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November 2014
Misc Pics (21 Comments) (link)
 Friday, 28-November-2014  14:31:24 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Thanks to mpot and t1mbot this week!








Friday Morning Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Friday, 28-November-2014  06:33:50 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

Portable:
Lenovo Tab A8 Tablet on Think Computers
Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 Tablet on Hardware Secrets
Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro on Hot Hardware
Acer Aspire V Nitro Black Edition Gaming Laptop on TweakTown

Software:
Apple OS X 10.10 vs. Ubuntu 14.10 on Phoronix
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 on Gaming Nexus
Far Cry 4 on OCC

Case:
BitFenix Pandora Core Window mATX Case on Legit Reviews
Razer Branded NZXT H440 on Futurelooks

Cooling:
Reeven Ouranos RC-1401 CPU Cooler on Overclockers Club
NZXT Kraken X31 Liquid CPU Cooler on ThinkComputers.org
Enermax LIQMAX 120S on Tech Powerup
Silverstone Noble Breeze NB05 Notebook Cooler on eTeknix

Storage:
Lexar Professional Workflow DD256 256GB Portable SSD Hub on TweakTown
Fujitsu FSXtreme 240GB SLC SSD on TweakTown
MyDigitalSSD Bullet Proof 5 (BP5) SATA m.2 Enclosure on TweakTown

Motherboard:
ASUS X99 Rampage V Extreme Motherboard on PureOverclock
ASRock X99X OC Formula (Intel X99) Motherboard on TweakTown
ASUS Z97-Pro Gamer on Ocaholic

Audio:
Corsair H1500 Dolby 7.1 Gaming Headset on Benchmark Reviews
Creative Sound Blaster ROAR SR20A Bluetooth Portable Speaker on NikKTech
Creative T15 Wireless Bluetooth 2.0 Speaker Set on MTN

Misc:
Asrock M8 Z97-600W on Legion Hardware
CM Storm NovaTouch TKL Topre Switch Keyboard on eTeknix
Corsair Gaming M65 RGB Mouse on Vortez
Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 970 on Vortez
AMD A4-5000 CPU on Hardware Secrets
Linksys EA9200 Tri-Band AC3200 Wi-Fi Router on TweakTown



Silicon Power USB Gift Pack (3 Comments) (link)
 Thursday, 27-November-2014  13:12:59 (GMT +10) - by Agg

I've taken a look at a new "Gift Pack" from Silicon Power, containing their 1TB external HDD and 8GB thumbdrive - both USB 3.0. Read on to see if it's something you should be stuffing into stockings in a month's time..


click for the review!



Project Addison (1 Comments) (link)
 Wednesday, 26-November-2014  14:51:04 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Slipperyskip has finished another impressive mini-PC, this time based on a 1940's Addison radio:


click for the worklog!



Wednesday Afternoon (10 Comments) (link)
 Wednesday, 26-November-2014  14:44:14 (GMT +10) - by Agg

There's a new cybercrime reporting website for Australia. Cybercrime victims will be able to report criminals in real time following today’s launch of a revolutionary new online system for all Australians – the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (the ACORN). The ACORN is a national policing initiative that will allow members of the public to easily and instantly report cases of cybercrime.

SilentPCReview have their latest quiet ATX gaming build guide. To help you do just that, we walk you go through the process of planning and building a mid/high-end gaming PC. You can find build guides on countless review sites, but being SPCR, we approach it with a heavy emphasis on noise-reduction.

AirQ pointed out some super spyware called Reign. Reign has been out in the digital wild since at least 2008, operates much like a back-door Trojan, and has been used against governments, internet providers, telecom companies, researchers, businesses, and private individuals, says Symantec. Regin affects Windows-based computers and operates in five stages, giving the attacker a "powerful framework for mass surveillance" and offers flexibility so attackers can customize the packages embedded within the malware. More info from Symantec here and Kaspersky here.

UNSW has made a packet from piracy fines. The University of NSW says it has issued 238 fines - estimated to total about $100,000 - to students illicitly downloading copyright infringing material such as movies and TV shows on its Wi-Fi network since 2008. UNSW told Fairfax Media on Thursday it made "no apology" for taking "strong action to discourage piracy, which is not only unlawful but unethical".

If your rectangular monitor bothers you, mpot noticed a new square one from EIZO. EIZO says that its new monitor is "wide all around". It's 1920 x 1920 pixel square resolution is said to offer 78 per cent more pixels than a traditional Full HD monitor. "The extended vertical space is convenient for displaying large amounts of information in long windows, reducing the need for excess scrolling and providing a more efficient view of data," the firm writes, attempting to persuade us of the square aspect EV2730Q monitor's utility value.

Mike sent in this video explaining the SR-71 linked last week. Veteran Blackbird pilot Richard Graham explains how the cockpit actually works in this fascinating video filmed inside the cockpit. Lots of technical words, but seeing him moving around inside that tight cockpit is really cool.



Wednesday Morning Reviews (1 Comments) (link)
 Wednesday, 26-November-2014  00:30:48 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Motherboard & CPU:
MSI 970 Gaming motherboard on Guru3D.
Asus Maximus VII Impact on LanOC.
Gigabyte X99 Gaming G1 WiFi (LGA 2011-3) on eTeknix.

Audio Visual:
ASUS Strix Pro headset on OCaholic.
D-Link DNR-312L Network Video Recorder (NVR) on Tweaktown.
Noontec Zoro 2 HD Headset on HWHeaven.
LUXA2 Groovy Duo Wireless Speaker on BenchmarkReviews.

Cases:
Corsair Obsidian 250D on TechPowerUp.
Fractal Design Define R5 Mid-Tower on BenchmarkReviews.
Fractal Design Define R5 Mid-Tower on eTeknix.
Fractal Design Define R5 Silent Mid-Tower on PCPerspective.
NZXT H440 Razer Edition on ThinkComputers.
Fractal Design Define R5 Mid-Tower on ThinkComputers.
Raidmax Vortex V3 on OCaholic.

Storage:
Samsung M9T 2TB (2.5-inch) & Seagate SSHD 2TB on SilentPCReview.
Silicon Power Armor Series A30 USB 3.0 2TB Portable HDD on MadShrimps.
MX-Technology Secure Encryption USB 3.0 128GB on PureOC.
OWC Thunderbay 4 mini Thunderbolt 2 Enclosure on TheSSDReview.
Synology Diskstation DS115J 1-Bay NAS on eTeknix.
G.SKILL Phoenix Blade 480GB PCIe SSD on LegitReviews.

Portable & Prebuilt:
Lenovo Y70 Touch Laptop on TechSpot.
Gaming on the Grid with Nvidia's Shield Tablet on TechReport.

Cooling:
Antec Kuhler H2O 1250 Closed Loop Water Cooler on APHNetworks.
SilverStone Tundra TD02 AIO Liquid CPU Cooler on NikKTech.

Input Etc:
Corsair Gaming M65 RGB mouse on HWHeaven.
Tesoro Tizona Elite Mechanical Gaming Keyboard & Numberpad on eTeknix.
Func MS-2 Gaming Mouse on MadShrimps.

Video Cards:
Zotac GTX 980 AMP! Extreme Edition on HWHeaven.
EVGA GTX 980 Classified on HWAsylum.



Monday Midday Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Monday, 24-November-2014  12:29:26 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Motherboard & CPU:
Biostar A68N-5000 on LanOC.
ASRock Fatal1ty X99M on OCaholic.
Biostar Hi-Fi Z97WE on TechWareLabs.
ASUS Maximus VII Impact on Vortez.
MSI B85M ECO on PureOC.
MSI X99S MPower on LanOC.
ASUS Z97-Pro Gamer on OCaholic.

Storage:
Crucial MX100 SSD on Vortez.
CalDigit T3 Thunderbolt 2 Triple-Drive RAID Array Storage Unit on Tweaktown.
Plextor M6e 256GB SSD on PCPerspective.

Input Etc:
Mad Catz S.T.R.I.K.E. M Wireless Mobile & PC Keyboard on eTeknix.
Cougar 700K Gaming Keyboard on OCaholic.
Corsair Gaming M65 RGB Gaming Mouse on LegitReviews.
Corsair Gaming M65 RGB game mouse on Guru3D.
Cooler Master Mizar Gaming Mouse on OCClub.

Networking:
D-Link DCS-2210 Full HD PoE Day/Night IP Network Camera on Tweaktown.
TRENDnet Powerline 500AV2 TPL-408E2K Network Adapter Kit on Tweaktown.
TRENDnet TPL-4052E 4-Port Powerline 500 AV Adapter on ModSynergy.

Audio Visual:
SuperTooth HD VOICE In-Car Speakerphone on NikKTech.
Transcend Drive Pro 200 Wi-Fi Car Video Recorder on Tweaktown.
thinksound On1 Headphones on APHNetworks.
SteelSeries Elite Prism Gaming Headset on Tweaktown.
Kingston HyperX Cloud Pro Gaming Headset on GamingNexus.

Portable & Prebuilt:
Nvidia Shield Tablet Android 5.0 Lollipop on eTeknix.
ECS LIVA White Edition 64GB Mini PC Kit on LegionHW.
ASRock Z97 M8 Barebones PC on TechPowerUp.
Lenovo N20p Touch Screnn Chromebook on HotHardware.

Video Cards:
MSI GTX 980 Gaming 4G on NeoSeeker.
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 970 AMP! Extreme Edition on Bjorn3D.

Cases:
In Win D Frame Mini Aluminum and Glass Mini-ITX on PCPerspective.
Be Quiet! Silent Base 800 on TechSpot.
Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV on OCClub.
be quiet! Silent Base 800 Mid-Tower on eTeknix.
IN WIN D-FRAME MINI on BenchmarkReviews.

Misc:
GAMDIAS Aegis USB hub, headphone stand and cable organiser on eTeknix.
Far Cry 4 Benchmarked: Graphics & CPU Performance on TechSpot.
Stanley FatMax LEDLISL 10W LED Lithium-Ion Spotlight on ModSynergy.
Finally light bulb's Tesla tech gives LEDs a worthy rival on Tech Report.
XFX XTS Series 1000W PSU on TechPowerUp.
Kingston HyperX Savage DDR3-2400 16GB Memory Kit on ThinkComputers.
Cooler Master Nepton 240M AIO CPU Cooler on LegitReviews.



Misc Pics (34 Comments) (link)
 Friday, 21-November-2014  15:10:41 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Urgh, too hot today and got a couple of sick kiddies to take care of. But at least it's Friday..








Thursday Morning (6 Comments) (link)
 Thursday, 20-November-2014  01:59:28 (GMT +10) - by Agg

NVIDIA have enabled the Multi-Frame Sampled Anti-Aliasing (MFAA) on their GTX 980 and GTX GPUs now, and PC Perspective checked it out. That changes today with the release of NVIDIA's 344.75 driver, the first to implement support for the new and potentially important anti-aliasing method. Before we dive into the results of our testing, both in performance and image quality, let's get a quick recap on what exactly MFAA is and how it works. Guru3D have their thoughts posted also.

Netflix are coming to Australia and New Zealand. The company has announced that internet-connected users in Australia and New Zealand will be able to subscribe to Netflix from March 2015, and they will gain access to a "curated selection" of movies and TV shows in high definition or even 4K where available. Discussion here.

But in the meantime, online piracy websites may be blocked in Australia. Websites that host or link to copyright infringing movies and TV shows could soon be blocked if cabinet approves a government submission to tackle online copyright infringement. Sources tell Fairfax Media Attorney-General George Brandis and Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull are canvassing a range of options put forward in response to their online copyright infringement discussion paper released in late July and intend to present cabinet with their own submission before Christmas.

Tony Hawk rode a hoverboard. For real this time. Hendo’s hover technology relies on magnets, which means the hoverboard can, for the time being, only hover over non-ferrous materials. When I first spoke to Greg and Jill, I apologized for not being a scientist before I began asking stupid questions like, “What does non-ferrous mean?” and “Why can’t I ride it down the street?”

TechnologyX have a guide to 60 FPS vs 30 FPS. The fact that this is even being debated now, after so many years of both PC and console gaming co-existing seems strange, doesn’t it? Well, the reason we’re talking about this now is because with the latest generation of consoles many gamers were expecting to see console games that can rival even the most high-end PCs, in terms of graphical fidelity and technical capabilities.

If you're looking for a drone for Xmas, mpot spotted this guide to a few good ones. Chinese companies are pumping out truckloads of mini quads right now, and while they can’t find their own way home, they can teach you the basics of how to fly a speedy four-propeller craft for under $100 even in a tiny apartment. They won’t make cops nervous, and they’re an absolute blast to fly around.

This sounds like the Olympics for Nerds: Microsoft Corp. and Certiport Inc., a Pearson VUE business, on Monday announced the dates for the 2015 Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) World Championship, the most popular technology skills competition for Microsoft Office since its inception in 2002. The popular Microsoft Office competition is the only one endorsed by Microsoft, providing a platform for students to showcase their expert skills using Microsoft Office tools and gain the upper hand in today’s competitive academic and professional marketplace.

Plane nerds meanwhile can make whooshing noises and pretend to push all the buttons in this SR-71 cockpit!



Thursday Morning Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Thursday, 20-November-2014  00:17:28 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Video Cards:
MSI GTX 980 Gaming 4G on Bjorn3D.
MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G on OCClub.

Cases:
Thermaltake Core V51 Mid-Tower on BenchmarkReviews.
Enermax Thormax Giant Full Tower on PureOC.
be quiet! Silent Base 800 on TechPowerUp.

Portable & Prebuilt:
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact smartphone on MegaTechNews.
NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet Android Lollipop Update on HotHardware.
A first taste of Lollipop on Nvidia's Shield Tablet on TechReport.

Audio Visual:
AOC U2868PQU 4K UHD 28 inch LCD Monitor on NikKTech.
Steelseries Siberia V3 headset on OCaholic.

Input Etc:
Tesoro Tizona Mechanical Gaming Keyboard on OCClub.
ASUS ROG Gladius Gaming Mouse on BenchmarkReviews.
Aorus Thunder K7 Mechanical Keyboard, M7 MMO Mouse & P3X Mouse Pad on TechSpot.

Networking:
TRENDnet TPL-407E2K Powerline 500 AV Adapter Starter Kit on ModSynergy.
Actiontec ScreenBeam Mini2 WiDi Miracast Wi-Fi Adapter on Tweaktown.

Misc:
SensoGlove golf glove thingy on TechnologyX.
Corsair DDR4 16GB Vengeance LPX 2800C16 Memory Kit on MadShrimps.
Corsair Neutron XT 240GB SSD on Legitreviews.



Tuesday Afternoon Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Tuesday, 18-November-2014  13:30:42 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Storage:
Western Digital Red Pro (WD4001FFSX) 4 TB HDD on TechARP.
QNAP TurboNAS TS-653 Pro NAS Server on NikKTech.
Corsair Neutron XT 256GB SATA SSD on PCPerspective.
Corsair Neutron Series XT SSD on TechReport.
Corsair Neutron XT SSD on Tweaktown.
Corsair Neutron XT SSD 240GB SSD on TheSSDReview.
Lexar Workflow multi card-reader on HWHeaven.

Motherboard & CPU:
Gigabyte Z97X-UD3H-BK on ThinkComputers.
Gigabyte-Z97X-UD3H on OCaholic.

Memory:
Kingston HyperX Predator DDR4 on HWHeaven.
I'M Intelligent Memory 16GB DDR3 UDIMM on Tweaktown.

Input Etc:
QPAD MK-70 keyboard on HWHeaven.
Mad Catz M.M.O. TE mouse on HWHeaven.

Audio Visual:
SteelSeries Siberia Elite Prism Gaming Headset on Futurelooks.
Noontec Zoro II HD Mobile Headphones on eTeknix.

Cooling:
Xigmatek Gaia II CPU Cooler on eTeknix.
Raijintek Morpheus VGA Cooler on HWAsylum.

Misc:
High Power Astro GD 1200W Fully Modular PSU on PCPerspective.
Corsair Carbide Series Air 240 case on TechReport.
Shuttle Barebone XH81 mini-PC on MadShrimps.
Sapphire Radeon R9 290X 8GB Vapor-X OC video card on Tweaktown.



Sunday Morning Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Sunday, 16-November-2014  06:14:20 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

Motherboard:
Biostar Hi-Fi Z97Z7 Motherboard on Modders Inc
MSI 970 Gaming Motherboard on PC Perspective
Supermicro X10DRG-Q (Intel C612) Workstation Motherboard on TweakTown
ASUS Crossblade Ranger (FM2+) Motherboard on eTeknix

Portable:
Acer Aspire Switch 10 Hybrid on Hot Hardware
Sony Xperia Z3 on Techspot

Cooling:
NZXT Kraken X31 140mm AIO CPU Cooler on TweakTown
Reeven Brontes RC-1001 on OCC
SilverStone FQ122, FW122, FW121 Cooling Fans on APH Networks
Deepcool Gamer Storm Maelstrom 120 on techPowerUp

Keyboard/Mouse:
ROCCAT Tyon Gaming Mouse on Ocaholic
Razer Blackwidow Ultimate Chroma on LanOC
Aorus Thunder M7 MMO Gaming Mouse on Modders Inc

Storage:
AMD Radeon R7 Series 240GB SSD on Legit Reviews
Western Digital Red Pro (WD4001FFSX) 4 TB Hard Disk Drive on Techarp

Misc:
Thermaltake London 550W Semi-Modular Power Supply on eTeknix
ASUS GeForce GTX 980 4GB STRIX OC Video Card on TweakTown
NZXT (Source) S340 Mid-Tower Chassis on TweakTown
MotoGP 14 (PS4) on Gaming Nexus
Corsair H2100 Wireless 7.1 Gaming Headset on Benchmark Reviews
ASUS GeForce GTX 980 4GB STRIX OC Video Card on TweakTown



Misc Pics (21 Comments) (link)
 Friday, 14-November-2014  13:46:45 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Friday again! Bit of a scorcher out there..








Friday Morning (3 Comments) (link)
 Friday, 14-November-2014  11:29:54 (GMT +10) - by Agg

The Rosetta mission successfully landed their probe on the comet, although apparently after a 2-hour bounce it has ended up in a less than ideal position. It's alive and sending back photos which is pretty exciting. Discussion continues here.

A new study suggests violent video games might actually curb real-world violence, thanks AirQ. The results are in from the world’s first long-term study into the consumption of violent media and its effect on real-life acts of violence. Not only did the study find zero link between the consumption of violent games and real-life violent acts, but violent games could actually be responsible for a decrease in youth violence.

Google have boosted the ACM A. M. Turing Award to one million USD. The new amount is four times its previous level. The cash award, which goes into effect for the 2014 ACM Turing Award to be announced early next year, reflects the escalating impact of computing on daily life through the innovations and technologies it enables. The new level is also intended to raise the Turing Award's visibility as the premier recognition of computer scientists and engineers who have made contributions of lasting and major technical importance to the computing field.

A recent survey has found support for a market-based approach to reducing online copyright violations. In other words, if stuff was more easily accessibly legally, people would be happy to not pirate it. A survey commissioned by telco industry group Communications Alliance has indiciated that most Australians believe any crackdown on piracy will fail and that making content available more easily through legal channels is key to reducing online copyright violations.

This weekend sees the 4th Lame Game Marathon, raising money for UNICEF. 24 hours of terrible games - Live - All to raise money for UNICEF. That's right, the Lame Game Marathon is back baby! Prepare for the return of lame games, shenanigans, prizes and... lame games. Discussion here.



Thursday Night Reviews (3 Comments) (link)
 Thursday, 13-November-2014  23:56:53 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Cases:
BitFenix Prodigy M Blue on OCaholic.
Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV on BenchmarkReviews.
Fractal Design Core 3300 on OCClub.
Fractal Design Core 1100 Micro-ATX on PCPerspective.
SilverStone Fortress FT05 on Vortez.

Audio Visual:
Ultimate Ears BOOM Wireless Bluetooth Speaker on NikKTech.
netTALK DUO WiFi VOIP Phone on ModSynergy.

Storage:
GSKILL Phoenix Blade 480GB PCIe SSD on Guru3D.
Silicon Power Armor A80 2TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive on NikKTech.
Seagate NAS Pro 4-Bay on Tweaktown.
Silicon Power Thunder T11 120 GB external Thunderbolt drive on TechPowerUp.
G.Skill Phoenix Blade 480GB PCIe SSD on PCPerspective.

Motherboard & CPU:
ASRock X99 OC Formula Motherboard Overview and Overclocking Guide on Tweaktown.
ASUS Z97-PRO LGA1150 Motherboard on SilentPCReview.
ASUS X99-A Intel Motherboard on BenchmarkReviews.
MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC Motherboard on Techgage.
ASUS X99-E WS (Intel X99) Workstation Motherboard on Tweaktown.

Input Etc:
Tt eSPORTS Challenger Prime Gaming Keyboard on LegitReviews.
Logitech G402 Hyperion Fury FPS Gaming Mouse on ThinkComputers.
Speedlink KudosZ-9 & INVICTUS Core Gaming mouse+pad on OCaholic.
COUGAR 700M Aluminium Gaming Mouse on TechARP.

Cooling:
NZXT Kraken X41 140mm AIO CPU Cooler on Tweaktown.
NZXT GRID+ Fan Controller on ThinkComputers.

Misc:
ThL 5000 Smartphone on MadShrimps.
Corsair HXi Series 750W PSU on TechPowerUp.



Forum Projects (1 Comments) (link)
 Wednesday, 12-November-2014  21:02:37 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Here's a few projects and reviews from people in the forums:


qwertylesh has refurbished
a Sega Dreamcast

pippin88 is building
a CNC router

Jrcjamie is building
a simulator in a cockpit!


Gost reviewed the
CM NovaTouch keyboard

Ratzz reviewed the
Silverstone ML03 HTPC case

and maJORD built
a tiny ITX HTPC



Wednesday Afternoon (4 Comments) (link)
 Wednesday, 12-November-2014  15:08:05 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Tweaktown looked at a new SSD on a DIMM from SanDisk. Unlike earlier ones which just used the DIMM slot for power and had a separate SATA connector, this one actually interfaces via the DDR3 slot. Each step on the path to creating the perfect storage device has resulted in tangible benefits, but the ULLtraDIMM has taken what could be the final step, short of fusing a storage medium onto the CPU itself. The SanDisk ULLtraDIMM DDR3 SSD brings latency as low as five microseconds by sidestepping the traditional storage stack, and communicating via the DDR3 bus.

From the "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" files comes a Chinese hacker claiming to have installed Win98 onto an iPhone 6+. Running EXE binary files is currently out of the question on the Apple device, but he was successfully able to alter and change the input methods of Windows 98 to allow navigation of the operating system, as well as the ability to open the start menu and fire up Internet Explorer.

Here's a list of internet firsts. Gary Thuerk, the “father of spam,” sent out the first unsolicited email to an audience of about 400 on ARPANET in 1978. The message was meant to promote DEC’s new product demo on the west cost. As ARPANET was, at the time, a channel with limited usability and serious restrictions, this resulted in some backlash.

An F1 team has turned to crowdsourcing to try and fund their appearance at the final Grand Prix of the year in Abu Dhabi. You can help Caterham F1’s return to the grid by pledging from just £10. In exchange for your support will receive exclusive rewards, including a once in a lifetime opportunity to get your name on the Caterham F1 car competing in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Don't fly drones near bushfires. During large, out-of-control bushfires in Australia firefighters rely on water-bombing helicopters which will have to be grounded if a drone is spotted nearby, authorities say. With recreational drone ownership exploding into the thousands over the past year, air safety regulators and the nation's aerial firefighters fear drones are a very real threat to safety, and they warned amateur operators to stay well away.



Rosetta Misson (1 Comments) (link)
 Wednesday, 12-November-2014  12:39:53 (GMT +10) - by Agg

The European Space Agency's Rosetta Mission to land a probe on comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko is reaching a critical phase, with the probe due to separate from the spacecraft in a few hours. There's live updates here, live video here and discussion in this thread.


Wednesday Morning (0 Comments) (link)
 Wednesday, 12-November-2014  11:41:13 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Sooo, there's a big new huge Windows vulnerability affecting pretty much all recent versions, but mostly affecting people running servers. Full details here and the patch is already on Windows Update so should be an easy fix. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if an attacker sends specially crafted packets to a Windows server. This security update is rated Critical for all supported releases of Microsoft Windows. Discussion here.

There's an iOS issue too, nicknamed "Masque". This in-house app may display an arbitrary title (like “New Flappy Bird”) that lures the user to install it, but the app can replace another genuine app after installation. All apps can be replaced except iOS preinstalled apps, such as Mobile Safari. This vulnerability exists because iOS doesn't enforce matching certificates for apps with the same bundle identifier. We verified this vulnerability on iOS 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 8.0, 8.1 and 8.1.1 beta, for both jailbroken and non-jailbroken devices. Discussion here.

President Obama has spoken out in support of Net Neutrality. "To put these protections in place, I'm asking the FCC to reclassifying internet service under Title II of a law known as the Telecommunications Act," Obama says in a statement this morning. "In plain English, I'm asking [the FCC] to recognize that for most Americans, the internet has become an essential part of everyday communication and everyday life."



Tuesday Night Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Tuesday, 11-November-2014  23:56:33 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Storage:
Synology DiskStation DS1815+ on LegionHW.
Patriot Memory Stellar Boost XT 64GB USB 3.0 OTG Drive on MadShrimps.
SanDisk ULLtraDIMM DDR3 400GB SSD Enterprise on LinusTextTips.
SanDisk ULLtraDIMM DDR3 400GB SSD Enterprise on Tweaktown.
Silicon Power Blaze B05 64GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive on APHNetworks.

Cases:
Thermaltake Core V51 Mid-Tower on Tweaktown.
Thermaltake Core V1 mITX on PureOC.
Antec P100 midtower on TechPowerUp.
Enermax Thormax Giant Full Tower on ThinkComputers.
Lian Li PC-A61 on Techgage.
Thermaltake Core V71 on OCaholic.

Input Etc:
WASD's Code keyboard with Cherry MX clear switches on TechReport.
Gigabyte Raptor mouse on HWHeaven.
Tesoro Excalibur keyboard on HWHeaven.

Power Supply:
LUXA2 PL3 10400mAh Leather Power Bank on NikKTech.
Patriot FUEL+ 9000mAh Rechargeable Battery (2014 Yellow) on Tweaktown.

Audio Visual:
Actiontec ScreenBeam Mini 2 wireless display device on LegitReviews.
Diamond USB 3.0/2.0 to HDMI/DVI Mini Ultra Dock on OCClub.
SteelSeries Siberia V3 Prism headphones on HWHeaven.

Cooling:
Noctua NH-D15 Dual Tower CPU Cooler on FutureLooks.
Thermalright Macho Rev.B CPU Cooler on NikKTech.

Misc:
ASUS Strix GeForce GTX 970 OC on Vortez.
Intel Core M 5Y70 Review and Performance: Testing Broadwell-Y on PCPerspective.
Amazon Fire HD 7 Tablet (2014) on HotHardware.



Sunday Morning Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Sunday, 9-November-2014  08:05:27 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

Audio:
TDK A34 TREK MAX Wireless Weather Resistant Speaker on NikKTech
Connect Electronics DGZHE A06 Bluetooth Speaker on ModSynergy

Storage:
Plextor M6e 256GB (PX-AG256M6e) PCIe SSD Card on Futurelooks
Fujitsu Quadro-M Series PCIe SSD on TweakTown
Samsung XS1715 SSD Review (1.6TB) on The SSD Review
SanDisk Extreme Pro Solid State Drives on Hot Hardware
Apotop Wi-Copy Personal Cloud Storage and Wireless Router on BigBruin
Angelbird SSD2go Pocket USB 3.0 External Solid State Drive on eTeknix

Case:
NZXT S340 Mid-Tower Case on Benchmark Reviews
SilverStone Raven RV05 Computer Case on APH Networks
In Win D-Frame Mini on LanOC
Corsair Graphite 780T on OCC

CPU:
Intel i7-5820K & i7-5930K on Madshrimps
Core i7-5960X vs i7-4960X on Ocaholic

PSU:
Thermaltake Toughpower DPS G 1050W on Techpowerup
FSP Aurum PT 1200W Power Supply Unit on NikKTech

Misc:
Halo: The Master Chief Collection on Gaming Nexus
Gigabyte X99-Gaming G1 Motherboard on TweakTown
MSI GS60 2QE Ghost Pro 3K Gold Edition Notebook on Vortez
Thrustmaster Ferrari GT Cockpit 458 Steeling Wheel on eTeknix
Patriot Memory FUEL Station Mini 4-Port Charge Base on TweakTown
Zotac ZBox PI320 Mini-PC on The SSD Review
NZXT Kraken X61 280mm AIO CPU Cooler on TweakTown



Misc Pics (44 Comments) (link)
 Friday, 7-November-2014  14:25:05 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Thanks to HyRaX1, -Antiskeptic- and mpot this week!








Sponsor Specials (0 Comments) (link)
 Friday, 7-November-2014  13:40:42 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Remember to keep an eye on our Sponsor Specials Forum if you're shopping around. In there our many sponsors have discounts and specials on technical training, pre-built gaming systems, data recovery, media players, headphones, office chairs, hard drives and a range of general components. Check 'em out!


Friday Afternoon (6 Comments) (link)
 Friday, 7-November-2014  13:13:21 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Western Digital have unveiled a 10TB HDD using "shingled recording". This comes just a few weeks after Seagate announced initial availability of its 8TB air-filled hard drive, which at the time was the largest hard drive in the world. There’s no word on pricing yet but Western Digital says, somewhat unbelievably, that the 10TB drive will have the lowest cost-per-gigabyte and power consumption-per-gigabyte of any drive on the market.

Senator Brandis says the data retention laws won't be used against pirates, but it seems they may be a boon for private investigators. No law-enforcement agency was involved in obtaining the IP address information related to the blackmail. Instead, the identity of Murray was revealed by Telstra, which had been ordered to comply with a "preliminary discovery" court request by Mr Biggs' lawyer.

Meanwhile one journalist is still trying to get his own metadata. Beyond trying to prove a point - "the government can access my metadata, so why can't I?" - there are a number of important reasons for pursuing my telco for the data I generate.

Microsoft are apparently making Office free on iPad/iPhone/Android, thanks TheWedgie (not Tony_L). Starting today, you'll no longer need an Office 365 subscription to edit documents or store them in the cloud. The move comes just days after Microsoft announced a strategic partnership with Dropbox to integrate the cloud storage service into Office across desktop, mobile, and the web. You can now download Office for iPad and store all your documents on Dropbox without paying Microsoft anything at all.

The EFF are looking to make resurrecting abandoned games legal. The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a petition to the Library of Congress and the United States Copyright Office this week over the modification of abandoned games, particularly those that require an online connection to prevent piracy. The EFF is seeking a change to current laws that would deem mods that strip out authentication checks as fair use of the software after developers take those servers offline.

Here's an interesting one, Amazon Echo. Seems to be Siri or Google Now for your living room. One step closer to Star Trek! Amazon Echo is designed around your voice. It's always on—just ask for information, music, news, weather, and more. Echo begins working as soon as it hears you say the wake word, "Alexa." It's also an expertly-tuned speaker that can fill any room with immersive sound.

I'm not sure if this is really news, but a few people sent it in, so here's photos of CNN anchors not making any friends at Microsoft. Microsoft proudly announced last month that it would be paying CNN to use its Surface tablets for the historic Mid-Term 2014 coverage, but when it came time to actually use Microsoft’s tablet last night, CNN political commentators discovered an incredible new Surface feature: it doubles as an iPad kickstand.

It seems Zalman have gone bust under strange circumstances, thanks Tony_L. Zalman did not fall victim to recession, competition or even bad corporate management. The whole story is long, complicated, obscure and yet unconfirmed, so unfortunately we may never learn all the details of it. To summarize, Zalman apparently was part of an allegedly very well designed and planned multi-billion dollar corporate fraud. Did I mention Tony_L sent this link in? It was Tony_L. Tony_L, everyone! Gimme a T! Gimme an O! Gimme an N! Gimme a Y! Gimme an underscore! Gimme an L! Toooooooonnnnnnyyyyyy_____L!

If you want to be part of OCAU's Secret Santa for 2014, register your interest in this thread!



Friday Morning Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Friday, 7-November-2014  06:33:27 (GMT +10) - by booj

Graphics Cards:
Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Vapor-X OC 8GB on eTeknix.
Galaxy GeForce GTX 970 EXOC Black Edition on Guru3D.
Gainward GTX 980 & GTX 970 Phantom on Legion Hardware.

Memory:
Kingston HyperX Predator 16GB 2400MHz CL12 DDR4 on Legit Reviews.
Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR4-2400 16GB Kit 4x 4GB DDR4 on OCinside.
Crucial 2133MHz DDR4 32GB Server Kit on PureOverclock.

Storage:
Crucial MX100 512GB Solid State Drive on ThinkComputers.
ADATA Premier Pro SP910 512GB SSD on TweakTown.
Fujitsu F100 512GB SSD on TweakTown.

Cases:
Fractal Design Node 804 Micro-ATX Chassis on eTeknix.
Silverstone Fortress FT05 on ocaholic.
Fractal Design Core 1100 on Benchmark Reviews.
Thermaltake Core V1 Mini-ITX Case on ThinkComputers.
Perfect Home Theater Ultra Low-Profile Aluminum HTPC Case on PC Perspective.

Cooling:
Phobya 360LT Pure Performance Watercooling Kit on NikKTech.
Noctua IndustrialPPC and Redux fans on LanOC.

Input etc:
Cougar 700K Mechanical Gaming Keyboard on Techgage.
Cougar 700M Gaming Mouse and Speed Large Mouse Pad on Bigbruin.
Gamadias Zeus Laser Gaming Mouse (GMS1100) on TechARP.

Audio:
Luxa² E-One Headset Holder on TechwareLabs.
MP4Nation Brainwavz S5 on techPowerUp.
Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Digital Headset on Modders-Inc.

Misc:
Samsung Galaxy Alpha on Techspot.
Asus X99-PRO Motherboard on Hardware Secrets.
Asus RoG SWIFT PG278Q 27-inch G-SYNC Monitor on Techgage.



HWBot Country Cup 2014 (1 Comments) (link)
 Thursday, 6-November-2014  10:42:32 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Some news from zeropluszero:

HWBot is hosting its annual Country Cup for overclocking, and this year we need to defend our title from 2014 where we WON.



The country cup is the World Cup/Grand Final of overclocking, all countries against each other, all fighting to win. This year is less focused on legacy hardware and there's a few stages that not only do you not need subzero gear, but sub zero guys cannot actually participate.


For more info, see this thread!



Wednesday Afternoon Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Wednesday, 5-November-2014  15:04:35 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

HTPC/MiniPC:
ECS Liva 64GB Mini PC on Techspot
Zotac ZBOX CI540 Nano Fanless Barebones Mini-PC on Silent PC Review

Mouse/Keyboard:
Asus Gladius Mouse on Hardware Heaven
Cougar 700M Aluminium Gaming Mouse on Techarp
Aorus Thunder K7 Gaming Keyboard on Benchmark Reviews

Videocard:
NZXT Kraken G10 Graphics Adapter on Silent PC Review
MSI GTX 980 Gaming 4G on Overclockers Club

Cooling:
Thermaltake NiC L32 CPU Cooler on Technology X
Reveen Okeanos CPU Cooler on Tech Powerup
Swiftech H220-X All-In-One CPU Cooler on TweakTown
DeepCool Maelstrom 240 (AIO Liquid Cooler) on Guru3D
Cryorig R1 on Ocaholic

Storage:
Samsung 850 Pro Full Capacity Roundup on PC Perspective
Icy Dock Black Vortex Hot Swap Module on ThinkComputers.org
Memblaze PBlaze3L 1.2TB Enterprise PCIe SSD on TweakTown

Case:
IN WIN D-Frame Mini ITX Computer Enclosure on Futurelooks
BitFenix Pandora Window Micro-ATX Slim-Tower Chassis on TweakTown

Gaming:
Pier Solar HD (PS4) on Gaming Nexus
In Space We Brawl (PS4) on Gaming Nexus

Misc:
Stanley FatMax LEDLISL+HIDLISL Lithium-Ion Flashlights on ModSynergy.com
ASRock QC5000-ITX Motherboard on Hardware Secrets
Kingston DDR4-2400C16 32GB on ocaholic
LuguLake BT-10 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker with Stand on TweakTown



Tuesday Night Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Wednesday, 5-November-2014  00:04:25 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Portable & Prebuilt:
Nvidia Shield Gaming Tablet on eTeknix.
Zotac ZBOX CI540 Nano Fanless Barebones Mini-PC on SilentPCReview.
Apple iPad Air 2 on HotHardware.
ECS Liva 64GB Mini PC on TechSpot.

Memory:
Crucial Desktop DDR4 on Vortez.
Kingston DDR4-2400C16 32GB on OCaholic.

Video Cards:
HIS R9 285 IceQ X2 OC 2GB GDDR5 on MadShrimps.
MSI GTX 980 Gaming 4G on MadShrimps.
Call of Duty Advanced Warfare VGA graphics performance on Guru3D.

Cooling:
Reeven Six Eyes II (RFC-02) Fan Controller on Tweaktown.
DeepCool Maelstrom 240 all-in-one liquidcooler on Guru3D.
Swiftech H220-X All-In-One CPU Cooler on Tweaktown.
Reveen Okeanos CPU cooler on TechPowerUp.
Thermaltake NiC L32 CPU Cooler on TechnologyX.
NZXT Kraken G10 Graphics Adapter for watercooler on SilentPCReview.

Input Etc:
AORUS Thunder K7 Gaming Keyboard on BenchmarkReviews.
COUGAR 700M Aluminium Gaming Mouse on TechARP.
ASUS Gladius mouse on HWHeaven.

Misc:
Samsung 850 Pro Full Capacity Roundup SSD on PCPerspective.
Gigabyte Z97N-Gaming 5 (LGA 1150) motherboard on eTeknix.
IN WIN D-Frame Mini ITX Computer Enclosure on FutureLooks.
LuguLake BT-10 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker with Stand on Tweaktown.



Interesting Forum Threads (2 Comments) (link)
 Monday, 3-November-2014  22:07:10 (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.

Asus Maximus VII Impact in Overclocking & Hardware.
My Pentium Anniversary Edition G3258 Adventure in Intel x86 CPUs and chipsets.
Review / Tutorial: Creative ALchemy (Restores 3D Audio and EAX) in PC Audio.
Xiaomi (Mi) NDY-02-AD Silver 10400mAh Power Bank in Mobile Phones & Devices.
Far Cry (2004) in Retro & Arcade.
The Philosophy of restoration and repair in Retro & Arcade.
Driveclub (PS4) in Sony Consoles.
Google Apps in the Health Industry in Business & Enterprise Computing.
Doing your bit to keep the internet safe in Business & Enterprise Computing.
Monitor for poor eyesight in Video Cards & Monitors.
Nvidia Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR) in Video Cards & Monitors.
Photonicinduction builds a 20kW power supply in Electronics & Electrics.
How to hook a extra button up to steering wheel? in Electronics & Electrics.
Please explain something for me? in Electronics & Electrics.
Travel tips with DSLR gear in Photography.
Batteries Included: A Solar Cell that Stores its Own Power in Science.
We have ignition! .. almost in Science.
"Fed Up" - Movie/Documentary in Sport, Fitness & Health.
So my friend just got hit by a car in Cycling.
The FG X (FH 2015) Falcon Thread in Motoring.



Monday Night (7 Comments) (link)
 Monday, 3-November-2014  20:25:43 (GMT +10) - by Agg

A few people sent in this article about what modern sites would have looked like in the 1980s. The YouTube channel SquirrelMonkeyCom takes a love for the 1980s to a whole new level, and re-imagines what many of today’s most popular Internet destinations would have looked like back then. If you grew up around then, you’ll definitely appreciate these hypothetical blasts to the past.

Australia Post is launching a freight forwarding service. On the face of it, though, ShopMate doesn’t look like it offers especially good value. A flat rate of $24.95 is charged per parcel delivery, and a weight rate of $5.95 is added per 500g of parcel — that means a 3kg box for a pair of sneakers will cost you a full $60.65 to transport to Australia, likely destroying the cost advantage of buying overseas in the first place.

The Victorian Government has introduced new offences for malicious sexting, and also prevents young people being placed on offender registers for consensual sexting. New offences for maliciously distributing or threatening to distribute intimate images of another person come into force today, along with new laws to ensure that young people who engage in non-exploitative 'sexting' don't end up with criminal records or on the sex offenders register.

Windows 7 and 8 are no longer for sale. From 31 October there will be no more sales to consumers of Windows 7 Home Basic, Home Premium or Ultimate. There will also be no more sales of Windows 8 retail box copies. There will be retail box sales of Windows 8.1 (Microsoft draws a hard line between Windows 8 and Windows 8.1) and businesses and consumers will still be able to buy Windows 7 Professional licences through ‘Downgrade Rights’, but it will come at additional cost and have limited availability.

Does this count as a timewaster? The Internet Archive have made 900 classic games playable in your browser. Thanks to the new Internet Arcade, an astounding 900 coin-operated arcade games from the ‘70s and ‘80s are free to play right in your browser. The software is hosted by the Internet Archive as part of its quest to preserve computer history, and it's a followup to last year's classic console emulator.



Sunday Night Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Sunday, 2-November-2014  23:02:12 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Networking:
Netgear Nighthawk R7000 AC1900 Smart WiFi Router on NikKTech.
D-Link DHP-W310AV PowerLine AV+ Wireless N Mini Extender on ModSynergy.
Linksys E8350 AC2400 Wireless Router on Tweaktown.

Input Etc:
Cougar 700K Mechanical Keyboard on HWHeaven.
Tesoro Lobera Full Color keyboard on LanOC.
Tesoro Gandiva H1L Laser Gaming Mouse on eTeknix.

Portable & Prebuilt:
Zotac Zbox Pico tiny desktop on HWHeaven.
Asus G751 Gaming Notebook: Mobile Maxwell Done Right on HotHardware.
Lenovo Horizon 2 AIO Desktop Computer on BenchmarkReviews.
Logic Supply ML400G-50 Fanless m-ITX PC on SilentPCReview.

Storage:
MyDigitalSSD Bulletproof 4 mSATA Storage Enclosure on Tweaktown.
OCZ ARC 100 240GB Solid State Drive on APHNetworks.
Kingston HyperX 3K 480GB SSD on Tweaktown.
Buffalo TeraStation 1200 4TB Consumer NAS on Tweaktown.
Mach Xtreme MX-ES 32GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive on NikKTech.

Audio Visual:
ASUS ROG Swift PG278Q G-SYNC Monitor on LegitReviews.
GIGABYTE Force H3X headphones on Vortez.

Video Cards:
GeForce GTX 980 PCI-Express Scaling on TechPowerUp.
Diamond Boost Radeon R9 270X on OCClub.

Cases:
DimasTech Bench/Test Easy V3.0 on Modders-Inc.
Raijintek Arcadia Mid-Tower on eTeknix.
Cooltek U3 on OCaholic.
Fractal Design Core 3300 on TechPowerUp.

Motherboard & CPU:
ASUS X99-A on TechReport.
Habey MITX-6771 Bay Trail Embedded Motherboard on SilentPCReview.
Gigabyte X99 SOC Force on HWAsylum.

Misc:
G.SKILL RIPJAWS 4 16GB DDR4 memory on Vortez.
NZXT Grid+ Six Port Fan Hub on Tweaktown.




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