Title:
SumoSac Sultan Luxury ‘Beanbag’ Chair Review @ TheTechLounge

Quote:
“Endurance gamers will love the Sumo Sac Sultan.  The huge pillow easily accommodates nearly any size human, and at least two average-sized ones.  If you are looking for a man-chair to add to your furniture fold, consider the Sultan.  Apartment residents wanting to save space and avoid shoving a couch up three flights of stairs may find a Sumo Sac a suitable alternative.  The Sumo Sultan will suffice for basically any application you can think of for a huge bag of comfort… just don’t operate heavy machinery after use.”

Article URL:
http://www.thetechlounge.com/article/569/SumoSac-Sultan/

Title: Chrome - Google’s Attempt at the ‘Ultimate Browser’ @ Techgage

Link: http://techgage.com/article/chrome_-_googles_attempt_at_the_ultimate_browser/

Quote: Sure, the Internet has no shortage of web browsers, but it’s not often that someone comes along and tries something different, and believe it or not, it’s Google this time around. We’re taking a look at the first beta release of their Chrome browser, which happens to be ultra-fast, stable, intuitive and lightweight, all at the same time.

Ken Levine Keynote Speech at PAX 08 (http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=1323)
Ken Levine, creator of Bioshock, stood in front of hundreds tonight at PAX 2008 to give his keynote. After several minutes of applause, Ken took us down a journey from a geeky youth to a geeky adult who designs games for a living. Ken described being ashamed of his love for Dungeons and Dragons and comic books. He told how his sexual development began with his desire to have sex with the Scarlet Witch.

Hal Halpin Talks About the ECA and Censorship from PAX (http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=1326)
While covering the PAX Expo in Seattle, I was able to speak with Hal Halpin, President of the ECA. The Entertainment Consumers Association is members based advocacy group that fights for gamers rights. I want to thank Hal for taking the time from the very hectic convention schedule to talk with us. GVK: Can you give the readers a brief background of how this got started?

DemiGod Preview from Mike Mari (http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=1319)
While covering the PAX Expo in Seattle, I got a hands on look and interview with lead designer Mike Mari about the very impressive looking Demigod which is due this February. GVK: What is the background and setting for the game?

News on Diablo 3 Straight from the Blizzard Booth (http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=1325)
During our coverage of the Penny Arcade (PAX) Expo in Seattle, I got the chance to stop by the Blizzard booth and talk to one of the talented people behind the pending Diablo 3. While our time was limited, I was able to get some information on the game. I want to thank Kacy for taking the time from the very busy convention to arrange this. Barbarian and Witch Doctor are confirmed classes and each will have their own unique abilities and items. Health orbs after kills. In one of the most interesting changes to the series, the roles of potions will be changed. They will no longer be as abundant as they previously were. Instead, gamers will collect health from fallen foes to replenish health. This will allow for more action as injured players will have to face off and defeat enemies to gather needed health.

Left 4 Dead: We Played It! (http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=1316)
Get ready for something…original. Left 4 Dead had a kiosk set up in PAX and we were fortunate enough to get our hands on it. The first thing you notice in the game is its constant attention to detail. The walls have phrases written on it that the developers said were there to help expand the story, each Zombie out of the hundreds looks unique, and the environments have such a texture to them that rivals that of anything released prior.

Reporting from PAX 2008 (http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=1311)
This year, PAX is held at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. Originally, the Penny Arcade Expo was held at the relatively small Maydenbauer Center in Bellevue, Washington, and is now ten times bigger. PAX 08 occupies 300,000 square feet of the trade center and features over 70 exhibitors and acommodates over 50,000 attendees. Wil Wheaton returns to PAX this year, not as the keynote speaker but as a panel speaker. Wil’s panel is Sunday afternoon, and we hope to bring you more from Mr. Wheaton. You can read about Wil’s awesome keynote from last year. You can also download the entire hour-long audio. We have already seen a bunch of costumed gaming patrons, as well as some cute girls… of course we’ll add to our world-famous Booth Babe gallery as we snap more photos.

InsideHW.com has posted review of Firefox 3. You can read a clip from review:

“After a lot of anticipation at June 17 this year Firefox 3 was released. Great expectations were on a table because of great need for eliminating the biggest faults of Firefox 2.  Firefox 3 is based on new Gecko 1.9 platform that should provide more precise display of pages and therefore to improve surfing quality, which is confirmed at acid 2 and acid 3 tests…”

If you are interested to read some more, we present you link:

http://www.insidehw.com/Software/Internet/Firefox-3.html

This year, PAX is held at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. Originally, the Penny Arcade Expo was held at the relatively small Maydenbauer Center in Bellevue, Washington, and is now ten times bigger. PAX 08 occupies 300,000 square feet of the trade center and features over 70 exhibitors and acommodates over 50,000 attendees.

Wil Wheaton returns to PAX this year, not as the keynote speaker but as a panel speaker. Wil’s panel is Sunday afternoon, and we hope to bring you more from Mr. Wheaton. You can read about Wil’s awesome keynote from last year. You can also download the entire hour-long audio.

We have already seen a bunch of costumed gaming patrons, as well as some cute girls… of course we’ll add to our world-famous Booth Babe gallery as we snap more photos.

Review URL ::
http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=1311

TechwareLabs has published a review of the APC Power-Saving SurgeArrest P7GT Power Strip. Here’s a clip from the review:

Quote: With so many expensive electronics in the households of the world, how do we protect them all? Today, TechwareLabs takes a look at the new APC SurgeArrest Power Strip. It could save you money on electricity!

LINK: http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/PowerSupply/APC_SurgeArrest_P7GT/

Title: APC Power-Saving SurgeArrest P7GT Power Strip @TechwareLabs

A few months ago, NVIDIA first told us about their plans to organize a massive event called NVISION that focused on all things in the visual computing field. NVIDIA planned to take over a number of major venues in downtown San Jose, including the convention center and a number of adjacent hotels, and invite experts and celebrities from the high-performance computing, gaming, video, movies, and graphics fields, to participate. An ambitious plan to say the least.

Tonight we have our first glimpse of NVIDIA’s NVISION -

NVISION 08 Day 1: Jen-Hsun Huang’s Keynote

http://www.hothardware.com/articles/NVISION-08-Day-1-JenHsun-Huangs-Keynote-/

Make sure you check out Tricia Helfer of the TV series Battlestar Galactica…  She’s relatively easy on the nvision too…

<!– @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } –>

Security is a major concern in all of our lives, we’ve got alarm systems on our houses and cars, and we try and secure all of our belongings as well from theft. It’s a shame really though what the world has come to, I can remember a time when we knew all of our neighbors and trusted the community, we left our doors open, windows open, and security systems were things that only the super rich had on their houses and cars. Now I don’t leave my house without securing the windows and doors, and making sure the alarm is on, and in my car I’ve got the Club and an alarm system as well. I’ve got three children and I will do whatever I have to to protect them, and I will do whatever I have to to protect my possessions as well, but if I’m not home there’s not much I can do expect apply or install deterrents to crime like alarms, bars on the windows and even a CCTV security system now. The neighborhood I live in was a great place to live and grow up, but now it’s full of drugs, drug dealers and crime, including shootings and robberies, it is not the place I remember growing up in. Sure I could move to somewhere else, but I own my house, and let’s face it, crime is everywhere, sure it’s not as prevalent in other places, but those places are usually limited to the rich, or those with a lot more money than I have, so I have to work with what I have and do whatever I have to to protect my family and their belongings.

I’ve got quite a bit of experience in CCTV security systems, I’ve installed systems that costs upwards of $40,000 so I know a bit about working with them and what’s good and what isn’t. What I’ve worked with is professional quality equipment, but with society being ever security conscience there are kits and systems that are aimed at the regular person, they aim to do what professional systems can do but at a fraction of the price. These kits offer peace of mind and can act as a deterrent against crime, but are they any good? Swann Security has sent me over their BlueAlert Security Kit for review, it includes a DVR that records to a standard SD card, and one wireless camera with infrared capabilities built in. The BlueAlert DVR is a tiny box, about the thickness of a DVD box, and half as wide so it can be discreetly placed wherever you need it. Is it any good? Well if I compare it to professional kits costing 100 times more then I can say no, but for what it is and what it costs it’s well worth the security and peace of mind that you can get from owning it.

So continue on to learn more about the BlueAlert Security Kit from Swann Security…

Read Full review HERE

TomTom GO 930 Review:

Link: http://www.rbmods.com/Articles/Tomtom/Go930T/1.php

Quote: If we look back in time just a few years ago we see that the GPS was still quite basic with simple instructions and graphics on how to drive. These days the GPS holds high end graphics, FM transmitters, music players, Bluetooth and video playing functions just to mention a few so we can really see that they have gone forward. Today we are going to look at the TomTom GO 930 which is one of the latest badboys from TomTom. With a pricetag of 500$ this unit better perform extremely well so lets take a look.

Title: NVISION 08: Day 0 @ Techgage

Link: http://techgage.com/article/nvision_08_day_0/

Quote: We’re in sunny San Jose where NVIDIA’s mega-event, NVISION 08, will soon be in full effect. The event is bringing gamers and developers from all over the world to create what NVIDIA hopes to be the first true visual computing convention. We stepped behind the scenes before the official opening to see how things are being set up

Last week’s Intel Developer’s Forum was packed with enough sites and sounds to keep any self-respectng Tech Geek’s head turning.  So, we’ve put together a video slide show for you, as sort of a final wrap of the event.  Enjoy!

Link:

http://www.hothardware.com/Articles/IDF-In-Pictures-A-Video-Slide-Show/

TechwareLabs has published coverage that shows Nvidia’s Mobile 9800 GT is Really Re-Branded 8800 GTX. Here’s a clip from the coverage:

Quote: From our eagle eyed friends at Killer Notebooks comes a news bulletin about the release of 9800 GT mobile video cards. It seems these cards are nothing more than 8800 GTX’s re-branded as 9800 GT’s which come with a price premium. As proof we were given several shots of the notebook and internal lable.

Also from Killer Notebooks we have proof that the Q9100 does not work in these notebooks contrary to whatseveral other notebook vendors have said.  For the Full story click on our link that has complete pictures, a poll,  and additional information.

LINK: http://www.techwarelabs.com/community/showthread.php?t=16390

NEW CONTENT (Digital Lounge) - Blu-ray Importing: Aug 2008 Buying Guide #1

QUOTE: “Based on the mail through my inbox, it seems many of you enjoyed my recent article; “Guide to Buying Blu-rays from Overseas”. With that in mind, I thought you guys might be interested in a regular article series based on it, rounding up the best new release Blu-ray titles that will work on Region B (Australian and European) Blu-ray players.

So, welcome to the first instalment, covering some of the best import titles to be be released in July and August.”

For more information, please visit - http://www.tweaktown.com/guides/1571/blu_ray_importing_aug_2008_buying_guide_1/index.html

Best Regards,

The TweakTown Team
http://www.tweaktown.com

While Craig Barrett delivered a rather non-technical, but socially-charged keynote earlier in the day at IDF, Pat Gelsinger’s (Intel Senior Vice President and General Manager, Digital Enterprise Group) keynote address by contrast was all about the tech.  We’ve got all of the details of Gelsinger’s keynote which includes news on Nehalem and Larrabee posted right here:

IDF Day 1: Pat Gelsinger Keynote: Embedded + Dynamic + Visual:

http://www.hothardware.com/Articles/IDF-Day-1-Pat-Gelsinger-Keynote-IA-Embedded–Dynamic–Visual/

Immediately following Pat Gelsinger was David Perlmutter (Intel Senior Vice President and General Manager, Mobility Group).  David delivered the final keynote of the first day of IDF and talk about Intel’s mobile offerings.  The details of the keynote are available here:

IDF Day 1: David Perlmutter: “Where Will ‘On-the-Go’ Go?”:

http://www.hothardware.com/Articles/IDF-Day-1-David-Perlmutter-Where-Will-OntheGo-Go/

When given the chance to interview Nicholas Depalmer a professional gamer from Team Pandemic we jumped at the chance. Considering how many people play games and how few manage to find a way to make a living from it I thought it would be interesting to see how he did it. It turns out his back story was very interesting. If you would like to read even more about Nicholas you can also check out his website at propeekay.com.

Here is a link to our interview
http://lanoc.org/reviews/?p=612

TechwareLabs has published coverage of the Anime Festival Orlando 2008. Here’s a clip from the coverage:

Quote: Who doesn’t like anime? Our reporter Justin Washick attended the Anime Festival Orlando 2008 to bring you a look at the wild contests, constumes, and video direct from the event. Intrigued? Check out our coverage of AFO 2008.

LINK: http://www.techwarelabs.com/articles/events/Anime-Festival-Orlando/

Title: Anime Festival Orlando 2008 @ TechwareLabs

Title: IDF Spring 2008: Opening Keynote
Link: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/blog/102
Category: Blog

Here is a snippet:
“The opening keynote of this year’s IDF lead by Craig Barrett was really
disappointing. Usually the opening keynote summarizes new technologies
Intel is developing and what we should expect to see in more details
during IDF, but this time Barrett spent his time mostly criticizing US
educational and health care systems”

This year’s IDF kicked off in typical fashion with Pat Gelsinger, Intel senior vice president and general manager, Digital Enterprise Group, taking the stage and giving an brief overview of what the event has to offer over the course of the next three days, including highlighting key speakers (the Woz on Thursday!), contributors, and sponsors.

Gelsinger equated the childhood book series Where’s Waldo with trying to figure out where in the world Intel chairman, Craig Barrett might be at any given moment. As to “Where in the world is Craig Barrett,” the answer could easily be any one of over 30 countries, where Gelsinger suggested that Barrett has become the chief ambassador for the IT industry. Apparently, Barrett has been on every continent except Antarctica. This served as the segue to play a video the explored the themes of Barrett’s keynote speech: “Inspiring Innovation.” We have full coverage of Craig Barrett’s keynote, complete with numerous images, available here:

IDF Day 1: Craig Barrett Keynote: “Inspiring Innovation”:

http://www.hothardware.com/Articles/IDF-Day-1-Craig-Barrett-Keynote-Inspiring-Innovation/

“The Ultimate Visual Experience”

Medford, Oregon —August 16, 2008— Smoothcreations, a leader in system building and artistic pc painting along with Canada’s largest etailer have partnered up to offer the Ultimate Visual Experience on PC’s.

Smoothcreations and NCIX teamed up to be Canada’s exclusive provider of custom painted Silverstone and Coolermaster cases, along with custom painted artwork gaming notebooks, netbooks, and full blown gaming pc’s.

Read the rest of this entry »

Depending on whether you believe Intel or Nvidia (ok so you can throw AMD in the mix also) the secret isnt the CPU alone but the best video power is generated by the GPU (Graphics Processor Unit) and its storage buffer.

To hear Intel tell the story theyve embedded new capabilities in their CPUs that deliver the clock speeds and core-to-core communications that deliver the power and strength people like ourselves occasionally need when were using the system to render multi-layer video segments.

Review URL ::
http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=1289

WHAT’S BLACK AND WHITE AND GREEN ALL OVER?

THIS PRESS RELEASE

Reware^™ Releases New Line of Affordably Priced Sustainable Bags Made in the USA

Washington, D.C., August, 2008- Reware, the company known for its solar-powered Juice Bags, has released a new line of American-made bags that includes messenger bags, hobo bags and attachés. All of the bags are made from recycled materials.

Read the rest of this entry »

Title: ASUS Republic of Gamers Convention: Part 2 @ Techgage

Quote: The ASUS RoG Con is done and over with, so we take a look back at what made the weekend so great. Depending on who you ask, the LAN was a great success, with nobody leaving without some sort of swag in their hand. But, there was so much more to it than just that. Will we see another? We sure hope so.

Lets face it; the web is filled with entitlement issues. For a few dollars a month we gain access to the world via an Internet connection. We want sports scores and we dont want to wait for the sports networks on television to scroll their list, so we log on and get the score. We missed a portion of a television show we like so we log on and often find the program available to watch on demand.

The entitlement issues have largely been managed by websites competing with other forms of media for your attention. If a site is brokering knowledge they will typically offset the expense by infusing Google AdSense Ads or other PPC or banner ads into the site thus allowing the visitor to have access to the information without the concern of payment.

Review URL ::
http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=1263

Title: Coming Soon: AMD R600 3D Documentation @ Phoronix
Direct Link: http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=12735
Summary: “For months we have been telling you that AMD has been preparing to release their R600 series documentation as well as opening up the source-code to two of their internal software projects used for testing new graphics processor designs prior to the availability of the actual hardware. Advanced Micro Devices has yet to release their 3D programming documentation covering the R600 series (or the brand-new RV770) nor the source-code to their two internal projects (TCore and KGrids), but following several postings in our forums over the past couple of weeks and many emails inquiring about the status, today we have a brief update to share.”

NEW CONTENT (Miscellaneous) - Smooth Creations Asylum Gaming PC

QUOTE: “Today, we’re not just looking at one of Smooth Creations’ pimped out cases, but a complete system from them which includes everything from CPU to DVD-ROM.

The first thing we’ll be doing is looking at the outside of the case to see what’s going on with the paint job along with the particular case Smooth Creations decided to use. From there, we will take the panel off and dive inside the case to see what we’ve got as far as components go. Once that’s all done, we’ll fire the system up and see how it goes in performance land against our humble graphics card testbed.”

For more information, please visit - http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1543/smooth_creations_asylum_gaming_pc/index.html

Best Regards,

The TweakTown Team
http://www.tweaktown.com