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Our news archive search is now powered by Google. You can search the main site or the guest-viewable forums. To search the entire forums, log in and use the forum search engine. Search the main OCAU site with Google: Search OCAU Forums with Google: View News : Last 7 Days, Last 14 Days, Last 30 Days. View Monthly Archives. Happy birthday, Agg! (11 Comments) (link)  Sunday, 25-January-2015  11:27:11 (GMT +10) - by Sciby Well, it's that time of year again when Agg turns a little older, a little wiser, a little more shouty and pointy... and this year is an important one: the big 40! Happy birthday, Aggster, hope you're having an awesome birthday weekend! Misc Pics (24 Comments) (link)  Friday, 23-January-2015  03:29:00 (GMT +10) - by Agg Thanks to aftahours and mpot this week! Friday Afternoon (0 Comments) (link)  Friday, 23-January-2015  03:14:33 (GMT +10) - by Agg Windows 10 will apparently be free for many people, thanks aftahours. The rumors were right: Microsoft is going to make Windows 10 available for free to users running Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 on their devices. But there's a catch, at least so far: The Windows 10 update will be available for free for one year from the date that Windows 10 is commercially available. Windows 10 is likely to be commercially available as of fall 2015, according to previous comments from Microsoft execs. mpot sent in another interesting article from BackBlaze, this time simply considering which is the best HDD. Let’s get right to the heart of the post. The table below shows the annual failure rate through the year 2014. Only models where we have 45 or more drives are shown. I chose 45 because that’s the number of drives in a Backblaze Storage Pod and it’s usually enough drives to start getting a meaningful failure rate if they’ve been running for a while. Microsoft's HoloLens will also be helping NASA. NASA and Microsoft have teamed up to develop software called OnSight, a new technology that will enable scientists to work virtually on Mars using wearable technology called Microsoft HoloLens. Developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, OnSight will give scientists a means to plan and, along with the Mars Curiosity rover, conduct science operations on the Red Planet. aftahours also spotted this PC in a mouse. The Mouse-Box look and works like a conventional mouse, but contains a processor, flash storage, an HDMI connection, and Wi-Fi connectivity. Friday Morning Reviews (4 Comments) (link)  Friday, 23-January-2015  00:05:08 (GMT +10) - by Agg Video Cards: ASUS GeForce GTX 960 Strix on BenchmarkReviews. MSI GeForce GTX 960 Gaming OC on Guru3D. Palit GTX 960 Super JetStream 2 GB on TechPowerUp. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 SLI on TechPowerUp. ASUS GeForce GTX 960 STRIX OC Edition on OCAholic. Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 G1 Gaming on Guru3D. Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 G1 Gaming on OCAholic. 2-way SLI review: ASUS GeForce GTX 960 Strix on Guru3D. Zotac GTX 960 AMP!-edition on Bjorn3D. KFA2 GeForce GTX 960 EXOC on Guru3D. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 Review With EVGA And ASUS on HotHardware. EVGA GTX 960 SSC 2 GB on TechPowerUp. NVIDIA, MSI, EVGA GTX 960 on OCClub. ZOTAC GeForce GTX 960 AMP! Edition on Tweaktown. MSI GTX 960 Gaming OC 2 GB on TechPowerUp. GTX 960 on HWHeaven. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 on Phoronix. ASUS STRIX GTX 960 on NeoSeeker. GIGABYTE GTX 960 G1 Gaming on Vortez. EVGA GTX 960 Super Superclocked on HWAsylum. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (GM206) on Tweaktown. Asus GTX 960 Strix on LanOC. ASUS GTX 960 STRIX DirectCU II on Vortez. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 2GB on PCPerspective. GeForce GTX 960 on TechSpot. GeForce GTX 960 on TechReport. GeForce GTX 960 SLI Review: 2x Gigabyte GTX 960s on TechSpot. ASUS Strix Edition GeForce GTX 960 on Techgage. Palit GeForce GTX 960 JetStream on LegionHW. ASUS GTX 960 STRIX OC 2 GB on TechPowerUp. Audio Visual: SteelSeries Siberia Raw Prism headset on Vortez. Kingston HyperX Cloud II Gaming Headset on BenchmarkReviews. Input Etc: Logitech G402 mouse on LanOC. Corsair Vengeance K70 RGB Fully Mechanical Gaming Keyboard on MadShrimps. Tt eSPORTS Poseidon ZX Mechanical Gaming Keyboard on ThinkComputers. Cases: Thermaltake Core V21 Stackable Micro-ATX on eTeknix. Raijintek Metis Mini-ITX Aluminum Chassis on eTeknix. Cooltek C3 small aluminium case on OCAholic. Storage: Patriot Blaze 120GB Low-Cost SSD on Tweaktown. Kingston SDCA3 microSDHC/SDXC UHS-I U3 Card 64GB on TheSSDReview. Misc: LUXA2 Aluminium MFi Lightning USB Charge / Sync Cable on ThinkComputers. Doogee Pixels DG350 Smartphone on ModSynergy. Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 1050W 80 PLUS Platinum PSU on Tweaktown. MSI X99S MPower Motherboard Overview and Overclocking Guide on Tweaktown. Reveen Steropes CPU cooler on TechPowerUp. Windows 10 and Microsoft HoloLens (3 Comments) (link)  Thursday, 22-January-2015  15:13:51 (GMT +10) - by Agg Microsoft have made some pretty big announcements at their Windows 10 event. As expected, Microsoft made a strong push toward connecting its devices more seamlessly, part of its universal apps program. Office, Outlook, and other apps all work quite similarly across devices, and Cortana is everywhere, working as a natural-language interface and personal assistant. The big surprise, however, was Microsoft’s foray into virtual reality, with its HoloLens glasses, an ambitious bid to create a system for overlaying holographic images over the real world. Windows 10 discussion continues here in the forums. The official Microsoft HoloLens video is viewable here, and ArsTechnica share their thoughts on this new gadget in this article - and they like it. For the second time in as many months, I feel like I've taken a step into the world of science fiction—and for the second time in as many months, it's Microsoft who put me there. More coverage on Engadget. It's an interesting move, following only a few days since Google announced they were ending Google Glass sales. Google is halting sales of its Internet-linked eyewear Glass but insisted the technology would live on in a future consumer product. Interesting Forum Threads (0 Comments) (link)  Wednesday, 21-January-2015  05:31:29 (GMT +10) - by Agg Here's a snapshot of what's going on in some of the forums. You can also find new interesting things you might have missed via the Who's Online page, the New Posts page and the Live forum view. Also try the Today's Posts link (find it on the Quick Links menu) and the handy Who Quoted Me? feature. CoolerChip Kinetic Sandia AIR Cooler in Overclocking & Hardware. GIGABYTE GEFORCE GTX 980 WATERFORCE TRI-SLI in Video Cards & Monitors. AMD Catalyst 14.12 "Omega" Driver in Video Cards & Monitors. Retro Magazines in Retro & Arcade. IBM JX, happy 30th birthday my first PC in Retro & Arcade. Just Started at a new company and... in Business & Enterprise Computing. E-Reading - where to start? in Portable & Small Form Factor. Any Tricks to Choosing a Home Rack? in Networking, Telephony & Internet. Ariston LBF51 X AUS.R Dishwasher Arduino conversion in Electronics & Electrics. New CNC Router - Welded steel in Hobby Engineering. Wood engraving project in Hobby Engineering. DIY Solar panel setup on a budget in Hobby Engineering. This plane will be able to fly anywhere in the world within 4 hours in Science. Tabletop & Board games: any good ones? in Other Toys/Hobbies. How much does it cost to have a dog? in Pets & Animals. Is it time to switch sides? RHD vs LHD in Motoring. DB10 - the new Bond car in Motoring. 2015 Formula 1 preseason chatter in Motorsport. Effective punishment for young children in Lifestyle. Thunderbirds are go! in Entertainment. Triple J Hottest 100 2014 in Entertainment. Social networking for career development in Career, Education & Finance. Gen Y: Is it getting shafted and what's the solution? in Career, Education & Finance. The mega-commute is driving us into an early grave in Current Events & Serious Discussion. Wednesday Afternoon (0 Comments) (link)  Wednesday, 21-January-2015  04:52:58 (GMT +10) - by Agg If you're a member of our OCAU.mc Motorcycle Club forum, head over to this thread where we're deciding if that forum should be merged into the main OCAU forums. Renegade sent in this interesting Australian research into quantum storage. Scientists from ANU and New Zealand's University of Otago have jointly developed an optical quantum hard drive constructed of atoms of rare earth element europium embedded in a crystal. mpot meanwhile spotted this decentralised storage idea. There is a new idea out there, proposed by Shawn Wilkinson, Tome Boshevski & Josh Brandof, that if you have unused disk space on your HD that you should rent it out. It is a great idea and the concept may have a whole range of implementations. Let us take a closer look at what the 3 visionaries are exactly saying. OCClub have a guide to overclocking a Pentium G3258. Like all overclockers, it was a journey with many failures along the way. One day it would boot and run Prime95, and the next time Windows would not load. It took a while to sort it out by backing down to 4.5GHz and raising each setting until I settled on the below settings. Then I raised it until it would not go any higher with the set voltage I felt safe with. MadShrimps report on a new free tablet benchmark. The new TabletMark benchmark from BAPCo is one interesting software each hardware enthusiast should check out, which is offered free of charge and thanks to the community the database will grow consistently in order to have comparisons between lots of tablet models which are now present on the market from different manufacturers. Here's a James Bond type hack from scarletxfi, with a wireless keylogger disguised as a USB charger. The device, called the KeySweeper, masquerades as a working USB wall charger. However, it secretly monitors any Microsoft wireless keyboards within range and “passively sniffs, decrypts, logs and reports back” everything typed on them, its creator alleges. It could be used to record passwords and bank details, or capture confidential documents as they’re being typed. There's some conflicting plans for space internet from two of the world's billionaires. Google are apparently interested in investing in SpaceX, too. Now Musk tells Bloomberg Businessweek that his “Space Internet venture could one day stretch all the way to Mars.” “It will be important for Mars to have a global communications network as well,” he explains in the interview. “I think this needs to be done, and I don’t see anyone else doing it.” Meanwhile, there's been zero gravity robotics challenge onboard the International Space Station. The Space Station was turned into a playing field for the finals. The ultimate robot game challenged youngsters to write algorithms that controlled the Spheres, short for Synchronised Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites. David sent in this Keyspace Scholarship for Women in ICT through the University of QLD. The scholarship is to encourage and support female students who aspire to a career in Information Communications (ICT) to undertake the Bachelor of Information Technology, Bachelor of Multimedia Design, or Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) degree (with a specialisation in ICT related studies) at The University of Queensland. Wednesday Afternoon Reviews (0 Comments) (link)  Wednesday, 21-January-2015  04:11:49 (GMT +10) - by Agg Cooling: be quiet! Pure Rock CPU Cooler on ThinkComputers. Cooler Master's Hyper D92 CPU cooler on TechReport. Thermaltake NiC L32 Non-Interference CPU Cooler on Tweaktown. Cases: Corsair Carbide 330R Titanium Edition on OCClub. Nanoxia Deep Silence 4 mATX/mITX on NikKTech. SilverStone Raven RV05 on TechPowerUp. Corsair Graphite Series 380T on LanOC. Fractal Design Define R5 on OCAholic. Phanteks Enthoo Mini XL on BenchmarkReviews. Raijintek Metis Windowed on OCAholic. Storage: Samsung Portable SSD T1 500GB on CustomPCReview. Samsung T1 SSD portable on HWHeaven. Samsung T1 500GB Portable USB 3.0 SSD on Guru3D. Samsung Portable SSD T1 500GB on PCPerspective. Samsung Portable SSD T1 on Vortez. Samsung's Portable SSD T1 on TechReport. Samsung PSSD T1 Portable 1TB SSD on Tweaktown. Samsung Portable SSD T1 Review (1TB) on TheSSDReview. Portable & Prebuilt: On Test The Track With Dell's Venue 8 7000 And Intel's Moorefield on HotHardware. Motorola Moto G 2nd Gen. Smartphone on HWSecrets. Mio Spirit 6970 LM Truck GPS Navigation System on NikKTech. Power Supply: Corsair CS850M 850W on ThinkComputers. Patriot Fuel iON Magnetic Wireless Charger on LegitReviews. Input Etc: CHERRY’s MX-Board 3.0 Professional Keyboard on Techgage. Rapoo V900 on OCaholic. Cougar 700K mouse on LanOC. Video Cards: AMD Radeon R9 290X 4GB vs 8GB at 4K with maxed out settings on Tweaktown. Alienware 13 + Graphics Amplifier for laptops on TechSpot. Tuesday Afternoon Reviews (0 Comments) (link)  Tuesday, 20-January-2015  02:48:35 (GMT +10) - by Agg Motherboard & CPU: ASUS X99-Deluxe Motherboard on NeoSeeker. ASUS Rampage V Extreme on PCPerspective. Input Etc: Cougar 600M Laser Gaming Mouse on Tweaktown. Tt eSPORTS CHALLENGER Prime Gaming Keyboard on Tweaktown. GIGABYTE Force M63 Raptor Gaming Mouse on Modders-Inc. Cougar 600M Gaming Mouse on NeoSeeker. Audio Visual: PAPAGO! GoSafe 520 2K Ultra-Wide Dashcam on MegaTechNews. BitFenix Flo Gaming Headset on APHNetworks. Netgear Arlo Smart Home Security Camera Kit on LegitReviews. Portable & Prebuilt: ECS LIVA-X Mini PC (Intel N2808) on TechPowerUp. Ulefone Be One Octa-Core Smartphone on ModSynergy. Amazon Fire HD 7 (2014) Tablet on Techgage. Storage: WD My Cloud 3 TB Network HDD on HWSecrets. Patriot Blaze 240GB SSD on Tweaktown. SanDisk CloudSpeed Eco 960GB Enterprise SSD on Tweaktown. Plextor M6e Black Edition 256GB PCIe SSD on CustomPCReview. HIS Multi-View USB Portable Docking Station on MadShrimps. Super Talent DuraDrive AT7 SSD Review (1TB) on TheSSDReview. Win a Rapoo Gaming Mouse & Keyboard! (1 Comments) (link)  Sunday, 18-January-2015  01:14:04 (GMT +10) - by Agg OCAU Major Sponsor Scorptec have a new contest, where you can win a Rapoo V700 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard PLUS a V900 Gaming Mouse. It's pretty easy to enter, so check it out: Misc Pics (40 Comments) (link)  Friday, 16-January-2015  04:50:01 (GMT +10) - by Agg Ok, I literally just flew back in from Japan and have a zillion things to get sorted, so as a cheating easy post here's a flashback to the first ever Misc Pics post, from 16 Dec 2006:                 and the second-ever Misc Pics post, from 18 Jan 2007:                 I might do a proper Misc Pics post early next week once I've, you know, washed all my undies and unpacked all the RC cars and novelty kitkats I bought.. Friday Morning Reviews (2 Comments) (link)  Thursday, 15-January-2015  19:12:22 (GMT +10) - by aftahours Audio: In Win iEAR Headphone Hanger on LanOC GX Gaming SW-G2.1 2000 Gaming Speakers on PureOC Keyboard/Mouse: Cougar 700M gaming mouse on Techgage Cougar 600K Mechanical Gaming Keyboard on Neoseeker Cougar 600M Laser Gaming Mouse on BigBruin Case: Phanteks Enthoo Mini XL Case on ThinkComputers.org Aerocool Strike X-Cube on ocaholic Corsair Carbide 330R Titanium Quiet Mid-Tower Case on PC Perspective Motherboard: Asus Rampage V Extreme Motherboard on Legit Reviews Asus X99-A Motherboard on OCC MSI 970 Gaming AM3+ Motherboard on Benchmark Reviews Storage: Patriot Torch 240GB SSD on TweakTown Toshiba MG04 Enterprise 5TB HDD on TweakTown Patriot Torch 120GB SSD on TweakTown ICY DOCK ICYRaid 2-Bay USB 3.0 Drive Enclosure on BigBruin QNAP TS-431 budget NAS on Legion Hardware Silicon Power Jewel J06 64GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive on NikKTech Crucial M550 512GB CT512M550SSD4 M.2 SSD on OCInside Lexar Workflow DD512 on Vortez Portable/AIO: Huawei Ascend Mate 7 on Techspot ZOTAC ZBOX Sphere OI520+ on Vortez ECS LIVA X 64GB Mini PC Kit on Legit Reviews ECS LIVA X Mini PC on PC Perspective Dell XPS 13 (2015) Ultrabook on Hot Hardware Cooling: Reeven Okeanos RC-1402 Heatsink on FrostyTech Reeven Justice RC-1204 Heatsink on FrostyTech Misc: Seasonic 1050 Snow Silent Edition Platinum PSU on Guru3D Papago! GoSafe 272 Dashcam GS272-US on Benchmark Reviews Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 WATERFORCE 3-Way SLI on Guru3D BenQ W1080ST+ & W1070+ Home Cinema Projector Launch on TechARP Thursday Evening (1 Comments) (link)  Thursday, 15-January-2015  07:18:48 (GMT +10) - by aftahours A man has been caught trying to smuggle 94 iPhones into China, all strapped to his body. Despite being made in China, iPhones are relatively expensive in the country, with many users having to sign up to long-term contracts with mobile companies, and there is a thriving trade in informal imports from Hong Kong. Google has been criticised by Microsoft after the search giant publicised a security flaw in Windows - which some said put users at risk. Full article here on BBC. The disclosure was part of Google's Project Zero initiative that seeks to pressure firms into dealing with security problems more quickly. Sniper sent in an article about 5 amazing things that was invented by Donald Duck. For the last 50 years, these ducks have been busy changing the goddamn world, and it continues right to this moment. Seriously. ThinkComputers.org have the best case mods of CES 2015 posted. This year at CES we saw quite a lot of different case mods and some that really impressed us. Google has released a real-time language translation app. Although sadly not an actual Babel fish, the Chocolate Factory’s latest upgrade to its Google Translate app does mean you can “instantly understand anything said to you in any form of language”. Adobe Lightroom is coming to Android. Just like the iOS version, the Android app is a free download, but you'll need a Creative Cloud subscription to use it. Techgage and Tech Report have CES 2015 roundups posted. Tuesday Afternoon Reviews (1 Comments) (link)  Tuesday, 13-January-2015  06:03:55 (GMT +10) - by aftahours Mouse/Keyboard: Gigabyte Force M63 (Raptor) Gaming Mouse on APH Networks Cougar 600M Gaming Mouse on Benchmark Reviews Tt eSport Ventus Gaming Mouse on Ocaholic Gigabyte Raptor Gaming Mouse on PureOverlock Cougar 600K Mechanical Keyboard & 600M Gaming Mouse on Techspot Tesoro Excalibur Keyboard on Vortez Storage: Western Digital Red Pro WD4001FFSX 4TB Hard Drive on APH Networks Western Digital Sentinel DX4200 16TB Windows Storage Server on Big Bruin Samsung 850 Pro 256GB Three-Drive SSD RAID Report on TweakTown Synology DS415play NAS on Madshrimps CPU/Motherboard: Athlon 5150 CPU on Hardware Secrets ECS Z97-Machine Motherboard on PC Perspective Phone: ASUS Padfone X Mini Hybrid Smartphone / Tablet on Hot Hardware UleFone Be One Smartphone on Madshrimps Case: InWin D-Frame Mini mITX Case on PureOverclock Thermaltake Core V31 Midi Tower on NikKTech Phanteks Enthoo Evolv on techPowerUp Audio: Creative Sound Blaster ZxR Sound Card on Legit Reviews Arctic S113BT Bluetooth NFC Portable Speaker on TweakTown Cooling: Fractal Design Kelvin S24 Liquid Cooling Solution on Vortez SilentiumPC Grandis XE1236 on techPowerUp PSU: SilverStone SST-SX600-G 600W Power Supply Unit on NikKTech Thermaltake Toughpower DPS G 750W on LanOC Videocard: Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti OC Video Card Circuit and Overclocking Guide on TweakTown Gigabyte R9 280 on LanOC Reviews Misc: AKRacing Gaming Chair on Ocaholic ViewSonic VX2263Smhl Full HD LED 22-inch Monitor on TweakTown Monday Afternoon (0 Comments) (link)  Monday, 12-January-2015  01:44:10 (GMT +10) - by aftahours rass sent in news about QUT offering two free online courses this year, Introduction to Robotics, and Robotic vision. There's an interesting write-up on Regin spyware on TweakTown. The latest high-profile discovery of malware announced in recent weeks was Regin, a nasty piece of malware designed for a rather complex and sinister purpose. Been over 10 years since I last went to QGL, but apparently LAN parties are still going strong. Chris sat down with a few LAN admins, organizers and CEOs to chat about the issues they face in today's climate. A team from MIT have created an electrochemical cell which uses different temperatures to convert heat to electricity. The cell only needs low-grade waste heat – less than 100C – to charge batteries, and is a significant step forward compared to similar devices which either require an external circuit for charging or high temperature heat sources (300C). Australia has dropped to 44th in the world for average internet connection speed. Only 66 per cent of Australia had between the 10 to 20 Mbps required for 4K (or "ultra HD") video used by streaming services. The digital policy group representing giants such as Google, Yahoo7, Facebook, and eBay in Australia have slammed the Australian government's use of the Telecommunications Act to compel ISPs to block websites. Full article here on ZDNet. Some amazing GIF's here show the future of Body Scanning. General Electric released images on Wednesday from its first clinical trial of a next generation body scanner that captures bones, blood vessels and organs in high-definition. More CES 2015 updates: MSI's mechanical gaming notebook has dual GPUs, quad M.2 slots on Tech Report Here's Gigabyte's humongous Waterforce cooler in action on Tech Report Build your own water cooler with Thermaltake's new kit on Tech Report Cherry Announces Ground Breaking Mechanical Keyboard on ThinkComputers.org CES 2015: The Booth Babes on ThinkComputers.org CES 2015: The most ridiculous exhibits on show on SMH The best stuff from CES 2015 on ITWire SuperSpeed USB 3.1 Performance on Legit Reviews WIRED’s Top Picks From CES 2015 on Wired.

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