Google to release new Nexus 7 this summer

by Greg Woolston

Google’s Nexus 7 was quite the hit when it was revealed last year. The small powerhouse was a pleasant surprise for most. I am personally fond of the 7 inch tablet, and have been very happy with mine since launch. Reuters reports that Google along with hardware manufacturer ASUS are planning to release the next Nexus 7 this July.

The revised Nexus 7 is likely to feature a larger screen than its predecessor by reducing the size of the bezel surrounding the screen. The new screen could even come with a higher resolution than the previous model in an effort to differentiate themselves from other tablet giants Apple and Amazon.

According the Reuters the new Nexus 7 will feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor instead of an Nvidia sourced chip like the previous model’s Tegra 3 chip. The reason for the switch was mainly due to power reasons as reported by Reuters. Could this mean that Google is also trying to gain greater battery life than similarly sized and priced tablets, or will they be trying something more aggressive to entice new users to their hardware?

Google is also expecting the new Nexus 7 to sell far better than the previous generation. Google expects to ship around 8 million Nexus 7s in the second half of the year. The estimate of sales from the current device in that same time period is about 4.6 million. The Nexus 7 is a very capable device that delivers on all fronts. It is exciting to see that Google is getting serious about this platform, and they will most likely detail this hardware at their annual I/O event.

Article Source: Reuters

Image Source: google

Written by Greg Woolston
Junior Tech Editor

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Update to UE4 on Wii U Story

**UPDATE**
Engadget reports that Mark Rein has taken back comments that he previously made about UE4 not working on Wii U. According to Engadget Rein stated that if a developer wanted to scale a UE4 engine game to Wii U they could. UE4 is meant to be scalable to even mobile devices so it seems that it would even be able to be scaled to Wii U. Rein also indicated that UE4 could even be scaled to a current gen system.

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Unreal Engine 4 and Frostbite 3 won’t be supported on Wii U

by Greg Woolston

Epic games co founder, Mark Rein, spoke quite candidly at GDC about the Wii U and Unreal Engine 4. When asked if Unreal Engine 4 would work on Wii U, Rein is quoted by IGN as laughingly saying: “No.”

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Amazon Prepping a Smartphone

by Greg Woolston

According to the Digitimes, web retail giant Amazon is preparing to release its long rumored smartphone this year. The report indicates that Amazon is hoping to release the phone in the second quarter of 2013, however unnamed sources have indicated to Digitimes that production might not be going exactly as Amazon would like.

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Retro Gaming at its Finest

Source: Hyperkin

by Greg Woolston

With all of the great news coming out of the Game Developers Conference about the PS4, a third party hardware developer, Hyperkin, recently announced their new console.

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Skullcandy’s New Crusher Will Surely Knock Your Socks Off

by Greg Woolston

Source: www.skullcandy.com

When it comes to headphones these days there are a lot of options to choose from. It seems like the market is moving in a direction where there is less differentiation other than what logo is on the ear cup. Skullcandy is aiming to change all that with the new Crusher headphones.

The original Skullcrusher was Skullcandy’s claim to fame. When it was released, there was nothing else like it in the market. Along with the traditional audio drivers there were also vibrating “sub woofer” drivers in each ear cup. This allowed the listener to experience the bass, and actually feel it. With the new Crusher Skullcandy has stepped it up a notch. Taking that original Skullcrusher idea, and improving upon it for the second iteration gives us a headphone that will most likely rattle some skulls. From Skullcandy’s website, they give a little insight into how the Crusher came about

“Coming soon from Skullcandy is a headphone that will literally rattle your brain with bass. Think about when you're at a concert and can feel the music beat. Or when you can feel the two 12” subs sitting in the trunk of the car next to you at a stoplight. Our question was, why can't a headphone give you that same experience? The bass in most headphones is either suppressed and muddy or exaggerated and boomy. Our cans? Well, they attack with punchy & powerful bass that’s engineered for music or gaming – bass you can feel.”

There are only a few headphones that offer this kind of experience. Recently Skullcandy has been making improvements to their product, and quality department as part of their supreme sound initiative. Given these improvements it’s no doubt that these will be the cans to have when they are released sometime in April. With Skullcandy’s commitment to building very cool products, this is definitely one to look out for.

Written by Greg Woolston
Junior Tech Editor

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New Budget Radeon Graphics Card

by Greg Woolston

Source: AMD

With all the recent talk of super high end PC gaming GPUs, sometimes the budget PC gamer can get a bit down. Well, AMD has recently announced the Radeon HD 7790, which promises to deliver 1080p visuals at the relatively low price of $150. This is good news for the budget minded PC gamer. This new card features the Graphics Core Next architecture, which boasts outstanding performance with games developed using the DirectCompute programming language. The language is used on a lot of games that have come out recently, and will most likely be used a lot more in the future. The following graphic shows the performance boost over another popular GPU at the same price point, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 TI.

Source: AMD

The DirectCompute language is used for various features in some of today’s highest profile games as shown by AMD.

• Tomb Raider: TressFX Hair and depth of field
• DiRT Showdown: Global illumination and advanced lighting
• Far Cry 3: Ambient occlusion and global illumination
• Hitman Absolution: Bokeh depth of field
• Crysis 3: Global illumination, particle shading, directional occlusion
• 3Dmark®: Numerous post-processing effects to improve lighting/shadowing

With 1GB of GDDR5 memory, 500MHz Memory Clock (6.0 Gbps GDDR5), 96GB/s memory bandwidth (maximum), and 1080p resolution, this definitely seems to be a great option for those looking to get into an inexpensive gaming machine. For the entire list of specifications I will direct you to the specifications page on AMD’s website.

Specs: AMD

From reviews around the web this chip seems to perform quite well with some of the games listed above, but others tend to bog it down when running at full settings. The AMD Radeon HD 7850 can be had for a little more cash than the 7790, which provides a performance boost. However, if building a budget gaming PC capable of 1080p resolution, then this could be the card for you. This new GPU will be available April 2.

Source: AMD Blog

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NVIDIA Shows Off "Ira" Tech Demo; Best Graphics to Date

NVIDIA spoke at the GPU Technology Conference in California this week about their much-vaunted Titan graphics card, and showed off what they can do with it. We've already told you its plan for release and why it is one of the most powerful graphics cards ever built but this video just shows why the graphics card costs a cool grand.

The whole video is interesting, but the best part is virtual Ira, who you can see above. Terrifying/awesome/creepy/impressive.

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Steam Launches new Early Access Program

by Greg Woolston

Source: Steam

Gamers looking to get early access to new games, and take part in the games development process will be excited to learn about Steam’s new early access program. This new program offers individuals the ability to purchase games that are still in development to play before it’s final retail release.

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Durango Rumors: Next Xbox to be “Always On, Always Connected”

by Greg Woolston

New details regarding Microsoft’s next home console “Durango” have been revealed according to new screen shots from the Durango XDK developer package. This information was posted to vgleaks.com, and according to an article on IGN this seems to be accurate. The screen shots shown from vgleaks.com show the setup wizard for the XDK as well as some details of what the next Xbox will offer.

Source: vgleaks.com

The hardware overview details many things about the new Microsoft console including performance updates over the Xbox 360, and that development architecture will be very similar to what developers are currently used to working with. The most interesting points for me included the details of the system being “Always On, Always Connected”, the “new high-fidelity Kinect Sensor, which will be required for the system to operate”, and the mandatory game installs. The entirety of the notes can be read below in the screen shot from vgleaks.com.

Source: vgleaks.com

The idea of an always on, always connected console is a little troubling. We are familiar with the always-on feature, which will also be similarly featured in the new Playstation 4. The ability for the console to quickly transition from sleep to game is a very exciting new console feature that I am looking forward to. However, I am not as excited about an always-connected console. The biggest problem with this setup is that if you don’t have an Internet connection than you’re out of luck if you want to play any games. Even though we live in a fairly advanced society where Internet is readily available in most areas there are some parts of the world where Internet access is still unavailable. Not to mention countries where there are home Internet data caps, which could lead to higher Internet bills for those affected. I hope that there will be a work around of some kind, because if the console is inoperable without an Internet connection than Microsoft will alienate a portion of their consumer base. This feature could also confirm that Microsoft is planning on eliminating the use of used games.

Used games could also become obsolete for this new system based on the fact that the system will always be connected, and that games will have to be installed onto the hard drive. While “disc media will be used for distribution” games will not be played from the optical drive. Games will, however, be able to be played while they are installing so that gamers don’t have to wait for the entire game to install. Mandatory game installs could spell an end for used games just like PC games have done for decades. Many gamers rely on buying used games to save their hard earned money. This is a topic that I don’t really want to explore at this time, but I feel that prohibiting the use of used games in the coming console generation could be a deadly strategy. Given the right amount of hard drive space I really like the idea of having all my games on the hard drive ready to play, and having a hard copy for my game collection.

The new Kinect sensor is going to be a mandatory accessory boxed with every console according to the notes. This is similar to what we expect from the PS4 with the Playstation Eye. I bet that the new Kinect will be heavily integrated into the console’s operating system, as well as most games that come out in some way or another. Like it or not motion gaming on the new Xbox is coming. The improvements to the sensor will hopefully make the experience with the new Kinect better, and be able to deliver for all of those that are pumped about the inevitable new Dance Central game.

I am eagerly anticipating the reveal of the next Xbox. Even though I have been a Playstation gamer since the days of the PSOne, competition in this industry is essential for driving it forward. A lot of features detailed in this leak are very exciting and if implemented correctly could be differentiating. But, some of them could spell disaster for one of the big three console manufacturers. We will have to wait and see.

Written by Greg Woolston

Junior Tech Editor

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Nvidia brings PhysX and APEX to PS4

by Dexter Jaekel

Today, Nvidia made the announcement that they will be supporting the PlayStation 4 with PhysX and APEX. These are popular tools for game designers and will supply them with easy access to simulators for rigid bodies, fluids, and clothing, as well as collision detection. Nvidia's support for the PlayStation 4 is yet another positive sign for Sony's upcoming Console. During Sony's press conference, where they unveiled the PlayStation 4, they spoke a lot about how easily accessible the console would be for developers to use. Having support from more and more software companies, like Nvidia, will only help put weight behind Sony's claims.

I'm still holding out hope that the TressFX Software from AMD will find it's way to PlayStation 4. After watching footage of the new Tomb Raider running on ultrahigh settings for PC with TressFX turned on, my mind is reeling with possibilities. I can't wait to see that level of hair effects on a console.


Written by Dexter Jaekel
Editor-in-chief of TheTechFixation.com

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Roku 3 Now Available

by Dexter Jaekel

The folks over at Roku are back with a new set-top box. As of today, you can order the Roku 3 from Roku.com. In addition to a sleek new redesign, the Roku 3 has a slew of added features.

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Intangible Innovations?

Most of the time technology is fantastic, but every now and again it throws a curve ball at you.  I've not a clue why or how the system glitched, but this random email thread ended up in my inbox last week.  As I was about to delete it I realised I should share it with the Tech Fixation community.  I can only think it's providence that it ended up where it has, it fits so nicely with the stories that go on the website and the discussions on the podcast. It seems to be an email conversation between the Vice-President of Consumer Facing Communication and the Director of Invented Science.

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KickStart This: RhinoShield Screen Protector

Evolutive Labs claims that its RhinoShield screen protector offers 5 times the impact resistance of a Gorilla Glass 2 screen despite being only 0.01″ thick. It also has layers that resist scratches and smudges.

From their KickStarter:
RhinoShield is a patent pending and custom formulated polymer created by our team. This polymer offers extraordinary impact absorption and excellent transparency. Rhino Shield is designed to be used in conjunction with the any case, or on its own.

Thin and Transparent is just Rhino Shield appearance. Silky smooth is its skin texture.

Impact Resistance Our specially designed shock-absorption layer can oppose many types of impacts. Any scenario that you may encounter in your everyday lives.

Fund This Here

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BitTorrent Now Lets You Send Terabyte Size Emails

BitTorrent's new service called "SoShare" promises to let you easily send those huge treasure-trove files to friends and coworkers with no hassle. You can now send a whopping terabyte at the click of a button.

With SoShare, you simply upload the files you want to send using the service's web-client, specify the email addresses, then POOF! the recipients get a link in their email and can start downloading right away, without setting up an account of their own. It's simple really. All they need is the SoShare plugin. And if you really want to share the love, you can get a public download link and put it anywhere you want.

The service is in the alpha stage so expect bugs snd glitches but BitTorrent prides itself on tech and programs that work so give them time to send updates out as feedback is recieved.

Download NOW

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CERN Shuts Down LHC for 2 Year Maintenance

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is world famous for scientists a glimpse of what may be the Higgs Boson, as well as many other incredible discoveries of mass and physics. Yesterday, Thursday, it was shut down for a two-year revamp that will allow it time to repair and rebuild its power.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), straddling the border between France and Switzerland, has been working non-stop for three years to find the elusive Higgs Boson that is theorized to explain the mysteries of mass and would allow scientists to see what formed out galaxy and possibly other galaxies.

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), which operates the collider, said its crew began winding down the vast facility just after 7:00 am (0600 GMT) on Thursday and it is due to go completely offline on Saturday.

"We have every reason to be very satisfied with the LHC's first three years," CERN's director general, Rolf Heuer, said in a statement.

"The machine, the experiments, the computing facilities and all infrastructures behaved brilliantly, and we have a major scientific discovery in our pocket."

The massive structure that is the LHC smashes invisible particles together to better understand the micro-moment after the creation of our Universe some 14 billion years ago.

British physicist Peter Higgs is one of the physicists who theorized in 1964 that the boson could be what gave mass to matter as the Universe cooled after the Big Bang.

At a cost of up to 50 million Swiss francs (40 million euros/$54 million), the upgrade will boost the level of energy at which the LHC smashes protons together.

Located in a 26.6-kilometer (16.5-mile) circular tunnel, the LHC was the scene of an extraordinary discovery announced in July 2012.

CERN's scientists said they were 99.9 percent certain they had found the Higgs Boson, an invisible particle without which, theorists say, humans and all the other joined-up atoms in the Universe would not exist.

This is necessary to confirm definitively that its particle is the elusive Higgs, and allow the LHC to probe new dimensions such as supersymmetry and dark matter.

The LHC is due to be back online by 2015, but CERN will not be idle during the shutdown.

Its scientists have to sift through a vast mountain of data, equivalent to 700 years of full HD-quality movies.

Discovery

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Mark Zuckerberg Now Owns 29.3% of FaceBook

Released in an SEC filing, Facebook CEO Mark "Party-Hard" Zuckerberg now owns 29.3 percent of Facebook shares, up from a 28.2 percent stake on the day of the IPO.

Do the math; 632.7 million shares currently trading at $28.50 throws Zuckerberg a bit more than $18 billion. Congrats dude.

TechCrunch

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Fastest LTE Locations in the World?

OpenSignal, a UK firm, has recently released data from a study in which they looked at 4G networks across the world, and they make for some interesting reading.

Taking first place is Sweden which has the world’s fastest speeds, hitting an average of 22.1 mbps.
Hong Kong takes second with average speeds of 19.6.
Denmark takes third with 19.1 mbps average speed.

You may ask yourself, "Where is the USofA?" U.S. and Japan are actually on the lower tier of the top ten countries with average speeds of 9.6 mbps (US) and 7.1 mbps (Japan).

The reason why the US and Japan average is so low is credited to what OpenSignal call a "spectrum crunch," which an area has a heavy quantity of users on the same network; in turn dragging down the signal and speed.

AndroidHeadlines

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CONFIRMED: This IS the PS4 Prototype Controller & DevKit

[UPDATE] Kotaku confirms this is the real deal. This is a prototype of the "Orbis" controller. Final design may vary.

AGB offers no description, no caption, and no source. Take this is the biggest grain of salt in the Sony sodium ocean...but the controller looks legit.



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Pirate Bay Sues Anti-Piracy Site for Stealing its Design

Finland-based CIAPC (Copyright Information and Anti-Piracy Center) set up a new Web site urging people to find more legal means to download music, TV shows, and other digital content. In a clever, but stupid, strategy the CIAPC site intentionally borrowed the exact design and style of the Pirate Bay site.

CIAPC site

The group even duplicated the CSS stylesheet used by the Pirate Bay, ensuring that its site is a virtual duplicate, according to torrent news site TorrentFreak. The only differences is that the CIAPC's site shows an image of a blue sinking ship in contrast to the brown floating pirate ship that marks the Pirate Bay site.

A Pirate Bay spokeman (possibly Peter Sunde) said, "We are outraged by this behavior. People must understand what is right and wrong. Stealing material like this on the Internet is a threat to economies worldwide. We feel that we must make a statement and therefore we will sue them for copyright infringement."

Sounds ironic and cynical doesn't it?

The Pirate Bay's usage policy states: "We reserve the rights to charge for usage of the site in case this policy is violated. The charge will consist of a basic fee of EUR 5,000 ($6,663) plus bandwidth and other costs that may arise due to the violation."

Arrg I be a pirate meself and I support TPB. The documentary TPB AFK is online now for free on YouTube or The Pirate Bay itself.

CNet
Images are my own screenshots.

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