AMD officially relaunches FX brand for high-end processors

Today at the E3 conference in Los Angeles AMD officially reintroduced the FX brand for their top performing processors aimed at PC enthusiasts and gaming aficionados.

As expected, the company also announced the first AM3+ platform based around the FX name. Dubbed Scorpius, the platform consists of AMD 9-series chipset motherboards, unlocked FX processors (codenamed Zambezi) powered by the Bulldozer core and Radeon HD 6000 Series of graphics cards.

"AMD's FX brand will enable an over-the-top experience for PC enthusiasts," said Leslie Sobon, vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, AMD. "By combining an unlocked, native eight-core processor, the latest in chipset technology, and AMD's latest graphics cards, FX customers will enjoy an unrivalled feature set and amazing control over their PC's performance."

No actual products were launched, though AMD 9-series chipset motherboards from a handful of vendors are already available at online retailers. According to the latest leaked roadmaps, the company should start selling its mainstream A-Series processors on notebooks by the end of June and follow up with the FX-Series sometime between July and September.

Pricing for AMD's enthusiast-grade chips is rumored to begin at $220 for the quad-core FX-4110, $240 for the six-core FX-6110, and $290 or $320 for the eight-core FX-8130 or FX-8130P, respectively. These are meant to compete with Intel's Core i5 2500K/2500 and Core i7 2600K/2600 processors on the upper end.

Besides making the FX and Scorpius names official, AMD is also furthering its efforts to promote an advanced experience for gamers with the announcement that Bioware, Creative Assembly, Codemasters and Eidos have all joined the "Gaming Evolved" initiative. The latter is meant to ensure that games from these companies take full advantage of things like DirectX 11, Eyefinity multiple-monitor configurations, CrossFireX, and AMD HD3D support for 3D gaming.

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Duke Nukem Forever for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

A few hours ago, Duke Nukem Forever leaked to private torrent sites, and now it has arrived on public torrent sites as well. The English version is thus available a full week in advance of its release for both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.

The PS3 version is courtesy of the Scene group Duplex while the Xbox 360 version comes from the Scene group Complex. The game is also available for Windows, but at the time of writing, it has not leaked for the third platform. Nevertheless, this will either make or break the game: early adopters will surely spread the word on whether the game is worth buying.

Gamers have waited over a decade to play the official sequel to Duke Nukem. The title was originally announced by 3D Realms in 1997. The project experienced all types of problems, however, and it was passed over to Triptych Games and Gearbox Software in 2009, with multiplayer components provided by Piranha Games.

Half a year ago, Gearbox confirmed that development on the title was being completed. Given how long the game had been in such a state (some 14 years), there were still many skeptics. Then the game was demoed live, but many would still not believe.

Five months ago, the game was given a set of release dates: May 3, 2011 in North America and May 6, 2011 in the rest of the world. Two months ago, this was pushed back to June 14 in North America, and on June 10 in the rest of the world.

Last month, the official PC requirements were released. This was followed by an announcement that the game is coming to OnLive, meaning you can skip the requirements if you want. Finally, the companies announced that the game has gone gold. A demo was released for some earlier this month.

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Nintendo unveils its next-generation console, Wii U

Nintendo unveiled the successor to its Wii today at E3, leaving many onlookers baffled. Called the Wii U, the company's next-generation console aims to bridge the gap between casual and hardcore gamers -- the latter of which were which were abandoned by the Wii. Nintendo wants the Wii U to offer something for everyone, claiming it "will create a deeper experience for even the most passionate gamers."

The most puzzling thing about the Wii U -- apart from its name -- is undoubtedly Nintendo's new controller concept. At first glance, it appears to be an entirely separate device, featuring a built-in 6.2-inch touchscreen, speaker, microphone and camera alongside the traditional buttons, directional controls (two analog sticks and a D-pad), as well as sensors including a gyroscope and an accelerometer.

While it may resemble the bottom half of a 3DS, the controller isn't a self-contained system like a portable console. It connects to a separate box that pumps graphics to your TV, just like most other full-scale consoles. However, the Wii U is more flexible, as the controller's integrated screen can serve as your primary (and only) display, allowing you or your family members to use the TV while you play.

When the controller's screen is used in conjunction with your TV, it can enrich the experience by displaying a different view of the game, statistics or whatever else developers dream up. Although the controller is motion-sensitive, we imagine you probably won't want to dance around the living room with it, nor will you want to buy extras for your buddies as they'll probably be pretty expensive -- initially, anyway.

Fortunately, the Wii U is backward compatible with Wii games and accessories. It can also handle 1080p video, is powered by an IBM CPU, has internal flash storage along with support for SD cards and USB drives, plays proprietary discs and digital downloads, and is due between next April and December. Launch titles include Batman, Tekken, Assassin's Creed, Metro and other popular franchises.

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Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY Smartphone Review

The Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY is the first PlayStation certified mobile device to hit the market. This means that it has access to special ports of games from Sony's legacy of PlayStation titles, in addition to the growing number of games available to the Android platform. In order to make good use of its PlayStation certification, the PLAY features a unique slide-out gaming pad with controls that mimic a PlayStation controller, including two touch-sensitive pads in place of the usual analog sticks.
As far as its phone capabilities go, the PLAY is no slouch. It’s fast and responsive, and the version for Verizon Wireless in the U.S. has a basic version of Android 2.3 Gingerbread user interface, instead of the modified one that Sony Ericsson installs on the versions of the PLAY for the rest of the world.
The first thing you notice when you pick up the Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY is its size and heft. At 119mm x 62mm x 16mm (4.68in x 2.44in x .63in) and 175g (6.17oz), the PLAY is no small phone in your hands. The real problem for me was the thickness of the device. While I understand that it facilitates the game pad, the Motorola DROID or DROID 2, both of which have slide-out physical keyboards, feel anorexic in comparison.
The tapered edges of the back cover do help the PLAY fit comfortably in the hand, but when I was using it as I would any other smartphone (read: not gaming), it just felt like it was bigger than it had to be for the task.
The front of the PLAY sports a 4-inch, FWVGA (480 x 854 pixel) touchscreen above four physical keys for the standard Android functions of back, home, menu, and search. The screen itself is not bad, though it definitely does not have the punch or wow factor of a Super AMOLED Plus or even a Super LCD display. It could stand to be a bit more responsive to my touch as well, as sometimes it would take multiple presses or swipes before the screen would register my input.
The display is also positioned off-center towards the bottom of the phone, which provided an awkward handling position when used in portrait orientation.

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Apple prices Mac OS X 10.7 Lion at $30, coming next month

Apple today announced that Mac OS X version 10.7 Lion will be available in July as a download from the Mac App Store for $30.00 (only as an upgrade to Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard). The eighth major release will add more than 250 features and 3,000 developer APIs to the company's desktop operating system. Mac OS X Lion Server will require Lion and will also be available next month from the Mac App Store for $50.00.
As expected, the OS will not be available for purchase in retail stores on a physical optical disc. The download will weigh in at around 4GB, or around the size of a typical DVD.
Lion adds new multitouch gestures and animations that let you interact directly with content on the screen. New gestures include momentum scrolling, tapping or pinching your fingers to zoom in on a web page or image, and swiping left or right to turn a page or switch between full screen apps (read a full preview of OS X Lion here).

The addition of system-wide support for full screen apps means developers can take advantage of the entire display. With a single click, your app fills the display and you can swipe from one window to another, between full screen apps, or back to your Desktop, Dashboard, or Spaces without ever leaving full screen. Apple has updated its iWork and iLife apps, as well as Safari, iTunes, Mail, FaceTime, and others, to take advantage of full screen apps.
Apple has also added Mission Control, which combines Exposé, full screen apps, Dashboard, and Spaces into one unified experience for a bird's eye view of every app and window running on your Mac. With a simple swipe, your desktop zooms out to display your open windows grouped by app, thumbnails of your full screen apps and your Dashboard, and allows you to instantly navigate anywhere with a tap.
With Lion, the Mac App Store is now built-in, so you can buy apps with your iTunes account, download, and install them. Apps automatically install directly to Launchpad (a new home for all your apps), and with Lion's release, the Mac App Store will be able to deliver smaller "delta" app updates and new apps that can take advantage of features like In-App Purchase and Push Notifications.
Lion includes a redesigned Mail app with a new widescreen layout and built-in support for Microsoft Exchange 2010. The new Conversations feature groups related messages into a scrollable timeline while the improved search feature suggests matches by person, subject, and label as you type.
"The Mac has outpaced the PC industry every quarter for five years running and with OS X Lion we plan to keep extending our lead," Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, said in a statement. "The best version of OS X yet, Lion is packed with innovative features such as new Multi-Touch gestures, system-wide support for full screen apps, and Mission Control for instantly accessing everything running on your Mac."

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Apple: iOS 5 brings wireless syncing, over 200 new features

Apple unveiled its next major mobile operating system update today. Due this fall, iOS 5 will drastically change the way notifications are handled with the addition of a Notification Center. Instead of issuing individual prompts, the service will aggregate alerts, allowing you to view new text messages, voice mails and other updates in one location. You'll also be able to address alerts by launching their associated app from within the Notification Center or at the lock screen.
Users will find it easier to maintain iOS 5 devices as Apple aims to sever the tie between iOS products and PCs. Currently, users have to connect their iOS product to a machine running iTunes to update the device's operating system, but iOS 5 will be able to perform over-the-air updates. Likewise, new customers will be able to activate their devices without a computer, and the iPod, iPhone or iPad will be able to sync with iTunes via Wi-Fi -- a long demanded feature.
Apple also plans to introduce iMessage, a new message application that can send text, photo, and video messages. The service will be exclusive to iOS users, work over 3G and Wi-Fi, and will serve as an alternative to traditional text messaging -- not unlike RIM's BlackBerry Messenger service. Besides the typical SMS/MMS functionality, iMessage will offer delivery receipts, read receipts, user typing indications, and of course, it will use the new Notification Center.
The next iteration of iOS will further support digital publishing with the addition of an iBooks-like app that handles magazine subscriptions. New magazine issues will automatically download so you can access them later without a connection. Additionally, mobile Safari will receive the desktop's "Reader" functionality, which lets you access Web content in a clean format, sans site navigation, advertisements and other elements that might be unnecessary or otherwise distracting.
Folks with hectic schedules will appreciate the new Reminders app, which allows you to store to-do lists, set time and location-specific notifications, and sync data with iCal on the Mac and Outlook on Windows. Apple claims iOS 5 will bring over 200 new features, and frankly, there's simply too much to cover in a single post. You can expect updates for the Camera, Mail, Game Center, Weather, and FaceTime, apps, a new iPad music app, new gestures and tons more.

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Apple unveils iCloud synchronization service at WWDC

Apple's iCloud service is perhaps the company's most interesting announcement today at WWDC. Long rumored as a music streaming service, Apple's take on cloud computing is better described as a synchronization platform and only a fraction of it involves music. Starting with iOS 5, many of Apple's native applications will support iCloud, facilitating the automatic synchronization of your contacts, calendar, mail, documents, photos, music, books, apps and backups.
Such content is bounced to Apple's new data center in rural North Carolina and shared between your other devices. For instance, if you take a picture, the image will be automatically uploaded to your iCloud account and downloaded to your iPad and MacBook. Many iCloud-enabled applications have their own unique twists -- such as sharing calendar data with your spouse -- but the music-specific portion of iCloud is particularly fascinating compared to the competion.
Instead of being a separate music subscription service, iCloud essentially augments the functionality of Apple's existing iTunes platform. Along with offering access to previously purchased music across your hardware, the service will automatically download newly purchased songs on up to 10 devices. Additionally, for $24.95 a year, Apple will offer a service called "iTunes Match," which will let you import non-iTunes songs and download them across all your devices.

Although it might seem pricey, iTunes Match presents several immediate benefits. Unlike competing cloud storage services, iTunes Match can scan your entire library and compare it against some 18 million songs in Apple's database. Those that are matched will become immediately available for download as if you've purchased them via iTunes, cutting out the entire process of uploading the files and automatically upgrading your lower quality songs to 256kbps AAC files.
We think many users will appreciate iTunes Match, even if they only sign up for one year to import a bulk of their library. Songs not available in Apple's database will have to be manually uploaded to your iCloud account if you want to sync them across your devices, but this doesn't cost anything. Apple provides 5GB of free storage -- just like Amazon -- but pictures and iTunes songs don't count against this limit and we imagine data can be cleared once it's done syncing.
It's worth noting that iCloud will replace Apple's current $99 MobileMe service. Besides iTunes Match, all other aspects of iCloud will be available to users free of charge. That said, we would expect Apple to eventually introduce paid storage capacities beyond 5GB. Although iCloud won't be available in its entirety until this fall, you can experience a beta version of the music portion with iOS 4.3.3 (released last month -- check your Store settings) and iTunes 10.3 (released today).

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