision was prompted by the size of the game and the pseudo-Early Access release model, which will see it "put out a good chunk of the game" at launch and then release the remaining content over time."We want to make absolutely sure you all get the best possible experience when you join, so we’ve made the difficult decision to move the initial release date to March 2016," the studio explained at Hitman.com. "These few extra months will mean we can add more to the launch content of the game, more than we had originally planned, and then follow with a tighter frequency of updates, which ultimately will create a better game for everyone."Io offered a more detailed explanation of its release plan for Hitman in July, when Creative Director Christian Elverdam explained that it's neither Early Access nor episodic, but somewhere in between, and kind of like both. Precisely how the post-launch content will break down wasn't, and still isn't, clear, although that information is apparently on the way."Moving a launch date is never an easy decision, we know it’s frustrating to have to wait a bit longer for the game, but we truly believe it will mean we can deliver a better launch and overall experience," Io said. "We’ll share more details next week about the full release schedule and scope of Hitman in general so keep a look out for that." http://www.pcgamer.com/

http://4d663a369f9f03c3c61e-870e77779efd63f7bd6c2ee08d8cfae6.r2.cf1.rackcdn.com/images/zflneafbmjR5.878x0.Z-Z96KYq.jpg When Nvidia launched the 980M last October, it claimed that the laptop GPU could hit 75-80% of the performance of the desktop card. That was impressive compared to the mobile GPUs of a generation or two back, but not as impressive as what Nvidia’s done now: fit the entire, uncompromised desktop 980 GPU into gaming laptops. Starting early October with six laptops from MSI, Gigabyte, Asus and Clevo, the GTX 980 is making its way into laptops, with all 2048 CUDA cores intact. And it’s overclockable.To show off the full-on 980 doing its thing in laptops, Nvidia demoed several laptops side-by-side with desktop machines to compare benchmarks. In Shadow of Mordor, Tomb Raider, and a couple other benchmarks, the laptop system was able to turn in nearly identical scores—at worst, about 5% off what the desktop machine delivered. In those cases, it wasn’t even quite a fair fight, since a laptop CPU was up against a more powerful desktop CPU. Some of the laptops were actually equipped with desktop parts and delivered dead even performance. In one case, 3DMark actually turned in identical scores down to the point.The GTX 980 will be able to deliver 7 Gbps of memory bandwidth compared to the 980M’s 5 Gbps. Whereas the mobile 980s previously only had 3 phase PSUs, the new cards will be outfitted with 4-8 phase power supplies, which will vary by laptop. Every system that ships with a 980 will have a custom-tuned fan curve to keep the card cool, but it’ll also ship with some sort of overclocking tool, like MSI Afterburner or Gigabyte’s OC Guru.http://e5c351ecddc2f880ef72-57d6ff1fc59ab172ec418789d348b0c1.r69.cf1.rackcdn.com/images/OkZuj-UOrfJL.878x0.Z-Z96KYq.jpgHow overclockable the 980 will be will naturally vary from laptop to laptop, as different systems will have different thermal constraints. You can bet that the Asus GX700, that watercooled beast of a laptop we wrote about last week, will be able to push the 980 to its limits.All of this performance requires the laptop be plugged into AC power, however. Without the extra juice from the wall socket, the 980 will deliver roughly equal performance to the 980M.Here are the ones coming in the near future:-Asus GX700 -Clevo P775DM-G -Clevo P870DM-G -Gigabyte Auros RX7Y4 -MSI GT72 -MSI GT80 Nvidia also told that like with the 980M, there will be SLI configurations of the full-size 980 in laptops, too. That’s likely as much GPU muscle as you’re going to find in a laptop until sometime in 2016, when Nvidia has a new generation of cards to roll out. Source http://www.pcgamer.com/

Could cyberattacks one day be governed by treaties like those limiting the use of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons? The US and China are reportedly taking a first step in that direction. http://cnet4.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/2015/09/19/45e001b5-1eb7-4d97-a2b7-afbe510965d5/38d0e49bb10853afa58b103e796f2aba/obama-and-china-president-xi-jinping-corbis.jpg The countries are discussing a mutual promise not to launch a first-strike attack with cyberweapons on the other country's critical infrastructure, such as power plants, hospitals and banks, The New York Times reported Saturday. The talks are geared toward producing a deal that would be announced next week during China President Xi Jinping's state visit to the US, the Times said, citing unnamed officials involved in the negotiations. Such an announcement might not mention an official rule barring attacks on critical systems, a Times source said. Rather, it could involve a general embrace of a United Nations code of conduct that spells out nonbinding "principles of responsible behavior" regarding the use of cyberweapons like malicious software. Nonetheless, the UN guidelines single out attacks on critical infrastructure as the "most harmful," and the negotiations could evolve into the first-ever arms-control deal for cyberspace, the Times said. The news comes amid increased tension between the US and China over hacking and cyberspying. In June, the FBI said it suspected Chinese hackers of an attack on the US government's personnel office that compromised the data of millions of current and former federal workers. And in August, officials with the Obama administration told The Washington Post that the US was developing a range of "unprecedented" economic sanctions against China over online espionage. The deal under discussion wouldn't prohibit such spying, or the theft of intellectual property, but it would, the Times said, "be a first effort by the world's two biggest economic powers to prevent the most catastrophic use of cyberweapons." It's not clear, though, how effective a cyberweapons treaty would be, the Times noted. Unlike a missile strike, a cyberattack can be tough to track, making deterrence and retaliation difficult. "It could create some self-restraint," a Harvard professor who studies US power told the Times, but "how do you verify it, and what is its value if it can't be verified?" The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the Times report. Source http://www.cnet.com/

For years we've been praising Volkswagen's TDI vehicles for their excellent blend of driving performance and fuel efficiency, but a recent claim by the US Environmental Protection Agency asserts that VW's diesel emissions may not be as clean as we've been led to believe. http://cnet2.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2014/06/04/3b04c472-baca-4131-b694-08c2a8168199/resize/570xauto/3e3d8c7fd0de0d484ff21373e775e8ea/2014-volkswagen-jetta-tdi-12.jpg The EPA claims that illegal emissions control software was used on Volkswagen and Audi diesel vehicles sold in the United States between the model years 2009 and 2015. In its official statement, the EPA explains its findings: "A sophisticated software algorithm on certain Volkswagen vehicles detects when the car is undergoing official emissions testing, and turns full emissions controls on only during the test. The effectiveness of these vehicles' pollution emissions control devices is greatly reduced during all normal driving situations. This results in cars that meet emissions standards in the laboratory or testing station, but during normal operation, emit nitrogen oxides, or NOx, at up to 40 times the standard. The software produced by Volkswagen is a "defeat device," as defined by the Clean Air Act." Allegedly, the cars run in a clean mode when hooked up to testing equipment and switch back to a not-so-clean mode when disconnected. This causes the torquey TDIs to actually spew up to 40 times more tailpipe emissions when driven in the real world. The affected vehicles are 2009-2015 model year Volkswagen Jetta, Beetle and Golf, the 2014-2015 VW Passat, and 2009-2015 Audi A3, totaling roughly 482,000 diesel passenger cars. Neither the EPA's official statement nor its notice of violation to the Volkswagen Group of America makes any mention of a recall, but the agency did state that "VW may be liable for civil penalties and injunctive relief for the violations alleged in the [notice]." With a maximum possible fine of $37,500 per vehicle, VW and Audi could be looking at up to $18 billion in fines. Source http://www.cnet.com/

Canon, the Japanese camera manufacturing giant recently launched there 250 Megapixel(19,580 x 12,600 pixels) cmos sensor in Tokyo at 7th September, 2015. The sensor is an APS-H-size (approx. 29.2 x 20.2 mm) has also set the world record for the maximum number of pixels in a Cmos sensor less that 35mm in size. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B6XtUwUZdnQ/Vfw-mGTAnTI/AAAAAAAAJyE/k6wqu9DLRpM/s640/s_95d04a63ef7640d696847569d7d01b7b.jpg Cannon also claims that the sensor can take images in which letters can be distinguished on the side of the plane, the location of the airplane being 18kms away from the sensor. High megapixel CMOS sensors generally face problems such as signal delays and slight discrepancies in timing due to high megapixel count and high signal volume. However, the new Cmos sensor with advancements in circuit miniaturization and enhanced signal-processing technology provides an ultra-high signal readout speed of 1.25 billion pixels per second despite of its exceptionally high pixel count. The camera Sensor can also record Ultra High resolution videos which are 125 times sharper then that of Full HD(1920x1080) and 30 times that of 4K (3,840 x 2,160 pixels) video, which lets users crop and magnify the video without sacrificing image resolution and clarity. According to Canon the technology wont be used in DSLR's and would be currently used for commercial purposes such as specialized surveillance and crime prevention tools, ultra-high-resolution measuring instruments and other industrial equipment, and the field of visual expression. Source http://www.unrevealtech.com/

http://36646d87786feafc0611-0338bbbce19fc98919c6293def4c5554.r0.cf1.rackcdn.com/images/NcSztXX7aqNZ.878x0.Z-Z96KYq.jpg Prepare to ogle Japanese streams of Dark Souls 3 this March, because we in the west – Europe, North America and Australia to be specific – won't be getting the game until April. Publisher Bandai Namco announced the news at Tokyo Games Show this week, but they didn't give a specific date. To make matters a little more confusing, the Japanese March 24 release date doesn't apply to PC in that region. That will be announced "at a later date", according to the Dark Souls 3 website. Whether that applies to the Western PC release as well hasn't been announced, but given the game's previous delays on our beloved platform, I wouldn't be surprised.Still, once out it's unlikely to disappoint – so long as you're happy with a fairly stock standard Souls experience. "From what I saw of Dark Souls 3, it’s more of the same in style and spirit and structure," Wes wrote in his E3 preview. Source http://www.pcgamer.com/

http://ec0c5a7f741a6f3bff65-dd07187202f57fa404a8f047da2bcff5.r85.cf1.rackcdn.com/images/zea3_AtsPoGf.878x0.Z-Z96KYq.jpg When Five Nights at Freddy's 4 launched earlier this year, creator Scott Cawthon insisted it would be the last. He's keeping his word, but he's also not done with the Five Nights at Freddy's universe yet: the next instalment, Five Nights at Freddy's World, will be a non-horror RPG game.In an announcement on Steam, Cawthon said the early-in-development title will release for PC, Android and iOS, and serves as an opportunity to use the series' characters "in a new and fun way"."It will not be a horror game," Cawthon wrote, "but a roleplaying game where you create a party using the huge selection of characters from the FNaF games, including the classic, withered, toy, phantom, and nightmare versions. I've been working steadily on characters and hope to start on enemy models next week."FNAF World may not release as quickly as Cawthon's previous games, though. "The bad news is that it's unlikely that a demo will be ready for Halloween like I had hoped, since this game's scope is significantly larger than previous games in the series. "However, I will release a free demo, as promised, as soon as it's ready!"In case you've been living under a rock (or hiding in a closet), Five Nights at Freddy's has become an enormous success. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. Pictures is working on a film adaptation. Source http://www.pcgamer.com/

DARPA wants to build a robotic waystation in Earth’s orbit http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Space-640x360.jpg Everyone can see that when it comes to space, real progress is going to require some innovative new ideas. Maybe that will come in the form of a 100,000 kilometer ribbon of experimental nanotubes stretching all the way to geosynchronous orbit, or perhaps just an enormous, spinning spiral ramp. But any solution must give us a better ability to get to space and do work once we get there. Now, rumblings from DARPA and NASA show that they may be fantasizing about a new, semi-permanent installation in space — and they’re already working on the technology that could make it a reality. The idea is basically to create a construction, repairs, refueling, and mission restart hub, in space. Currently, all these functions require a return to base — the ISS receives shipments of supplies, it doesn’t generally dole them out. With such a station, NASA could imagine a new satellite design, pick a currently defunct old orbiter, and send up only those parts necessary to transform the old into the new. The solar panels, thrusters, and other time-tested hardware can stay intact, while computers and scientific instruments are swapped out by a series of robotic arms and manipulators. space station 2These arms are reportedly already in the works, and are souped up versions of the space shuttle’s original Canadarm. These would be capable of doing all the complex manipulation needed by an orbiting robot space mechanic. DARPA is already doing work on a mission called Project Phoenix, which looks to reuse the most valuable parts of old, dead satellites — it has also been working on grasper technology that could shear apart and potentially reassemble old space tech. In fact, this idea for a space-based repair station seems almost like a successor project to Phoenix, making its piecemeal efforts into an automated repair station. space-station-2.jpg http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/space-station-2.jpg Speaking at DARPA’s Wait What? conference (yes, that’s what it’s called) in St. Louis, former NASA astronaut Pam Melroy, now deputy director of DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office, said that some sort of orbital staging and upgrade station could change the way NASA deals with space. The ISS orbits at a messy 400 kilometers, well within “low” Earth orbit, meaning that a geosynchronous station would open up all sorts of new possibilities. She said that it could do for the Earth what the great port cities of yore did for Europe — leading to perhaps the first ever time I’ve hoped that Mars doesn’t have any indigenous inhabitants. The idea, as proposed, is to build this station in geosynchronous orbit, or around 36,000 kilometers above the surface. At this height, it could enter an orbit that would keep it directly above a specific spot on the Earth’s surface, but it’s also too high to enjoy any real protection from the Earth’s atmosphere or magnetic field — this hypothetical station would need to either be shielded in some all-new way or, more likely, be robotically controlled for the vast, vast majority of the time. Even with some sort of super-next-gen launch technology like a space elevator, it’s a certainty that on a long enough timeline, we’ll have to eventually stop building spaceships anywhere but in space. We’ll never be able to mine resources in a vacuum, but other than that there’s nothing about the ship building or maintaining process that has to be down on the surface; not that there was ever any doubt, but we now know that NASA and the US military are very aware of this fact. Source http://www.extremetech.com/

http://ec0c5a7f741a6f3bff65-dd07187202f57fa404a8f047da2bcff5.r85.cf1.rackcdn.com/images/QptVCD_LLoh1.878x0.Z-Z96KYq.jpg We already know quite a bit about Fallout 4: There will be no level cap or game-ending finish, there will be a season pass, there's a lot of talking (but no Three Dog), and German gamers will enjoy the same pleasure of watching skulls pop like overripe tomatoes upon a grill. But there are a few rather important things we don't know, too, including what sort of hardware we'll need to play the thing properly. And there's actually a pretty good reason for that."We're not going to give out incomplete or inaccurate info before we know," Pete Hines, Bethesda's vice-president of PR, tweeted in response to an inquiry about the mystery of the missing specs. "That'd be irresponsible." S; http://www.pcgamer.com/

http://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/star-wars-ps4.jpg Star Wars Battlefront’s previously announced PlayStation 4 bundles are now available to pre-order at various leading US retailers. These bundles include the special, custom Darth Vader themed PS4 bundle, as well as the regular Star Wars Battlefront PS4 bundle. Both bundles come with a copy of Star Wars: Battlefront, as well as digital copies of four classic Star Wars games – Super Star Wars, Star Wars Racer Revenge, Star Wars Jedi Starfighter, and Star Wars Bounty Hunter – in addition to the special edition themed console in the special bundle, and just the regular PS4 console in the regular bundle. The console is available to pre-order at leading US retailers, so if you live in America, WalmartGameStopAmazonFor some reason, Best Buy does not seem to have a link to pre-order the bundle yet, though you may be able to do it in store. Star Wars: Battlefront will launch on PS4, Xbox One, and PC in November. Source http://gamingbolt.com/

http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Office-2016-preview-applications-look-nearly-the-same-as-those-found-in-Office-2013-640x353.jpg Microsoft is scheduled to launch Office 2016 for Windows desktop in just a few weeks — the first new desktop version since the launch of Office 2013 two and a half years ago. After using the Preview version, what strikes me most is that Microsoft has clearly moved its focus and energy away from the desktop to its cloud strategy. While there are some nice interface updates and a few new features, most users won’t notice much of a difference from Office 2013 for Windows. However it is a solid upgrade for those with an Office 365 subscription, and may be worth paying for if you need one of its smattering of new features. Updated interface from Office 2013With Office 2016, Microsoft has backed off a bit from the ultra-flat design of Office 2013. Like many others, I found it harder to find items on the ribbon than with its earlier, more-textured interface. Microsoft Office 2016 doesn’t bring back a 3D look, but it does use a little more color-coding to make the ribbon easier on the eye and a little more user-friendly. The default theme is now Colorful, but can easily be switched back, of course. The new version of the suite also adds support for 250% and 300% zoom settings for high-PPI screens. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint get an additional interface feature in the form of a “Tell me what you want to do…” field on the menu bar. It allows you to type all or part of a command and then click from a list of matches. While a nice addition for infrequently used commands, it is unlikely to please users who dislike the ribbon interface and want the old-style menus back. I found it a lot quicker than clicking through the various ribbons, almost acting as a mini help system in addition to a command box. http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Toolbars-have-been-updated-with-an-easier-on-the-eye-look-in-Office-2016-but-there-are-few-substantive-changes-other-than-the-addition-of-the-Tell-Me-feature-640x142.pngOther than the interface tweaks, it isn’t easy to find any functionality changes in Word and PowerPoint. They do get the Ink to Math capability from OneNote (called Ink Equation), as does Excel. All three apps also get an expanded shape library. The biggest functionality upgrade in Word is better support for real-time collaboration. You can see others changes and even their cursor location live.http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Word-2016-adds-Ink-Equations-which-works-fairly-well-to-allow-you-to-format-mathematical-equations-by-simply-writing-them-with-a-stylus-or-perhaps-a-mouse-if-youre-really-coordinated-640x459.png OneNote is frozen in timeUnfortunately for OneNote users, you’ll notice that the toolbar for the 2016 version is identical to the 2013 version other than color. There don’t appear to be any new features in OneNote 2016 at all, which is a real shame. Even some of the most annoying glitches — like sub-sections expanding whenever you add a page to them — are preserved instead of being addressed. Send to OneNote also appears to be missing, which would be fine if Office included a version of Microsoft’s excellent new Snip tool that integrated with OneNote — but it doesn’t. Presumably part of the reason for this is the effort the OneNote team has put into OneNote for Android, iOS, and Windows 10. It’s great that they’ve made the application cross-platform, but a shame that it has come at the expense of improvements in the full-featured desktop version.http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Office-2016-has-increased-the-use-of-contrasting-colors-to-make-navigation-easier-Here-the-Dark-Gray-themed-toolbar-is-shown-for-OneNote-2013-and-OneNote-2016-640x207.pngBackstage upgrade and tighter OneDrive integrationIf you don’t follow Office development closely, you might not even know that Backstage is the name Microsoft has given the File handling and Options functions in Office. Microsoft has responded to user requests for improved usability by making the Browse button more visible in Save As and in Open, and rearranging the order of storage locations to be more intuitive. Users can also do real time collaborative editing in Word on their documents stored on OneDrive for Business or Office 365 SharePoint sites. Outlook users can have attachments quickly uploaded to the cloud for easier sharing.Outlook finally gets some loveOutlook now provides a list of recently-accessed files for quick attachment to a messageOne application that does get some attention is Outlook. The 2016 version has a nice new feature that shows recently-used files when you go to add an attachment. Clutter, which debuted with Office 365, is also added to Outlook 2016. It uses machine learning to automatically sort your incoming email by pushing lower-priority items into a separate folder. Unfortunately, it is still server-based, so you need to enable it using the Web version of Outlook and make sure any inboxes you want to filter are available to it.http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Outlook-now-provides-a-list-of-recently-accessed-files-for-quick-attachment-to-a-message.png Searching in Outlook adds a new feature that notices if you are looking for a person and automatically shows you your correspondence with them. In my testing with the current preview version, I couldn’t get this to work, but it should be a nice improvement over having to type in full names of people to filter your email. Adding attachment also gets a nice new feature where you can see all your recently used files quickly — since those are the ones you’re most likely to want to attach. You can also choose to send just a link to your OneDrive documents instead of the entire file. Source http://www.extremetech.com/

http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/FalconHeavy1-640x353.jpg In 2011, Elon Musk announced that SpaceX would commission a higher-capacity launch vehicle, built on the same technology platform as the Falcon 9 (currently at version 1.1).This new rocket is designed to lift more tonnage to orbit than any rocket currently commissioned on Earth. While it doesn’t have the same throw weight as the Saturn V, which still holds the record at 118,000 kg to low Earth orbit (LEO), Falcon Heavy will be capable of lifting up to 53,000 kg to LEO. SpaceX’s Lee Rosen, VP of mission and launch operations, has announced that SpaceX was wrapping up its renovations to the old Shuttle launch pad, which it currently leases from NASA. The first flight for Falcon Heavy is currently set for the “late April-early May timeframe.” The initial launch will simply be a demonstration mission rather than a payload delivery, but if all goes well, the Falcon Heavy will enter service with customers by September. The first mission is a September 2 2016 launch, in which Falcon Heavy will deploy 37 satellites for the US Air Force. This will be followed by satellite launches for Inmarsat and ViaSat before the end of 2016, though the company declined to give dates for these. http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Falcon_1_-_Falcon_9_v1.0_-_Falcon_9_v1.1_-_Falcon_Heavy.svg_.png Falcon Heavy’s launch schedule has been pushed back several times already by a combination of development delays and the loss of multiple Falcon 9s earlier this year. While SpaceX believes it has that problem well in hand, rocketry is a conservative business — well, as conservative as you can be while igniting huge amounts of propellant below a glorified metal tube with a total value measured in dozens or hundreds of millions of dollars. The long-term goal for Falcon Heavy is for it to use the same reusable launch technology that’s being developed for the Falcon 9. It’s been presumed that the same technology changes that have been rolled into Falcon 9 as that design matures will be deployed for Falcon Heavy as well. Not only does it potentially save money to keep both families operating a single rocket version, it allows the Falcon Heavy design to learn from Falcon 9’s successes and failures. If SpaceX follows its previous schedule, it will launch the Falcon Heavy in a conventional version first, then begin attempting to recover the vehicle stages after launch. The Falcon Heavy doesn’t have enough lift capacity to launch manned missions to other planets, but it could be instrumental in extending the types of science experiments we could perform with remote devices. SpaceX has previously stated it believes that Falcon Heavy could land payloads of 2000-4000kg (4400 – 8800 lb) on the surface of Mars. That’s more than 4x the weight of Curiosity, and could allow for unprecedented exploration of Mars or the moons of Jupiter. NASA’s SLS will be required for further manned exploration of the solar system, but that system isn’t expected to reach its full potential until 2030. S:http://www.extremetech.com/

http://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/OculusLeak6.jpg Right now, VR is an expensive technology that requires an even more expensive setup to even utilize. It’s hardcore, cutting edge, and for the technology enthusiast- as far from a mass market product as you can get. But Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus Rift, the company that started the modern VR trend, believes that one day, Oculus Rift will be with every person, in every home, for free. “I don’t expect everyone to be interested in VR as it is today, which is honestly a pretty expensive, relatively primitive proof of concept compared to where we want it to be, where science-fiction depicts it. But it is inevitable that it will become better,” Luckey said in an interview with Gamespot, pointing out that the technology is bound to improve, and that one day, it will be available to everyone, for free, possibly without the need for the clunky headsets. Oculus Rift is due to launch next year. Source http://gamingbolt.com/

Acer's Predator gaming series of Pc's, highly powered laptops and Gaming monitors. Following the trend of the series Acer have recent launched there Gaming series Android smartphone named Predator 6 in Berlin at IFA 2015. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-npI7McLlS4k/VenMReyh03I/AAAAAAAAJrA/9N8qtWVWj7o/s640/20150831SXUPZFWMHPWYIPVULOUQTSJF.jpg The Predator 6 features a deca-core(10 cores) MediaTek chipset namely the MT6797 more popularly known as the Helio X20, for top end performance it features two Cortex A72 cores clocked at 2.5GHz(which is amazingly high) supported by four Cortex A53 cores at 2.0Ghz. And for low end applications it features four more Cortex A53 cores (which accounts to a total of 10 cores) running at a speed of 1.4Ghz for prolonged battery life. However while Gaming, you would be mostly powered by the Cortex A72 and supported by the A53 cores clocked at 2.0Ghz. While the rest of the cores would work while performing regular tasks and are going to provide no performance increase as most of the octa and hexacore phones do, the lowered frequency cores are just used for increasing battery life. According to me boasting about the number of processors is just a marketing strategy, as the high end cores would acquire much more battery. The Smartphone houses four Speakers which are nicely wrapped up by four distinct orange grills at the top and bottom of the phone. As sound effects a lot in Gaming experience, thus embedding four speakers would probably provide an immersive Gaming experience. Coming to ports it consist of a 3.5mm jack on the top and an USB 2.0 mini port on the bottom of the phone.http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5HNdAupqlsQ/VenMpZybjmI/AAAAAAAAJrI/kK9lK1V12bY/s640/gsmarena_003.jpgThe body of Gaming Smartphone looks like a Lamborghini and easily stands out in comparison to other smartphone and would probably attract most Gamers. The body is brushed and made up of a metal shell, edged in a rectangular shape with an awesome looking Predator logo at the back, which looks amazing and also provides amazing grip while Gaming and even better grip at Landscape mode. The Display of the device is a 6.0inch 1920x1080 full HD display which is powered by a Mali-T880 MP4 GPU and Supported by 4 Gigabytes of RAM. The Smartphone also features a 21 Megapixel rear camera. The phone is currently running on Android and features an Haptic Feedback feature for Gamers. Acer is allegedly suspected of also designing a top layer Gaming interface for the Predator series of mobile gaming devices which would run above Android such as Samsung's Touch wiz user interface. The price and release date of the device isn't yet confirmed. Source http://www.unrevealtech.com/

http://4d663a369f9f03c3c61e-870e77779efd63f7bd6c2ee08d8cfae6.r2.cf1.rackcdn.com/images/SgPBO0u2GwgD.878x0.Z-Z96KYq.jpg Still worried about privacy issues in Windows 10? There are a whole lot of settings menus you can go digging through to turn off how much data is shared with Microsoft, or you could tackle most of those questionable settings in one place. The newly released Ultimate Windows Tweaker 4 can supposedly “make your system faster, more stable, personal and more secure with just a few mouse clicks,” according to TheWindowsClub, where you can download it. There are all kinds of UI tweaking options, but we’re mostly interested in the privacy settings.The 495 KB download contains over 200 tweaks, allowing you to customize Windows 10 to your heart’s content. It allows you to disable certain settings which may affect your privacy such as Cortana, Telemetry, and the Taskbar Web Search. http://0cb8dd5d2dc142d08f0f-eb3b436d25971e5860b39e72b0600342.r94.cf1.rackcdn.com/images/kJ6WUKkTp7FW.878x0.Z-Z96KYq.jpg The major ones we’d recommend disabling are Telemetry and your advertising ID means Windows won’t have access to information regarding targeting you with advertisements. Turning off Windows Update Sharing will stop using your system to help disseminate Windows Update files to other users, so tick that off if you care about every ounce of bandwidth. You can also disable things relating to security such as the registry editor or CMD, though it's not recommend itThe tweaker is portable, as it doesn’t need to be installed. If you want to remove the program you just have to delete the program folder. Settings can also be toggled on and off at will, so you don’t have to worry about making any irreversible changes. Source http://www.pcgamer.com/

The highlight of PAX Prime this year was, as it often is, seeing what independent developers have been up to since PAX East. We loved Tharsis, Brigador, and interesting projects like YIIK, but our favorite game of PAX was quietly nestled into the Alienware booth: a playable build of Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide, the four-player cooperative melee game set in the fiction of Warhammer fantasy.Swedish developer Fatshark opened it up for us after the show floor closed, letting us jump around in levels that weren’t accessible to the public. What’s surprising about Vermintide, and absolutely central to its appeal, is how fresh it feels despite its deep similarities to Left 4 Dead. You wade through swarms of Skaven, Warhammer’s ratling bad guys, as you move from the beginning of a map to the end, struggling along the way to survive ambushes from Elite Skaven that toss poison grenades, shoot you with miniguns, or pin you to the ground until an ally saves you. At the end of a level, I lugged explosive barrels from one point to another as more and more Skaven spilled into the level, killing four or five of them at a time with wide-arcing swings from my actual warhammer to keep my AI and human teammates safe. It’s an indisputably familiar formula for any Left 4 Dead player, but that familiarity only added to my comfort level with the combat and controls, and the Skaven themselves have much more personality than the mumbling zombies of L4D. The Skaven will chirp at you. They’ll turn tail and flee in the event that you outnumber them. And most significantly, they’re proper melee fighters. The lowest-level slave rats are simple to dispatch with a single, hard swing from an enchanted flame sword or a shot from your crossbow, but handling the armored Stormvermin soldiers, for example, takes careful blocking, distance, and timing—all of which are tough to manage when a swarm of a dozen-plus Skaven are encircling your team. Depending on what type of melee weapon you have, you’ll have to apply a heavy attack (activated by holding down Mouse 1) to even injure them.http://e5c351ecddc2f880ef72-57d6ff1fc59ab172ec418789d348b0c1.r69.cf1.rackcdn.com/images/wqu4UnPs2O9q.878x0.Z-Z96KYq.jpgNuances like that make you realize how barebones Left 4 Dead 2’s melee combat was. And in combination with Vermintide’s loot and inventory systems, it seems like there’ll be a greater incentive to grind levels at higher difficulties. Finishing a map on a harder setting will result in more loot dice, which could produce rarer gear for one of Vermintide’s five heroes, but there’s even a twist on Left 4 Dead’s “Gnome Run” that connects with the loot system. Fatshark showed me a well-hidden nook of an early level, a cellar obscured by shrubs that held a Grimoire, a scary-looking book with moving eyes embedded in the cover. Equipping it reduced the health of the whole team by a chunk, but if we made it to the end of the level with this handicap we would’ve been rewarded with the possibility of more loot. Multiple Grimoires can be used in a single level, too, to up the ante even further. Source http://www.pcgamer.com/

THE GOOD The Amped Wireless RTA2600 Athena High Power Wi-Fi router delivers solid performance, especially when multiple devices using various Wi-Fi technologies are connected. It's also compact and easy to use. THE BAD The RTA2600 has less features and slower performance than its competitors and is more expensive. Its storage feature doesn't support media streaming or Time Machine backup for Macs. THE BOTTOM LINE The RTA2600 is a solid router that excels with multiple connected devices, but its competitors are faster and less expensive. Wireless routers already have a crazy amount of jargon attached to them, but apparently there's always going to be room for more. The latest piece of Wi-Fi tech to enter the vernacular is MU-MIMO (pronounced "moo-meemoh"). With a typical router, Wi-Fi devices (like your smartphone, laptop or media streamer, and so on) of a lower Wi-Fi speed tier will adversely effect the performance of higher-speed devices in the same network. MU-MIMO routers like the Amped Wireless RTA2600, on the other hand, are much more efficient when doling out data, giving each connected device just as much as it needs; no more and no less. This means that with a MU-MIMO router, you can connect multiple devices at once without seeing a drop in speed for any of them. The problem is that, in order to get the full benefit of this technology, both the router and the connected device need to support it. And right now there are very few devices that use MU-MIMO. In fact, the Linksys A8500 is currently one of only a few other routers that also supports MU-MIMO. The Linksys EA8500 is also faster and has more features than the RTA2600 and currently costs $40 less. In addition, compared to traditional routers (the fastest of which range from $150 to $200), at $280 the RTA2600 is too expensive, doesn't offer as many features, and isn't as fast. That said, for the alternatives that might better meet your budgetary and performance needs, check out CNET's list of the best home routers. http://cnet2.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2015/08/26/acc184e5-32ee-4cde-8501-835677099137/resize/1170x878/1831a4cc5efd64ba2b8065deb090c49e/amped-wireless-rta2600-router-0481-003.jpg Source http://www.cnet.com/

Nvidia launched there GTX 950 card last week at 150$ which was a pretty good deal, considering the price performance ratio and Nvidia's old offering 750ti in the price range which had been around since a long time and was getting a stiff competition from Amd's new launches. Colorful iGame have also designed there non-reference which is currently only available to testers and showed pretty amazing overclocking performance. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gSZLAl5s5Wo/VeDzuXKx6MI/AAAAAAAAJk4/e0dVIR7WRUc/s640/ChMkJlXaimGIRCbKAAFOgGDEKwUAAAe4gL_B7UAAU6Y561-635x397.jpg Specification- Colorful iGame GTX 950 OC is based on the GM-206-250-A1 Graphic core which features 768 CUDA Cores, 48 Texture Mapping Units and 32 Raster operation units. The card runs at 1140Mhz base and 1329Mhz Boost clock on the overclocked bios in comparison to 1026Mhz base and 1190Mhz boost clock of the reference bios version. The card consists of a 2GB GDDR5 memory which runs along a 128 bit interface and has a TDP of 90Watts. The card while running on the overclocked bios has a TDP of 110Watts which is 20Watts higher than the reference version. The card is available for a 20$ premium price of 179$ in comparison to 159$ of the reference version. Design-http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-whfsY9XkMxU/VeDzzDO7a2I/AAAAAAAAJlA/aF1qh-6XXgs/s640/mafia_3.0.0.jpg The card is cooled with dual fan cooler which consists of a small aluminium block and uses a single copper pipe to dispose of heat from the GPU block. The card comes with a standard back plate and uses a single 6pin powerconnector to draw in power. The card comes with a switch to switch between the overclocked and normal bios. Display ports consist of a DVI, HDMI and three display ports. Overclocking And Performance- At the overclocked bios setting the card performance close to the GTX 760 and 15% slower than the 960 and mostly in par with the Radeon 370. The card turns out to be a heavy overclocker, users managed to overclock the card to insane speed at 1506Mhz core clock and 2004.8Mhz Memory clock speed which is effectively 8.0Ghz clock speed without any voltage adjustments. At this oc configuration the card draws 171Watts power in comparison to 162Watts of the Overclocked bios and 154Watts of the reference bios. At this configuration the card is 2-5% faster than the GTX 760 and 7-10% slower than an overclocked GTX 960. At full load the temperatures didn't cross the 70C mark.http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XJzWiHuf2CI/VeDxungIXzI/AAAAAAAAJkU/o5zTiY3bX2k/s640/mafia_3.0.0.jpg With the small increase in voltage of 1.2v users managed to overclock the card to insane speeds of 1600Mhz core clock and 2000Mhz Memory Clock Speeds. The temperatures in this configuration too didn't cross the 70C marks.http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e7pk0uvp3iE/VeDx6Ecar5I/AAAAAAAAJkc/5fDddo1-7ZM/s640/mafia_3.0.0.jpg Source http://www.unrevealtech.com/

Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski has revealed LawBreakers, the debut game from his new studio Boss Key Productions. An arena FPS set in 2105, LawBreakers will focus on gravity-defying cops and robbers. The action takes place after a moon-based experiment threw all of Isaac Newton's work asunder. There will be all manner of jetpacks, grappling hooks and gravity-manipulating devices. Bleszinski likened LawBreakers to the "ground is lava" game where folks do everything in their power to avoid touching the floor. Bleszinski said the game's three main pillars will be "gangs, guns and gravity" and there will be plenty of factions within both law enforcements and cartels. Each team will have the same classes and abilities, even if the characters look different depending on whether they're cops or criminals. He also noted that "half of our cast is female." LawBreakers will be a free-to-play game launching in 2016. Source http://www.eurogamer.net/

PlayStation 4 horror title Until Dawn has found itself censored in Japan. http://images.eurogamer.net/2013/articles/1/7/7/7/5/8/0/until-dawn-death-scene-censored-in-japan-14406882072.jpg It's hardly be a spoiler to say that the game's cabin in the woods story features plenty of death.Although, as a 'choose your own adventure'-style game who dies depends on the choices you make. It may be that your playthrough does not include the following scene at all, but read no further if you're worried about spoilers. The scene in question, posted online by censored gaming, involves a circular saw, and what happens when the soft young body of Josh finds itself in its path. The original version of the scene - which you will see in the UK - shows what happens in rather gruesome detail. In Japan, the action cuts abruptly to black - but you can still hear what happens, which is strangely sort of worse. S: http://www.eurogamer.net/

http://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Until-Dawn4.jpg The PS4 exclusive cinematic horror game Until Dawn is finally out today. The game, which places a heavy emphasis on the choices you make and how they affect the outcome of the story, is going to launch in the UK and Ireland on August 28- this Friday. To celebrate the launch of the game, there is a brand new launch trailer for the game And that is not all, either- knowing the importance of great sound design and mixing for a good horror game experience, there is also a custom audio mode for Until Dawn, tuned specifically for PlayStation headsets, which you can download starting today via the Headset Companion App. This should immerse you in the striking world of Until Dawn like nothing else. Source http://gamingbolt.com/

Just how secure is Microsoft's Windows 10 new Windows Hello facial recognition system? Even your identical twin won't be able to break into your PC, according to a test carried out by The Australian. http://cnet3.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2015/07/29/70c186dc-5044-4856-b533-292de736afdf/resize/970x546/2e5bd14ba9b615d659123775d84c8cb3/windows-hello-windows-10.jpg Six pairs of identical twins took part in the newspaper's test, which was reported last week. One twin created a new Windows 10 account on a Lenovo ThinkPad and registered his or her face with the system. The other twin would then try to log in. The result: In each of the six cases, Hello did as advertised and blocked the corresponding twin from logging in. Microsoft's focus on biometric security may come as welcome news to Internet users. Recent improvements across the board in biometric security, including facial recognition and fingerprint scanning, mean the day of the typed password could soon be over. And, given their relative insecurity, typed passwords are becoming unsuitable for the kind of tasks that are performed over the Internet on a daily basis. Late last year, over 1.2 billion passwords were stolen by Russian hackers, a sobering reminder of the archaic nature of a security system that wasn't designed with the modern Internet in mind. Of course, while the Windows Hello facial detection test performed on twins isn't quite a foolproof scientific experiment, it does demonstrate the strength of the security feature. Microsoft claims that it provides "enterprise-grade security without having to type in a password." Besides facial recognition, Windows Hello also supports fingerprint and iris recognition to secure your PC. For facial recognition though, Microsoft isn't going it alone -- the Redmond-based company has partnered with chipmaker Intel for its RealSense 3D camera tech to get the job done. RealSense uses depth-sensing infrared cameras to track the location and positions of objects, which Microsoft then uses to scan a person's face or iris before unlocking the device in question. Looking ahead, market researcher Gartner believes that by as soon as 2016, over 30 percent of organizations will require biometric authentication. More than 200 companies including Microsoft, Lenovo, Alibaba and MasterCard have already come together to form a partnership known as the FIDO (Fast Identity Online) Alliance. Founded in 2013, FIDO was set up to address issues such as a worldwide adoption of standards for authentication processes over the Web to help reduce reliance on passwords. Source http://www.cnet.com/