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Puget Dunks High End Components into Mineral Oil Filled Aquarium PC

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:46:17 +0000

Oil immersion cooling isn't anything new, and long-time Maximum PC readers will recall our experience with Hardcore PC's oil-cooled Reactor back in December, 2008. Puget Systems, one of the few remaining boutique PC vendors to avoid being bought out by a bulk OEM, also sells a DIY oil-cooled kit, and it's just been updated.

The new Aquarium PC Version 3 is larger than any previous version and can now accommodate full E-ATX motherboards. But that isn't the only change.

"The biggest improvement is that it allows the power supply to be mounted on the motherboard tray, making it much easier to maintain the PC, as you don't have to worry about the power supply sitting on the bottom of the tank as you pull the motherboard tray out of the aquarium," Puget explains. "It also has more than twice the cooler power!"

To prove it, Puget dunked "the most extreme hardware available" into the revamped Aquarium, which consisted of an Intel S5520SC workstation board, two Intel Xeon X5677 processors clocked at 3.46GHz, 12GB of Kingston DDR3-1600 memory, a 30GB Kingston SSDNow V Series SSD, two ATI Radeon HD 5870 videocards, and a Corsair HX1000W PSU. You can catch the YouTube video right here.

The Aquarium and Cooling Module V3 is available now for around $670 and includes all the parts you need to send your PC swimming in mineral oil.

Image Credit: Puget

Sony Wants No Part of Emerging eBook Reader Price War

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:13:05 +0000

While Amazon and Barnes & Noble go for each other's jugular by releasing new and lower priced eBook readers, Sony says it's content to sit on the sidelines rather try to chase the lowest price eReader crown.

"Pricing is one consideration in the dedicated reading device marketplace, but Sony won't sacrifice the quality and design we're bringing book lovers to lay claim to the cheapest eReader," said Phil Lubell, Sony's vice president of digital reading. "Our global customers expect to get the best digital book reading experience and we’re concentrated on delivering that by investing in Sony’s award-winning design and original digital reading enhancements, such as eBook library borrowing and the only full touch-screen on the market."

Sony's comments are interesting because they seem to insinuate that the competition is cutting corners in order to lower hardware prices. That might be true with both Amazon and B&N now offering 3G-less Wi-Fi only models, but even their original eReaders recently came down in price.

What do you think is a fair price for a general purpose eBook reader?

Microsoft, Ballmer Envious of iPad's Success, Insists Windows Tablets are a Priority

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:46:20 +0000

As the only option in town, Apple has been able to move a bunch of iPads to eager tablet owners, and don't think for a second Microsoft hasn't taken notice.

"They've sold certainly more than I'd like them to have sold," said Steve Ballmer, the ever candid CEO of Microsoft.

Ballmer's comments came while speaking at Microsoft's financial analyst meeting on Thursday, in which the CEO not only wanted to reassure that the future is looking hunky-dory, but that Windows-based tablets will definitely play a role in the near-term.

"They'll be shipping as soon as they are ready," Ballmer said. "It is job one urgency. No one is sleeping at the switch." Ballmer went to explain that the goal is "not just to deliver products, but to deliver products that people want to buy."

The problem for Microsoft is that it hasn't always identified which types of products people will want to buy, as exemplified by the company's recent Kin phone failure.

On the tablet front, it's been a bumpy road so far for Microsoft. The Redmond outfit ended up pulling its dual-display Courier earlier this year, and more recently, HP put on hold plans to launch its Windows 7-based Slate.

Hoo-rah! – EA Officially Announces Battlefield 3, Grants Beta Access to Medal of Honor Limited Edition Buyers

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 09:06:45 +0000

Hell, it's about time. Wait, wrong game. Still though, Battlefield 2 came out before Twitter or Facebook hit it big, the iPhone became the tech toy everyone loves to hate but still owns anyway, and even before this snazzy, updated-on-a-regular-basis version of MPC.com came to be. So, for obvious reasons, it feels like we've torn an eternity's worth of pages from our media-centric calendars while waiting to catch a glimpse of DICE's next non-spinoff Battlefield sequel. Fortunately, the finish line's finally in sight.

Via an announcement about Medal of Honor's Limited Edition, EA gave its first official confirmation of Battlefield 3 – and with it, the Battlefield 3 beta. So, how does one nab a spot in the highly anticipated test? Yes  – you, in the back. With the shirt that has “Captain Obvious” written all over it. Buy the Medal of Honor Limited Edition, you say? Why yes, you are correct!

Oddly, the Limited Edition will make the same attack on your warchest – $60 – that the standard edition will, and as a result, seems to be the only version listed by many retailers. Aside from the Battlefield 3 beta key, it also packs a little extra heat in the form of a few bonus weapons.  

Really though, if a slightly shinier virtual pistol is a deal-breaker for you over Battlefield 3 beta access, you need to take a long, hard look in the mirror, because you do not exist.

Motorola Droid Getting Android Froyo Update Next Week

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:57:06 +0000

Until now, only users of Google's tragically short lived Nexus One had access to Android 2.2 (codenamed Froyo), but according to a communiqué from Verizon, the original Droid will be getting the update next week. This is big news for a large segment of the Android user base as the Droid was a very popular phone. 

Android 2.2 brings some useful new features to the platform. For instance, Google's new Jun-in-time compiler speeds up applications dramatically, and the browsers new JavaScript V8 engine makes web pages render much faster. We're going to be very interested to see how Motorola handles the mobile Wi-Fi hotspot functionality that Google added to Froyo. Carriers usually like to charge for the service, but there is no mechanism for that in Froyo. Many believe it will be removed altogether. 

No word on updates for the Droid Incredible or Droid X as of yet. Though, with their skinned versions of Android updates are likely to take a little longer. Any Droid users out there jumping with joy?

Mozilla Employee Hacks into Black Hat Video Stream

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 00:18:40 +0000

The Black Hat security conference attracts the creme de la creme of the security industry. This year the organizers even offered a paid live stream for those unable to make the trip to Vegas. Called Black Hat Uplink, the service carried a $395 price tag. But as security expert Michael Coates found out, the price could be waived entirely, thanks to “a combination of logic flaws and misconfigured systems which provided access to a testing login page that could be used with user credentials that were not fully "registered" (e.g. no payment received). “

Coates, who oversees web security at Mozilla, wrote on his blog that he was unable to attend this year's event and so decided to closely monitor it online. “In this process I noticed the new "Black Hat Uplink" service that would allow remote individuals access to streaming Black Hat talks from two select tracks,” he wrote.

“I identified a series of flaws that would enable the creation of an account with only providing an email address (e.g. no name, address, phone etc) and I was never asked to enter any credit card data. Odd I thought, perhaps you enter the credit card info upon your first login.” Upon completing the registration, he was faced with a slight problem: he didn't have a registration email do direct him to the login page.

“A few select Google searches and I ended up on a relatively vanilla looking login page. I have a username and a key, let's give it a shot. To my surprise the login was accepted and I was now sitting in front of the live Black Hat video stream.”

He wasted little time in contacting the event's organizers, holding off the public disclosure until they had fixed the flaw. He also revealed that Black Hat used a third-party solution for the video feed. Can't see them using the same vendor for the next event, though.

Companies Are Downloading the Facebook Profile Torrent

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:41:04 +0000

It turns out that your nosey neighbor isn't the only one interested in that cache of 100 million Facebook profiles that showed up on torrent trackers. Some major companies that you do business with are getting the package as well. By connecting to the torrent and recording IP addresses that are also in the swarm, some have noticed the extent of interest here. 

Among the companies seen downloading the data are Apple, Boeing, Church of Scientology, Disney, Intel, Pepsi Cola, Sony, and Viacom. It is worth noting that the mere fact that connections from these companies are present, does not mean this is a sanctioned action. All it means is that someone inside the company is downloading it. But our experience with corporate IT leads us be suspect Pepsi and Disney aren't in the habit of allowing employees to go around downloading torrents on their own.

HTC Sets Goal of 6.5 Million Handset Shipments in Third Quarter

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:46:14 +0000

Fast approaching the size of major international brand vendors, smartphone maker HTC said it expects to ship upwards of 6.5 million handsets in the third quarter of 2010. If HTC reaches its goal -- and there's every reason to believe the company will -- it will represent a 132 percent increase from the same quarter one year ago.

HTC's rise as a dominant handset maker has come seemingly overnight. The reason, says company CFO Cheng Hui-ming, is that HTC thrived largely as a niche player, riding the waves of a single hot product every year. In more recent times, HTC has been able to pump out several popular smartphones simultaneously, and that's made all the difference in the world.

As Cheng sees it, HTC will continue to be a major force rather than this being a temporary upswing in shipments. The company plans to increase monthly capacity at both its Taoyuan and Shanghai plants to two million and one million units, respectively, in 3Q10, Cheng said.

Nintendo to Talk 3DS Price, Release Date in September

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:16:08 +0000

Word all over the Web is that on September 29, 2010, Nintendo will finally reveal pricing details for its upcoming 3DS handheld gaming console, and also give it a release date. Or at least that's what everyone is reporting from all corners of cyber space. We did a little digging and it appears the source of this inside info is someone inside Bloomberg's Japan operations, who claims to have heard the news during a phone interview with Mr. Yasushi Hiroshi Minagawa, a Nintendo spokesman.

The big selling point of the 3DS is that it will produce glasses-free 3D visuals using some type of parallax barrier display technology. Other features include a motion sensor, a gyroscope that willl likely be used to adjust perspective in 3D landscapes, tilt-sensitive gameplay, and a persistent Wi-Fi connection capable of downloading games in the background.

While it looks like we'll have to wait until late September to find out exactly when the 3DS is coming, speculation has the release date pegged for sometime in the first quarter of 2011.

RIM Tablet to Take on iPad Soon

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:12:11 +0000

Sources are saying today that RIM's rumored iPad competitor is coming in November of this year, just in time for the holiday tablet buying season. The device is expected to have the same approximate physical dimensions of the iPad, i.e. a 9.7-inch screen. The tablet will have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The Bluetooth would be used to tether the tablet to a Blackberry smartphone for data.

Apple has, thus far, run away with the consumer tablet space, selling over 3 million iPads since March. Analysts fear that any company that cannot become competitive by the holidays will be unable to catch up to Apple. 

The Blackberry operating system has been falling behind in recent years, though a new version is expected to bring some improvements. Still, we were never completely happy with the Storm or Storm 2. Do you think a Blackberry tablet will fare better against the iPad, than the Storm did against the iPhone?