Technogin

Intel to Launch Lower Capacity 335 Series Solid State Drives

2013-01-01T21:48:00.002+05:30

Intel readies new 80GB and 180GB 335 Series SSDs.

How many times have you sat and around and said, "Gee, I wish this SSD line came in smaller capacities!"? We find ourselves on the opposite end of the spectrum, but admittedly there are scenarios in which a smaller SSD might get the job done, and for less money. Maybe you're looking for strictly a boot drive with a little bit of headroom, and/or want a speed boost on a strict budget. Whatever the reason might be, Intel is going to oblige with two new 335 Series SSDs.

New 80GB (SSDSC2CT080A4K5) and 180GB (SSDSC2CT180A4K5) models join the existing 240GB model that introduced the industry's first 20nm SSD family. It sports the same architecture with 20nm MLC NAND chips and a SATA 6Gbps interface, though it's not yet known if the new capacities will feature the same 500MB/s write and 450MB/s read performance as the 240GB drive.

Chinese language website Enpreview.com got its mitts on the new SSDs, which have been given a facelift over the introductory model. The plain aluminum casing with blue Intel logo has been replaced with a picture of a silicon blueprint and black Intel logo, along with a black bezel.

No word yet on price, though as a point of reference, the 240GB model streets for around $200.

Specifications

Essentials
Status	Launched
Launch Date	Q4'12
Sequential Read	500 MB/s
Sequential Write	450 MB/s
Random Read (8GB Span)	42000 IOPS
Random Write (8GB Span)	52000 IOPS
Power - Active	350 mW
Power - Idle	275 mW
Operating Temperature	0 - 70 C
Weight	Up to 80 grams
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)	1,200,000 hours
Warranty Period	3 yrs

Package Specifications
Components	Intel NAND Flash Memory Multi-Level Cell (MLC) Technology
Capacity	240 GB
Form Factor	2.5 inch SATA
Interface	SATA - 6.0 Gb/s
Lithography	20nm

MlB 13: The Show

2012-12-31T22:35:00.001+05:30

MLB: The Show is a Major League Baseball video game series produced by SCE San Diego Studio, a development team that is part ofSony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios. The series debuted in 2006 with MLB 06: The Show for the PlayStation 2 andPlayStation Portable. There has been a new release in the series every year since 2006, and since MLB 07: The Show in 2007, every game released has also been available for the PlayStation 3. MLB 12: The Show, which was released in March 2012, it also the first game in the series to not be available for the PS2 or PSP and the first game in the series to available for the PlayStation Vita, Sony's new handheld. The series is the successor to 989 Sports' MLB series.

Sony San Diego already has the premiere baseball simulation on the planet from a gameplay standpoint, now they are attempting to brush up the appeal of the game in other aspects.

They have adopted the fan cover vote process to drive interaction and awareness of the game, per MLB.com. This process has seen huge success with other sports game franchises like Madden.

Now they are also introducing the use of XP (experience points) into the overall experience. This concept isn’t new to sports gaming—as many franchises use it, or something similar—but the way it is explained in The Show Nation’s forum via moderator is new to this series.

Gamers will gain XP for doing any and everything in the game. The XP you earn creates a track record. This track record is called your Universal Profile, and it is used to create a gaming imprint for you that tells a story about the way you play the game.

In online modes, another user will be able to look at the XP you’ve earned, and it’ll tell them something about you as a Show gamer.

As I said, this isn’t a new concept, but in essence, it appears to be an attempt to tighten up the overall package.

The Show series has been so good from a visual and gameplay standpoint, I’m not sure there is a ton of room for growth on those fronts—at least not on this current generation of consoles.

The next significant improvement we see from a graphics/animation or gameplaystandpoint may come on the Sony PS4 or Xbox 720. For now, these types of improvements that target the gamer’s overall experience—online and offline—is a smart approach.

The moderator states:

“The Universal Profile additions in MLB® 13 are just a small first step towards much bigger plans in the years to come. We want to create a universal sense of progression for users regardless of their platform or play style, and this year’s efforts are just the beginning of this evolution.”

I’m interested to see how this concept develops in the coming months, and over an even longer time. Stay tuned for more information on MLB 13 The Show as it becomes available.

MLB 13: The Show is wisely staying out of public places until we get some beautiful spring weather, now scheduled to launch on March 5, 2013, for PS3 and Vita.

MLB 13 includes a few new features, such as a stadium setting with Playoff mode, a new beginner mode and improved Play Now, Franchise and Road To The Show modes. Franchise, Season and Road To The Show game saves can be synced among devices, whether PS3, Vita or that other PS3 you break out for special occasions.

Halo 4

2012-12-20T07:04:00.003+05:30

Halo 4 is a first-person shooter video game developed by 343 Industries and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360 video game console. It is the first installment in the latest trilogy of Halo games, named the Reclaimer Trilogy. The game was released in most territories worldwide on November 6, 2012. Halo 4's story begins four years after the ending of Halo 3; the player assumes the role of the Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced supersoldier. The story is mainly set on a Forerunner planet, where Master Chief encounters the alien race known as the Covenant and ancient warriors of the Forerunner empire known as the Prometheans. Master Chief is accompanied by the artificial intelligence construct Cortana.

Halo 4 was officially announced on June 6, 2011, at E3 2011. On September 26, 2012, it was announced that the game's development was complete.

Halo 4 grossed US$220 million on its launch day, with an estimated gross of $300 million in its opening week, marking a new record for the franchise.^[1] As of December 6, 2012, the game has sold approximately four million copies. The game received generally positive reviews from professional critics on release.

Gameplay

Halo 4 is a shooter game, in which players predominantly experience gameplay from a first-person perspective; the game perspective switches to third-person when using certain weapons, armor abilities and vehicles. The player's head-up display (HUD) shows real-time information on the player character's armor system, such as shield status, information on current weapons and armor abilities, and also display indicators for goals and objectives. The HUD also has a motion tracker that detects allies, enemies, and vehicles within a certain radius of the player.

The game sees the return of the Covenant as foes, and introduces a new faction of enemy called the Prometheans, who serve under theForerunners. There are three types of Prometheans; Knights serve as leaders of the group and are considered as the deadliest of the Promethean forces. Crawlers are a weaker class which often attack in larger packs. Watchers, which are deployed by Knights, offer support and have the ability to shield or revive Promethean allies.

Halo 4 features updated versions of many UNSC and Covenant weaponry from previous Halo games, as well as introducing new weapons for the humans, Covenant and Prometheans. The game also features armor abilities which were introduced in Halo: Reach. Returning armor abilities include active camouflage, hologram and jetpack; new abilities include hardlight shield, Promethean vision, regeneration field, autosentry and thruster pack. Sprinting returns in Halo 4; all players can now use it independently of their armor ability. New gameplay mechanics introduced to the series include throwing and catching which has been implemented into the multiplayer game types: Oddball and Grifball.

Modes

Halo 4's story or campaign mode can be played through alone or cooperatively with one other player in split screen and up to three other players through Xbox Live. Unlike in Halo 3cooperative campaign where each player takes the role of a different character, in Halo 4 all players assume the role of Master Chief. Players can enable skulls in the campaign menu which act as gameplay modifiers such as increasing enemy health, changing NPC behaviour or removing elements of the player's HUD. The campaign also features terminals which provide the player with additional backstory. Upon finding a terminal, a video is unlocked and can viewed in the Halo Waypoint application on the Xbox 360.

Halo 4 features a new story-driven episodic game mode, titled Spartan Ops, that can be played solo or cooperatively on two player split screen and on Xbox Live with up to three other players. It serves as a replacement for the Firefight game mode that featured in Halo: Reach and Halo 3: ODST. Season one of Spartan Ops delivers five new objective-based missions and cinematics each week over a period of ten weeks to players. The story for Spartan Ops is set six months after the events of the Halo 4 campaign. In the multiplayer component of Halo 4, titled Infinity multiplayer, players build their own custom Spartan-IV super-soldier and advance in their multiplayer career which spans across gameplay in War Games, Spartan Ops, Forge and Theater.^[17] Players can advance through ranks by earning experience (XP) by playing War Games, Spartan Ops, using Forge, and by completing both challenges and commendations. At each rank, players earn Spartan Points (SP), which are used to purchase gameplay items such as weapons, armor abilities and various upgrades for personal loadouts. Once players attain rank SR-50, they can enlist into one of the eight available Specializations, enabling players to unlock further customizations for their Spartan. Each Specialization is composed of ten ranks; players cannot switch their Specialization until they complete it. Items for visual customization are unlocked by gaining ranks, mastering commendations and completing certain goals. Halo 4 includes Forge, a map-editing tool that was first featured in Halo 3. Both Forge and War Games can be played on four player split screen, although some War Games playlists may restrict the number of players playing from a single console.

When Halo 4 launched on November 6, it debuted a new cooperative gameplay mode called Spartan Ops. Delivered in weekly deployments, each episode includes a short CGI film and five playable scenarios called chapters. Set six months after the main campaign, these episodes chronicle the exploration of the Forerunner planet Requiem by the officers, scientists, and Spartans stationed aboard the UNSC starship Infinity.

As of now, five episodes are available--the first half of the planned 10-episode season. It has been a bumpy start for Spartan Ops, as it has sometimes struggled with dull pacing and predictable design, but recent developments in the story and departures from the normal mission structure have given the novel series some intriguing momentum.

To understand why things are looking up for Spartan Ops, we need to look at how it started out. As I wrote in my review of Halo 4, the opening cutscene was a nice introduction to Infinity's new mission. We meet a squad of Spartan IVs and glean important details about each one from their idle conversations and their introduction to the boss Spartan, Commander Sarah Palmer. The cutscene teaches us what the Infinity is up to, gives us a glimpse of humanity's best soldiers gearing up for combat, and drives home the fact that this is a whole different battlefield in one memorable flourish. When the Infinity casually smashes through a Covenant capital ship as if it were merely a passing tumbleweed, you know this isn't Master Chief's struggle against the alien threat. The stage is nicely set for a new conflict, one in which humanity has some weight to throw around.

Unfortunately, once you start playing the actual chapters, this heady feeling of power dissipates. It's not that you aren't a powerful Spartan; you can have a lot of fun threshing your way through your enemies or struggling against tenacious foes, depending on your skill level and the difficulty setting. It's just that the missions themselves are routine. Clear out the Covenant, and smash things at these few checkpoints. Scientists are trapped in this building; shoot all the bad guys nearby. Press a few buttons, kill a lot of enemies, and make it to the extraction point.

From a plot perspective, these scenarios establish the Spartans as part of a workaday military operation, doing what needs to be done so the investigation and exploitation of Requiem can proceed apace. Sensible? Yes. Exciting? Not really. The waves of Covenant and Promethean enemies feel predictable, a bit too much like what you've encountered before in the campaign, and because these stand-alone outings can be completed in around 10 minutes, the experience feels disjointed.

In the campaign, you had a clear narrative impetus to press onward, as well as the thrill of new environments awaiting you. In the second episode, the narrative remains disconnected from the action. A new artifact stirs things up on Infinity, resulting in a comedic moment from Palmer and the dramatic departure of Infinity's chief engineer, Dr. Glassman. It raises an interesting question (what actually just happened to him?), but the chapters don't shed any light on these events, returning instead to a forgettable series of rote rescue missions.

The second episode also dashes any eagerness you may have had to see new areas: four of the five environments here were also used in the first episode, albeit with different enemy deployments and different follow-the-checkpoint routes. Only the second week and they're already recycling environments? This is a gut punch to the novel idea of new weekly content, and it might cause you to reflect on the fact that Spartan Ops required only a 1.5 gigabyte install from the second Halo 4 disc. Is that all just videos? Will I ever see another new place in Spartan Ops?

Well, if you've played some War Games, the answer is no, there are no new environments awaiting you. Spartan Ops uses six original maps (a few of which are repurposed from the campaign) as well as two maps from the competitive multiplayer mode (Complex and Ragnarok). These last two first appear in episode three, and it's initially odd to be fighting AI aliens where you are used to blasting fellow Spartans. Fortunately, this feeling soon falls away, thanks to some bolder scenario design. Clearing out a dusty bowl area bristling with Covenant and bringing down Banshees and Phantoms with your very own Mantis mech are some of the most invigorating combat endeavors Spartan Ops has yet offered. With more vehicles and an increased enemy presence, the pressure is intensified and the experience is noticeably better.

Episode three is also where the story of Spartan Ops takes a turn for the awesome with the arrival of Dr. Catherine Halsey, the infamous director of the Spartan program. Weathering epithets that include "war criminal" and "old lady," Halsey wastes little time deploying her steely intelligence and sharp intuition to make her presence felt, despite the fact that she is in custody. She is one of the most fascinating characters in Halo lore, but she doesn't just improve the story by adding her personality. The way the Infinity crew members treat her tells you a lot about their individual personalities as well. Dr. Halsey's influence elevates the tension and intrigue aboard the Infinity, making episode three the point where Spartan Ops starts to show some real narrative vigor.

Meanwhile, down on the surface, we discover that the vanished Infinity engineer is now in the custody of an Elite named Jul 'Mdama. His crew of vicious-looking Sangheili worship the Didact and believe that they can harness the powers of the Forerunners by accessing the Librarian (hence the engineer's usefulness). This plotline manifests itself in the chapters as missions to hunt 'Mdama and his second-in-command, Parg Vol. It feels a bit manufactured (how did we come to know all this stuff about this Covenant terrorist?), but the chapters here once again benefit from some divergence from the norm. You start one scenario by teleporting into the middle of a Covenant squad, and the final chapter is a juiced-up brawl between you and tons of Covenant forces fueled by abundant UNSC ordnance and a handful of Ghosts.

Episode five marks the point where Spartan Ops really seems to have hit its stride. Revelations about an artifact retrieved from the planet, the exposure of Halsey's secretive communications, and the drastic actions taken by one Spartan leave you speculating wildly and eagerly anticipating the next episode. Perhaps more significantly, the chapters themselves almost all represent a serious shift in mission design.

Rather than simply following checkpoints and plowing through hordes of enemies, you must now defend key structures that can be destroyed, and scientists that can be killed. You can fail the mission and be forced to start again from the beginning. In a mode that lets you die as much as you want with little to no penalty, this is a big change. Sure, you can still die, but your temporary absence gives the enemy more time to hammer your precious cargo. It forces you to approach combat differently; now you must control a certain space in addition to strategically dismantling the enemy forces. The result is a more tense and more exciting struggle.

It's a welcome shift and one that is hopefully indicative of new objectives to come in the second half of the season. By introducing meaningful variety in the mission types, Spartan Ops carves out a more appealing niche for itself and no longer feels like so many fragments from the campaign cutting-room floor. With the dynamic Dr. Halsey in the story mix, the stakes are raised and many other characters come to life. The trailer for the second half of the season shows a few glimpses of things to come, teasing the possibility of a flight-based mission and a Covenant invasion of Infinity. These tidbits are nice, but you need only look at how far Spartan Ops has come in a few short weeks to get excited about its future.

Apple iPad

2012-12-14T15:13:00.000+05:30

Every year since 2010, there has been a new version of the iPad. In 2012, we've already seen three. One, the iPad Mini, is a different beast altogether. Still, even the third-generation iPad with its Retina Display has suddenly become the recipient of a surprising seventh-month upgrade, to a very similar-looking device now known as the "fourth-generation iPad."

Should owners of the now "old" third-gen March 2012 iPad be upset? Should new buyers be wary? The answer to the first is yes. The answer to the second is no. The new iPad (technically just known as "iPad" at the Apple Store) has a few upgrades, two minor, one significantly major. A Lightning connector replaces the old 30-pin, just like all other new iOS devices this fall. And while the rear iSight camera remains the same (5 megapixels), the front-facing FaceTime camera has been upgraded to HD status: 720p video recording and sharper self-portraits. The LTE versions of the new iPad also work with a wider range of international carriers.

Biggest of all is the new processor lurking beneath: an A6X processor, replacing the third-gen's A5X. The previous iPad was no slouch in the performance department, but as we remarked when we reviewed the iPad in March, its speed gains weren't such a huge quantum leap compared with what we got from the iPad 2.

The A6X speeds up the iPad back to levels you'd expect, and it handles Retina Display graphics even better. This is the iPad 3S, so to speak. Considering that the iPad still has the same price as before, starting at $499 for 16GB, it's an even better buy than it was seven months ago.

The landscape's changed a little bit since March. Competing tablets have become more affordable. Windows 8 and RT tablets now offer an alternative set of products. None of these can touch the iPad. The biggest competitor, really, is that innocent iPad Mini, which could be the biggest little disruptor of them all, especially when it gets its own Retina Display.

You may be concerned to buy this iPad: could Apple surprise us with more frequent updates instead of yearly cycles? I think that's unlikely. Plus, the important point is that this iPad is the best one. It's polished. It's improved over the third-gen model. If you were on the fence about buying one before, now's the time to go ahead and do it. And it's still a better product than the iPad Mini...this year, at least.

(Editors' note: updated on November 5 with additional performance tests and battery life testing results.)

Design: Deja Pad
Place the new fourth-gen iPad on a table anywhere and no one will be able to know it's the latest and greatest unless he happens to see that telltale, teeny-tiny Lightning connector. This isn't a product you can easily show off. Just like the iPhone 4S, it has the same weight, size, and overall design as its predecessor. Even the back panel doesn't give any hint that this is a newer iPad than before. For a deeper dive on what this iPad feels like, go back and read Donald Bell's review of the third-gen iPad.

My Wi-Fi review model came in black (64GB); the iPad also comes in white. Both, as usual, have differently colored front glass and the same aluminum backs.

Does the iPad's design still hold up? Yes, mainly because of its all-metal-and-glass construction, still a rarity among tablets. The 1.4-pound body doesn't feel lightweight, but it's comfortable to hold in two hands. As a one-handed device, it's awkward and cumbersome. The sleek feel makes it seem fragile; indeed, you wouldn't want to drop one on a hard floor.

The Retina Display also remains the same, and it's still as lovely as ever. The 2,048x1,536-pixel 9.7-inch IPS screen is unmatched among tablets. Color accuracy is superb, movies look great, and photos look even better. Text is crystal-clear, just like on the iPhone. It makes a big difference when looking at Web pages. Still, this is all exactly the same as the third-gen iPad.

The thicker bezel of the iPad is necessary at this size and weight; it helps keep a grip on the otherwise ultra-sleek body. The single home button still feels a little vestigial, but it's not going anywhere anytime soon. Volume rocker buttons on the side and a silence/orientation lock switch remain. Speakers, headphone jack: they're all the same.

ThinkPad X1 Carbon touch for Windows 8 arrives

2012-12-12T16:44:00.001+05:30

Lenovo said today that it has added a touch-screen ThinkPad X1 Carbon model, as PC vendors continue to ramp up shipments of Windows 8 ultrabooks with tablet-like attributes.

The 14-inch ThinkPad now measures 20.8mm (about 0.8 inches) thick and weighs 3.4 pounds, slightly thicker and heavier than the non-touch model.

The display resolution and internals stay the same, though. That means a pixel-dense 1,600x900 resolution display and Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors.

And, true to its name, the chassis is made from lightweight carbon fiber, which allows Lenovo to keep the weight of its 14-inch laptop below 3.5 pounds.

Other specifications have not been disclosed yet.

But the price has: $1,499. Some of that extra cost is due to the high-resolution touch display, which comes at a premium.

The Last of Us

2012-12-11T23:25:00.000+05:30

The Last of Us is an upcoming post-apocalyptic third-person survival action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation 3. It was officially revealed on December 10, 2011 during the Spike TV Video Game Awards. One year later, on December 7, 2012, it was officially revealed that the game will be released worldwide on May 7, 2013 during the Spike TV Video Game Awards. The game focuses on Joel (voiced byTroy Baker) and Ellie (voiced by Ashley Johnson) trekking across a post-apocalyptic America, hiding from scavengers and the military forces of Ellie's home, all the while trying to avoid the clutches of the Infected.

The game is scheduled for a release on May 7, 2013 as a PlayStation 3 exclusive.

Gameplay

It has been confirmed by Naughty Dog that the player will take control of Joel, while Ellie will be controlled by the AI. The game will involve both gunfighting and melee combat, and it will have a cover system. The player will fight off the Infected — former humans who were infected by the fungus — and the Survivors — other humans that are not infected but are hostile towards Joel and Ellie. Also, a new gameplay mechanic the developers have introduced is something that they call "dynamic stealth", meaning that there are many different types of strategies and techniques that the player can use at any given time as they approach a new situation, to which enemies will react differently. Though situations can have a different outcome, it all mainly depends on the player's preference of play.

PlanetSide 2

2012-12-11T18:07:00.001+05:30

Planetside 2, SOE’s hulking, free-to-play MMOFPS, is the kind of game that friends conjure up when they get together and let their imaginations run wild. “Wouldn’t it be cool,” someone might say, “if there was a sci-fi shooter--and you fought over territory, and it was always persistent? You’d go to sleep, and wake up, and all your bases would be captured! And you’d have to fight and reclaim them!” Then you would say, “Yeah... and there would be tons of players! Thousands at a time! And vehicles!”

Those ideas are brought to life uncompromised in Planetside 2. It’s ambitious and visually gorgeous, with the action happening on a scale--up to 2,000 players on just one of the game's three continents--that makes Call of Duty look quaint. It’s also demanding, asking players for precision, timing, and strategy to succeed. However, that reaching scope presents one of Planetside 2's biggest challenges, as reveling in its joys first requires hours and hours of clumsy and frustrating death.

But that doesn’t mean it won’t eventually send shivers down your spine or make you squeal with glee. Because when you and 10 squadmates are plowing through the desert on ATVs, headlights piercing the darkness, sneaking behind enemy lines as a massive tank battle thunders at the front, the only way to describe it is, “This kicks ass,” even if you don’t always know exactly what you’re doing.

Planetside 2 requires patience, but pays off in a big way.

The game’s lore doesn’t matter much: The important story is the one players create. Just know there are three factions and a planet named Auraxis, which has three continents. The factions are trying to control the continents. Being a faction member means your job is to capture and defend the key strategic points around each landmass.

Choosing a faction is important because equipment and weaponry vary vastly between them. The Vanu Sovereignty, for example, uses plasma weapons that remain accurate at long distance, while the Terran Republic uses rapid-fire, low-damage traditional bullets. These differences in weaponry make for sizable mechanical shifts between the factions, meaning it might take you a few different characters to find the style you like most.

As each faction conquers land, they get bonuses to reward their efforts, and a stronger stream of resources with which to purchase vehicles and equipment. The key to successfully taking more territory is teamwork: This is not a great game for lone wolves. Your squad has to function as a unit. Players can switch at will between the game's five classes: jetpack-toting Light Assault, heal-dispensing Medic, ammo-and-turret-providing Engineer, vehicle-destroying Heavy Assault, and the mech-armor-wearing MAX class. Each of these perform a specific function in battle, and it’s players' responsibility to know their roles. Learning is overwhelming and stressful at first, but later, when your squad is firing on all cylinders and the enemy is crumbling, the growing pains are quickly forgotten.

This steep learning curve, combined with a poor new player experience, initially makes the game frustrating and filled with quick deaths. There are optional video tutorials, but otherwise new folks are dropped immediately into the fray to die quickly and pathetically. Fortunately, players always have the option to quick deploy to the under-siege spots on the map, so it’s not hard to get to where the action is (and, in the beginning, hopefully leech a few kills).

War is waged through a combination of land-based vehicles, on-foot soldiers, and aircraft. None of these modes are a cakewalk. The FPS component of the game--when you’re not in a vehicle--is deliberately paced, strategic, and unforgiving. The upgrade from a 16-player deathmatch to a 500-player all-out war feels strange at first. Smaller firefights bleed into each other, forming a messy and chaotic battle. You’ll instantly feel when your team starts to gain or lose ground. Success depends on learning when you should push and when to fall back, when and where to take cover, how to deal with specific classes, and, again, how to work as a group with your teammates. Otherwise, all you do is die.

Still, the shooting mechanics seem too punishing. Those with poor reflexes might have been better served with more accurate guns, bigger and more clearly defined targets, and the ability to take a few more bullets before dieing. At the same time, these mechanics help prevent any Rambo-style exploits, as running solo into enemy forces will only get you killed.

And piloting vehicles is no simple task. They’re easy to take a leisurely drive or flight with, but as far as actually maneuvering them successfully in a high-pressure, frenzied combat scenario? That takes a lot of practice. Even the mounted turrets and cannons take a while to get familiar with. Still, even if you’re clueless, strapping into the pilot’s seat of a gunship while two comrades man its turrets feels great, like starring in your own buddy-buddy action movie.

The game features a straightforward leveling system that can be used to customize your character. Nearly anything you do in the game--killing, destroying and repairing objectives, healing other players, and so on--nets experience points that increase your character’s level, and certification points which can be spent to unlock new weapons, armor, and passive or active abilities for each class. Using certifications, you can easily tweak your class of choice to cover your shortcomings as a player, or accentuate your strengths, but you won’t be redefining how you play the game. This system is also where most of the paid elements of the game come in. You can spend cash to expedite getting better weapons, accessories, and abilities.

$25 was spent in-game for this review, and doing so revealed that while you can get an edge by using real-world money, PlanetSide 2 is not a pay-to-win game. Even if you have the best gun for your class, it doesn’t mean much if you can’t aim for crap, or if you’re approaching a target from a poorly chosen route. However, in a match of even skill, having better equipment makes a huge difference--and the player who spends real money will have a quicker, easier route to the best gear in the game. Those who opt not to pay can still get high-end gear, only slower. Likewise, a paid account (which grants faster resource, experience, and certification gain) helps expedite the character growth process but doesn’t put subscribers in a position that non-payers can’t reach.

With a game this ambitious, technical issues are to be expected. A considerable chunk of players are experiencing problems ranging from low frame rates to frequent crashing. Many of the issues are related to poor performance on lower-end machines, while others appear to be happening regardless of hardware power. SOE remains adamant that optimization and bug-squashing are coming soon.

PlanetSide 2 will make your heart pound. It will make you feel childlike, game-induced euphoria. In a sea of FPS copy-cats, it’s a novel and refreshing experience. Sure, it may crash and stutter, and yeah, you’ll be lost for a while when you start. But sometime between being 1,000 feet above a battlefield dumping rockets on anything that moves, sniping medics from the top of a valley, leading a column of tanks toward an oblivious enemy base, and recklessly hurling yourself, rifle blazing, into a hundred-person firefight, you forget about the bad parts. By that point, you’re just playing the game you’ve been dreaming about.

Is Phantom Pain a New Metal Gear Solid Game ?

2012-12-10T21:11:00.003+05:30

The most talked about game at this year's Spike Video Game Awards show was The Phantom Pain, a game we were led to believe was being created by new developer Moby Dick Studio.

It didn't take NeoGAF users long to throw on their Sherlock Holmes attire to investigate this new game and its developer. What they found first was Moby Dick Studio's website, which doesn't offer much in terms of content, but does detail the company in its "about" section. Here's what it says:

Moby Dick Studio is a game developing company operating out of Stockholm, Sweden. Moby Dick Studio was founded by CEO Joakim Mogren who after years of working for a major American developer brought together people out of various game studios from around the Scandinavian area to start something new.

Our goal is to deliver an uncompromising, exciting and touching game experience to people all around the globe.

We will shortly be disclosing information regarding our first major release.

The CEO, Joakim Mogren, has an interesting name. "Joakim" is actually an anagram for "Kojima." Neogaf then dissected the footage, revealing many links to the Metal Gear series, including a scar on the protagonist's face that matches Snake's from Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes. The character emerging from the fire looks a lot like Volgin. The lines above the Phantom Pain logo supposedly also spell out Metal Gear Solid V, if you use the Metal Gear font.
We'll have to wait for confirmation to know for sure, but I have a feeling Neogaf uncovered the truth behind this game. My guess: It'll be called Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain.

Grand Theft Auto 5

2012-11-20T16:03:00.001+05:30

Grand Theft Auto V, commonly shortened to GTA V, is an upcoming open world action-adventure video game being developed by games developer Rockstar North, and published by Rockstar Games. The game will be the first major title in the Grand Theft Auto series since Grand Theft Auto IV (2008), and a continuation of the fictional universe that was introduced in that game. The fifteenth game in the series overall, GTA V is to be set in fictional Los Santos in the state of San Andreas and its surronding areas, based on modern-day Los Angeles and Southern California. A rendition of Los Santos was previously featured as one of three cities in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, released in 2004.

According to Rockstar, Grand Theft Auto V is destined to be their biggest open world game to date. The game will concentrate on "the pursuit of the almighty dollar". A highly anticipated game, Grand Theft Auto V was officially announced on 25 October 2011. The debut trailer for the game was unveiled on 2 November 2011. The first demo of the game was revealed to press on 11 October 2012.

The second trailer of GTA V was announced on November 5 2012, and released on 14 November 2012.

GTA V is slated for release in the second quarter of 2013, for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.

Gameplay

Grand Theft Auto V "evolves nearly every mechanic" found in previous games in the series. GTA V's world is bigger than the worlds of Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto IV combined. Areas in the game world include beachfronts, mountains, the wilderness, a "Salton Sea" region, a military base and the suburbs. The ocean floor is fully detailed and can be explored.

GTA V's single-player story is told through three player controlled protagonists. They are Michael, Trevor and Franklin, criminals whose stories interconnect as they complete missions together. During story missions, the player can switch between the protagonists as they work together to accomplish an objective; in one such mission, Michael rappels down the side of a building, Franklin provides covering fire with a sniper rifle, and Trevor controls the getaway vehicle.

Outside of missions, the player is free to swap between the protagonists and explore the game's open world, the fictional city of Los Santos, based on Los Angeles, and its surrounding countryside, whilst viewing the games wildlife, including Coyotes, in a full fledged ecosystem. Camera zooms out to a "Google Earth-style" perspective when switching characters and then drops into wherever the chosen character is. Even when the player is not controlling them, each character will still go about their own business across Los Santos. As any of the protagonists, the player can engage in activities such as yoga, triathlons, Jet Skiing, base-jumping, tennis, golf, scuba diving or go to the gym. Each character will have unique hobbies, which can be completed with the protagonists' friends, but the dating system from GTA IV does not return. San Andreas' RPG-like player customization is also absent, but the player can customize the clothing of each character. Characters can "flick off" people and people react differently depending on the area.

The mobile phone introduced in GTA IV returns, but a lot of its features have been altered. The mobile phone is mainly used for activities and can also be used to access the in-game internet. There will be a "vibrant and fun" economy system, but the player won't be able to buy property as in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Shooting has evolved "a long way" in terms of feel and mechanics, and the melee combat is better than in previous GTA titles.

GTA V will feature more vehicles than in any GTA to date, including BMXs, mountain bikes, road bikes, dirt bikes, huge variety of cars and trucks, helicopters, planes, ATVs and Jet Skis. Fighter jets also return. A scene in the second trailer shows a fighter jet firing two missiles at a helicopter, destroying it almost immediately. The cars will feel less "boatlike" than in GTA IV, they will "hold on better to the ground" and "it feels more like a racing game"

Multiplayer

According to IGN, the multiplayer modes may feature "crews" similar to Max Payne 3. The new Social Club functionality will connect play across multiple titles, starting with Max Payne 3 and GTA V. By playing both games' multiplayer, crews that the player set up in one will be carried over to the other. GTA V will let players form private crews with friends, or join public crews. Players can be a member of up to five at the same time, and completing tasks as a crew will gain experience points for the player.

Hitman Absolution : Review

2012-11-17T19:34:00.002+05:30

Hitman: Absolution is a stealth game developed by IO Interactive and published by Square Enix. It is the fifth entry in the Hitman game series, and will run on IO Interactive's proprietary Glacier 2 game engine. The developers have confirmed that Absolution will be easier to play and more accessible, but will retain hardcore aspects. The game is currently slated for a worldwide release on November 20, 2012.

Gameplay

The game will take place in the United States, and will feature an online option. In addition, the game will feature "instinct mode" which will allow 47 to predict enemy patrol routes, much like the "sonar vision" that was featured in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction, "Eagle Vision" in Assassins Creed: Revelations and "detective mode" in Batman: Arkham Asylum. Hitman is known for allowing players to create their own narratives within the sandbox levels; for Hitman: Absolution, developer IO Interactive has enlisted Hollywood talent like Vivica Fox, Powers Boothe and Shannyn Sossamon to help tell Agent 47's latest story.

Plot

The first in-depth trailer for the game shows Agent 47 storming a safehouse, and confronting Diana while she is showering. 47 is "betrayed by those he once trusted and now hunted by the police, he suddenly finds himself at the center of a dark conspiracy and must embark on a personal journey through a corrupt and twisted world, in his search for the truth". At least one portion of the game will be set in Chicago, and the game will take place in the United States. Hitman: Absolution is set at the end of the timeline. Confirmed plot details include series protagonist Agent 47 assassinating his former International Contract Agency handler, Diana Burnwood, early in the game. One of the main antagonists is Blake Dexter, a new character to the series. The character will be voiced by Keith Carradine.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II Review

2012-11-15T11:08:00.000+05:30

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is a first-person shooter video game, developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. It was released on November 13, 2012 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows and on November 18, 2012 in North America, November 30, 2012 in Europe, and December 20, 2012 in Japan for Wii U. Black Ops II is the ninth game in the Call of Duty franchise of video games and a sequel to the 2010 game Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Black Ops II is the first game in the Call of Duty franchise to feature future warfare technology and the first to present branching storylines driven by player choice. It also offers a 3D display option. A corresponding game, Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified, will be released simultaneously on the PlayStation Vita.

Characters and setting

The single-player campaign features two connected storylines, with one set in the 1970s through 1980s and the other in 2025. The protagonist ofBlack Ops, Alex Mason returns as the protagonist in the Cold War section, and chronicles rise to infamy of the game's primary antagonist, Raul Menendez, a Nicaraguan narco-terrorist and the leader of "Cordis Die", a populist movement celebrated as the champions of victims ofeconomic inequality.

The 2025 section of the game features Alex Mason's son David as the protagonist during a new Cold War between China and the United States. In this era, war is defined by robotics, cyberwarfare, unmanned vehicles, and other futuristic technology.

Plot

In the year 2025, a Special Forces unit led by David Mason arrive at "The Vault", a secret location that is home to the aged Frank Woods, who they believe has information on the whereabouts of Raul Menendez. Woods admits that Menendez had visited him, and gives Mason a locket that Menendez had left behind.

In 1986, Alex Mason has retired from active duty and is living in Alaska with the seven year-old David. Their already-strained relationship is put to the test when Mason is approached by Jason Hudson, seeking to recruit him for a mission in Angola. Woods' unit has been taken captive while aiding rebels in the country's civil war, and their actions have been disavowed by the CIA. Hudson enlists Mason for a covert mission to rescue Woods and any survivors from his unit, with the help of the Jonas Savimbi, the leader of the Angolan forces. They discover Menendez is responsible for Woods' captivity and attempt to confront him, only for Menendez to give away their position to incoming enemy forces, allowing him to flee.

In light of the events in Angola, Mason and Hudson begin tracking Menendez, who has set himself up as one of the primary arms suppliers for conflicts in Africa and Latin America. Locating him in Afghanistan, the CIA authorises a strike against him. At this point, the story begins to explore Menendez's motivations and his vendetta against the West. After he and his sister were accidentally burned in the fire-bombing of a warehouse as part of an insurance scam, the Menendez family turned to drug trafficking and built up power and influence throughout Nicaragua. Their actions did not go unnoticed, and the CIA sanctioned the assassination of his father. Now knowing that Menendez considers the conflict to be personal and that he will not back down, the CIA lean on Panamanian president Manuel Noriega to support a raid on Menendez's home in Panama. Menendez suffers further tragedy when Woods inadvertently kills his sister during the raid.

Gameplay

Strike Force missions

Black Ops II will be the first Call of Duty video game to feature branching storylines, in which the player's choice affects both the current mission and in turn, the overall course of the story. Known as "Strike Force missions", these branching storylines will appear during the 2025 storyline and will feature permanent death. The success or failure of these missions can have ramifications for the wider campaign storyline. Choosing one of the missions locks out the others unless the player begins a fresh campaign.

Strike Force missions allow the player to control a number of different war assets, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, jet fighters and robots. If the player dies in a Strike Force mission, the campaign continues recording that loss, as opposed to letting the player load a previously saved checkpoint. The player's progress in the Strike Force missions may go on to change even the plans of the story's antagonist, Raul Menendez. By the end of the game, the player may have changed the results of the new Cold War, and the player will be shown what could have gone differently.

Zombies

Treyarch has confirmed that the Zombies mode will return for Black Ops II with its own campaign. Its predecessors were Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Black Ops. This is the third time for the Zombies mode to appear in a Call of Duty game, and the first time to have its own campaign along with the main story. Treyarch has also confirmed that Zombies will implement the multiplayer engine, allowing for a deeper community experience along with new game modes. It has also been confirmed that the Zombies mode will support 8 player co-op, unlike Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Black Ops, which only supported 4 player online co-op. Treyarch announced in August 2012 that Nuketown would be remade as a zombie map for those buying Hardened or Care Package Edition of Black Ops 2. On September 26, 2012, the Zombies reveal trailer was released as well as three new game modes confirmed: Tranzit is a game mode that is a combination of multiple maps in one game and the way to travel around it is to ride on a bus, Survival is the original mode from Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Black Ops where you survive as long as possible, and finally the mode Grief which is 4 players vs 4 players vs zombies. Although a Zombies campaign is confirmed it is still unknown if Campaign is the Tranzit mode or if Campaign and Tranzit are completely different modes.

Minimum System Requirements

	Requirements
Microsoft Windows
Operating system	Windows Vista (Service Pack 2) or Windows 7; (Windows XP not supported)
CPU	Intel Core2 Duo E8200 2.66 GHz or AMD Phenom X3 8750 2.4 GHz
Memory	2GB for 32-bit OS or 4GB for 64-bit OS
Hard drive space	16GB
Graphics hardware	Nvidia GeForce 8800GT 512 MB or ATI Radeon HD 3870 512 MB

PCs 'could decline for years,' analyst warns in cutting outlook

2012-11-13T14:33:00.003+05:30

It's no secret that the PC market is in trouble, but its future appears to be dimmer than previously thought.

Warning that sales of "PCs could decline for many years to come," Barclays Capital's hardware analyst Ben Reitzes cut his outlook for the sector through 2016. Reitzes blamed a variety of factors for the expected decline, including surging interest in tablets and confusion over Microsoft's recently released Windows 8.

"We are lowering our 2012-2016 PC forecasts due to weak macro conditions, confusion around Windows 8, ongoing cannibalization from tablets, and an elongation in replacement cycles," Reitzes wrote in a research note yesterday, according to Forbes.

Reitzes blamed the myopic PC industry for not recognizing and adjusting to consumers' shifting tastes to mobile devices, according to the report seen by Barrons:

We believe a new generation of consumers and IT workers are figuring out how to compute differently than those that started using PC's in the 90's - relying more on mobile devices and the cloud - as PC's see significant "task infringement" by the day. As a result, it can no longer be assumed that the PC market can remain in the range of 350 million units a year - and we argue that the PC replacement cycle is in the process of being elongated by 1-2 years, resulting in the loss of 50-100 million units in annualized demand by 2015. After years of denial, most PC industry players still don't seem to realize what is happening - and don't have contingency plans.

Reitzes cut his 2012 forecast for PC units sold to 352.75 million units, down 3 percent as well as his 2013 prediction to 338.34 million, a 4 percent decline from his previous forecast.

Tablets are expected to reap the benefit of PCs' decline, with Reitzes raising his estimates for the market, predicting 182 million units in 2013 compared to his previous estimate of 146 million, and 230 million in 2014, a dramatic increase over his prior 139 million estimate.

While Reitzes expects Apple to control the majority of the tablet market at least through 2016, he said Google, Samsung, and Amazon "have the ability to expand the non-Apple market quite a bit and we believe these 3 companies can sustain 30-40% share of the market (combined) over the longer term."

Reitzes' dire prediction comes on the heels of market researchers' data showing that PC sector "withdrew sharply in the third quarter, with shipments falling more than 8 percent from the prior year.

New e-skin is sensitive to touch and self-healing

2012-11-13T02:46:00.000+05:30

The human skin, with all its frailties, turns out to be difficult to recreate, let alone improve on. The main challenge: It manages to be both self-healing and sensitive to the touch, enabling it to send vital information to the brain about temperature and pressure.

But chemists and engineers at Stanford say they are one step closer to developing an electronic skin that has both these properties, and they report this week in the journal Nature Nanotechnology that it could help lead to smarter prosthetics and more resilient, self-repairing electronics.
Their central task was to find a self-healing material (a plastic polymer would ordinarily do the trick) that was also a good conductor of electricity (which typically requires metals). "To interface this kind of material with the digital world, ideally you want it to be conductive," Benjamin Chee-Keong Tee, a researcher on the project, said in a school news release.
They found that a plastic made of long chains of molecules linked up via hydrogen bonds provided weak attractions between differently charged regions of atoms, which result in self-healing. Because the molecules easily break apart and then reorganize to restore their original structure, the result is a flexible material they describe as feeling -- even at room temperature -- like saltwater taffy left in the fridge.
They then embedded tiny particles of nickel into the polymer to increase its strength. Tee calls these rough surfaces "mini-machetes," with tiny electrical fields that enable current to easily flow from one particle to another.

"Most plastics are good insulators, but this is an excellent conductor," said lead researcher and chemical engineering professor Zhenan Bao.
The material is also sensitive enough to detect the pressure of a handshake, whether that pressure be downward or flexing, meaning a prosthetic limb could detect the actual degree of bend in a joint. And coating electrical devices in this material could render those devices capable of getting electricity flowing again if they are damaged.
Bao's team is now concentrating on the next goal: to make the material both stretchy and transparent, so that it could wrap around and overlay electronic devices or display screens.

Facebook says it again: We are mobile

2012-11-12T00:08:00.000+05:30

Facebook really wants people to know that it's got its mind on mobile.
The company put out a blog post today detailing the work of its product teams since its mobile first transformation. Wall Street has been highly critical of Facebook in the past for not paying attention to mobile, which is where many users have moved.
But now, Facebook says, it's all about mobile. The company has been updating its main Facebook app frequently, and paying attention to standalone apps is key to that process, Product Manager Michael Eyal Sharon wrote in the post. He used the example of the update released earlier this week that integrated Camera and Messenger features into the main app.
"Having mobile apps designed for the most popular mobile activities allows us to take the best features from each and cross-pollinate with our core Facebook for iOS and Android apps," he wrote. "However, this also introduces the challenge of deciding which features make the most sense for the core apps and figuring out how to implement them."
Sharon said the solution has involved retooling the development process. In the last year, Facebook has been making the switch from a focus on desktop to a focus on mobile by making every engineer a mobile developer. This means engineers on the Camera team or the Messenger team are responsible for creating apps for both desktop and mobile. In the past, Facebook had one small mobile team dedicated to the main app.

The main app, was known to be painfully slow, so Facebook has been shipping out updates often in hopes of improving the experience.
"Having a single team own the product experience in their standalone apps as well as the integrated experience in the core app means that we have more thoughtfully executed experiences across platforms and applications," Sharon wrote.
His post is not just about patting Facebook's engineers on the back. The company is sticking to its messaging -- mobile, mobile, mobile -- to let its 600 million mobile users know that they come first. And, to remind Wall Street that the company finally has a mobile strategy.

So Steve Jobs was a normal human being

2012-11-11T10:18:00.000+05:30

I have a suspicion that Steve Jobs is becoming more missed rather than less.
Those who revered him -- as well as those who disliked him, his brand, and even his Levi's -- realize that tech seems a little less interesting since his departure.
Though he might have appeared overbearing, arrogant, and mercurial -- as well as inspired -- in business, there was always the notion that he was in it (and in life) for something far more interesting than money.
A beautifully told story that appeared in answer to a Quora question serves as a window to that idea.
I am grateful to Business Insider for spotting the anecdote contributed by Tim Smith, principal at the Applied Design Group.
He tells how he used to date a girl whose father lived on the same street as Jobs and his family in Palo Alto, Calif.
One day, his beat-up Sunbeam Alpine broke down, right in front of Casa Jobs.
Jobs' wife, Laurene, came out to help. She offered Smith a beer. She then called a friend who was allegedly an expert at fixing beat-up old cars.
"By this point," Smith writes, "I am fully resigned to whatever story is going to play out. It was starting to dawn on me that these were not just Silicon Valley elite -- they were real people, just helping a poor guy out."
The "expert" arrived in a large black car. He was wearing a tuxedo. He was on his way to something clearly glamorous.
Jobs himself then emerged and tried to crank the car. He couldn't get it started. Neither could his friend in the tuxedo.
Did Jobs pronounce the car "a piece of s***"? It seems that he might have. And yet when Smith was ushered into the Jobs family house, he found a normal place, with laundry lying around as it would be in so many houses.

Smith is still shocked that Jobs, his wife, and their friend tried to help.

"Steve is not the maniacal business and design despot the media loves to portray -- well he is, but not always," he writes. "These were real, nice people."

Perhaps the best word here isn't "nice" but "real."

Jobs was revered not merely because of the products he brought to fruition, but because there was a certain reality to his character -- however much of a salesman he could be.

Whether he e-mailed customers late at night or brazenly changed his mind about something, he exuded the sense that he didn't want to be a cliche in a suit -- a corporate functionary sacrificing his life for the next stock award or the next exotic villa on Mustique.

He wanted to live a real, human, fundamentally interesting life. And, with all his flaws as well as virtues, so many stories show that he did.

Now Paul Ceglia might even owe Facebook legal fees

2012-11-10T23:31:00.000+05:30

As if Paul Ceglia doesn't have enough problems.

Now the man claiming to own half of Facebook -- who last month was arrested on fraud charges for allegedly fabricating evidence in the case -- might end up paying part of Facebook's attorneys fees.

Ceglia, who was released from jail today after posting a $250,000 bond, is continuing to fight his civil lawsuit against Facebook and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The case now centers around why additional hard copies of a purported contract between Ceglia and Zuckerberg were destroyed. Ceglia's legal team has said that additional files -- one of which Ceglia made on a grocery store copier near his home in Wellsville, N.Y. -- were discarded as "waste paper" or "trash." Facebook says Ceglia's explanation was "cryptic" and "evasive."

On Wednesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie Foschio ordered Ceglia's legal team to submit an "affidavit confirming, in writing and under oath, that all hard-copies of the purported contract" created by Ceglia before June 30, 2010, had been turned over to Facebook for examination or destroyed. She also told Facebook to tally up a partial total of how much the social network has spent on "costs and attorney's fees" battling claims of the case.

This dispute began in 2010 when Ceglia filed a lawsuit claiming that he hired Zuckerberg through a Craigslist ad in 2003 to write code for a project called StreetFax. Ceglia claims he paid Zuckerberg $1,000 for coding work; he also alleges that he invested $1,000 in Zuckerberg's The Face Book project, which he claims gives him a 50 percent interest in the multibillion-dollar company.

The recent developments have not been good for Ceglia, to say the least. He faces up to 40 years in prison for two charges, which relate to Ceglia using the U.S. Postal Service and e-mail to transmit materials that prosecutors argue are fraudulent. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara alleged that Ceglia inserted a fake page into a contract signed by him and Zuckerberg to give the appearance that Zuckerberg promised Ceglia 50 percent ownership in the company.

Then, last week Judge Foschio allowed Facebook to present what appears to be a damning forensics report that concludes the purported "contract" giving Ceglia part ownership of Facebook was altered.

Judge Foschio gave both sides 10 days to submit their affidavits.

U.S. government sanctions Iran for creating 'electronic curtain'

2012-11-09T13:15:00.003+05:30

Iran is notorious for being a foe of the Internet, and the U.S. government has decided to do something about it.
The State Department announced today that it was sanctioning Iran for creating an "electronic curtain" that cuts off its citizens from the rest of the world.
The sanctions are against four individuals and five organizations that have been particularly oppressive when it comes to the freedom of information on the Internet.
According to a statement from State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland, these groups have "engaged in censorship or other activities that prohibit, limit, or penalize freedom of expression or assembly by citizens of Iran, or that limit access to print or broadcast media, including by jamming international satellite broadcasts into Iran, and related activities."
Among those sanctioned are Minister of Communication and Information Technology Reza Taghipour, who the U.S. government says has been responsible for ordering satellite television broadcasts to be jammed and Internet connectivity restricted. Also sanctioned were Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and its Press Supervisory Board, which have reportedly shuttered several newspapers and jailed journalists.
"Such abuses demonstrate the Iranian Government's ongoing campaign to censor its own citizens, curtail their freedoms, and to prevent the free flow of information both into and out of Iran," Nuland wrote. "Countless activists, journalists, lawyers, students, and artists have been detained, censured, tortured, or forcibly prevented from exercising their human rights."
This year's Reporters Without Borders' "Enemies of the Internet" report says that online crackdowns and surveillance have amplified in Iran over the past year. During protests and elections, the authorities have caused Internet slowdowns and disconnections along with jamming telephone lines, the report says.

In February, Iranian officials cut off access to the Internet, leaving millions of people without access to e-mail and social networks. And when the Internet came back, it was still rife with censorship. In March, the BBC alleged that Iran's government jammed two of its satellite feeds into the country and possibly even carried out a denial-of-service attack on the news site. And more recently, in September, the government indefinitely shut off YouTube.
The U.S. sanctions will block or freeze any U.S. assets belonging to the named individuals and groups. What's more, these people won't be able to travel to the U.S. or do business with any U.S. citizens.
"These actions underscore the Administration's ongoing commitment to hold Iranian government officials and entities responsible for the abuses carried out against their own citizens," Nuland wrote. "With the measures we are taking today, we draw the world's attention to the scope of the regime's insidious actions, which oppress its own people and violate Iran's own laws and international obligations."

Google's scary Bram Stoker doodle

2012-11-08T14:10:00.002+05:30

I'm not feeling lucky. I'm feeling scared.

For Google has chosen November 8 to celebrate Dracula's daddy, Bram Stoker.

Yes, the latest doodle is an especially creepy tribute to Stoker's legacy -- which, some might say, has brought us to the apogee represented by Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.

Stoker was actually Irish and was a theater critic before he sank his teeth into novels.

He began to write while he was the director of the Lyceum Theatre in London. His conception of Dracula was written as a series of made-up diary entries, newspaper clippings, and other pieces.

Count Dracula, in his original form, was merely trying to move from Transylvania to London. Because, well, London had better blood banks. Or something.

However, many will remember Dracula as a movie character, whether it be in the original 1931 Bela Lugosi version or the one featuring Gary Oldman and directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

Blood and wine have so much in common.

You will be wondering that this doodle must be celebrating some odd birthday. Indeed, this would have been Stoker's 165th.

However, this being New Google, as opposed to the old, pure version, this doodle is an ad. For a click upon it will take you to, yes, Google Books (via the search term "Bram Stoker books).

Still, it's hard not to become fond of every eclectic choice that Google's doodlers make. Even if you feel the occasional shiver.

Toshiba Satellite U845W-S430 review

2012-11-08T14:09:00.000+05:30

The good: The wide-screen Toshiba Satellite U845W-S430 has an extra-long, higher-resolution screen, Harman Kardon speakers that pack a punch, and an attractive, compact design with plenty of ports.

The bad: The keyboard and touch pad are uncomfortable, the wide screen isn't a perfect marriage with Windows 8, and the screen doesn’t always play nicely with all streaming video content.

The bottom line: Toshiba's experimental extra-wide-screen ultrabook gets a Windows 8 software upgrade, but it turns the Toshiba Satellite U845W into a computer imperfectly matched for what Windows 8 has to offer.

Windows 8 seems destined to be appreciated the most on computers with touch screens. It's not that you can't have a perfectly decent Windows 8 experience on a standard PC, but you're missing out on a good deal of the design it was intended for.

The Toshiba Satellite U845W, an ultra-wide-screen ultrabook I first reviewed several months ago, boasted a funky 21:9 aspect ratio, 1,792x768-pixel display crammed into a long, slim laptop. The U845W-S430 is that very same laptop, for the most part, with Windows 8 added.

In case you're curious about the U845W, read the original full review. My feelings on it still largely stand: the wide screen is intriguing but not necessary for movie-watching (in fact, many 16:9 movies will end up with "reverse letterboxing" on the sides as opposed to the top/bottom in order to fit the screen). The speakers are loud. The keyboard is uncomfortable but oddly stretched. The whole experiment still doesn't cost much more than a "normal" laptop, at roughly $1,085, although it's a little more expensive than before (although another Windows 8 U845W for $1,000 with a seemingly identical configuration is listed on Toshiba's Web site, and retail prices are often lower).

But, here's the catch: there are many new experimental laptops out now with funky designs, including touch screens and swiveling displays. The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 costs nearly the same. Yes, it's a completely different type of a machine, but I think it's a far more sensible one.

This Toshiba laptop isn't an ideal Windows 8 laptop, nor is it an ideal laptop. It's really, even more than before, simply lost in the middle.

Starting price / Price as reviewed	$1,085
Processor	1.7GHz Intel Core i5-3317U
Memory	6GB, 1,600MHz DDR3
Hard drive	500GB, 5,400rpm + 32GB SSD hybrid
Chipset	Intel HM77
Graphics	Intel HD 4000
Operating system	Windows 8 (64-bit)
Dimensions (WD)	14.5x7.9 inches
Height	0.83 inch
Screen size (diagonal)	14.4 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter	3.7 pounds / 4.3 pounds
Category	ultrabook

The compact design of the U845W remains attractive: this ultrabook has a shallower footprint than most ultrabooks despite being longer, making it fit more easily on a narrow airline tray or table. Even though its dimensions are odd, it still stowed away into a small laptop backpack I use with little difficulty.

The two-tone bronzed metal surface, paired with a textured, slate-gray rubberized layer that lines half of the back lid and the entire palmrest, offers a comfy grip, and the whole laptop feels sturdily built and cleanly arranged. It's one of the more attractive Toshiba laptops I've seen this year.

That doesn't always translate into easy-to-use, though. The wide backlit keyboard ends up oddly centered between two very large side speakers, resulting in a layout that's hard to touch-type on. I made a bunch of errors, and it didn't help that the raised island-style keys have a mushy travel to them. It didn't feel good to write on at all, compared to other recent ultrabooks.

The large but uncomfortable touch pad on the U845W didn't feel easy to use with Windows 8 gesture controls, either. It's the same problem I had with the Sony Vaio E17: the recessed multitouch clickpad means that gestures made off the edge of the touch pad (to bring up Charms, for instance) are hard to pull off. Windows 8 has several of these off-edge finger-swipe gestures, and none of them feel fun on the U845W's limited surface area. Ideally, Windows 8 laptops should have flush, flat touch pad, with plenty of room around them on all sides.

You can still navigate Windows 8 via cursor movement and keyboard commands, but it's yet another buzzkill to experiencing the already borderline-alienating world of the Windows 8 user interface.

The 14-inch 1,792x768-pixel display amounts to a lot more pixel resolution than your average laptop, arranged in a very odd, super-stretched way. It's a clever idea in some ways: you could watch a movie with no letterboxing, theoretically, or even look at full Web pages and documents side-by-side with relative ease. Because there are still 768 pixels vertically -- the same as the average laptop -- browser windows and apps look normal, at least from a top-to-bottom spatial relations perspective. There's so much side room, however, that most Web pages end up looking odd in full-screen mode, with tons of extra empty space.

Movies sometimes have problems at this specialized, odd resolution if you're streaming them (which is how most of us watch video nowadays). Apps like Netflix and Hulu Plus don't optimize for 1,792x768, so some movies end up with black bars all around the movie. "Captain America" via Netflix looked like it was matted in black strips on all sides. Also, the screen isn't of the best quality: at full brightness, images looked washed out, and viewing angles deteriorate quickly when you tilt the screen. IPS, this is not.

Toshiba offers a split-screen utility for auto-snapping apps to fill part of the screen, but the uses for this service are limited. I preferred stretching out windows myself to fit the content.

Windows 8 shows off some of the U845W's extra-wide display, especially when viewing apps in the tile-based user interface view, but it's not a perfect match: you end up seeing about a screen and a half of app tiles, resulting in odd overlapping on the sides. Loading customized apps, such as the included iCookbook, had the same effect. I could read a full page layout of a recipe, and about half a cut-off page of another. Then I had to two-finger scroll to swipe to the next set of pages.

Considering the number of other hurdles Windows 8 still faces with the myriad touch-screen hybrids and convertibles out there, the odds that apps will strive for better compatibility with this weird ultra-wide screen resolution, which is unique to this Toshiba Satellite, are slim to none. You get what you get, and to my eyes, it isn't a perfect marriage.

LG Nexus 4 vs. Samsung Galaxy S3: Does LTE really matter?

2012-11-07T15:15:00.002+05:30

When choosing a smartphone or a wireless carrier, it's important to know what your deal-breakers are.

There are so many choices today when it comes to picking out a new smartphone or even choosing a service provider. Devices come in different sizes, with different software and even different network support. And wireless carriers, which all have different strengths when it comes to network coverage, offer different packages with different prices for their services. When it comes to choosing a device or a carrier, which of these things is most important to you?

In this edition of Ask Maggie, I offer advice on what I think is most important. Specifically, one reader asks if LTE support is really important when deciding between the LG Nexus 4 and the Samsung Galaxy S3. And in the second question I discuss why Sprint's unlimited-data plan shouldn't be the deciding factor for a world-traveling soldier who wants the new iPhone 5.

Is LTE that important?

Dear Maggie,

I'm a full Android geek and I wanted to get the Samsung Galaxy S3 in December when I can get a good discount with AT&T due to my plan. But now the Nexus 4 has been introduced, which is screwing with my mind. The thing that I love about the Nexus devices is that you get the newer versions of the Android software as soon as Google releases them. That's a huge advantage over the other Android phones. When I had the original Samsung Galaxy S, I had to install a custom ROM in order to get newer updates. But there are a couple of things that are making me hesitate when it comes to the Nexus 4: No LTE and no SD slot.

So my question is: Do I really need LTE with the AT&T service? Is it really worth it?

The short answer to your question is yes. If you are an AT&T customer, LTE definitely makes a difference. To me going from 3G to 4G wireless service is like going from an old dial-up connection for Internet access in your home to using a broadband connection. You will be amazed at how much faster Web pages load and how quickly your Net-enabled apps work on LTE. At this point, I don't think I could go back.

Historically, AT&T hasn't offered specifics about its network performance. And sadly, it's confused the market a bit by calling its HSPA+ network 4G. But since the company has launched LTE, it's been trying to drum up interest for the faster network by talking up the faster LTE speeds.
Last month, the company's head of wireless, Ralph de la Vega, said during AT&T's third-quarter earnings conference call that its LTE service is delivering average download speeds of 12Mbps. This compares with average download speeds of between 2Mbps and 6Mbps for its HSPA+ service, he said. De la Vega also noted that network speeds for Android smartphone customers have increased by 50 percent since last year, when the company was not offering LTE service.
Now, if you've been an AT&T customer as long as I have, this download speed improvement is a much appreciated improvement.
De la Vega also said that the LTE network has helped alleviate congestion on AT&T's older 3G and HSPA+ networks, which has improved the rate of dropped calls and overall performance of the 3G network. This is also good news, since as you know, AT&T hasn't had the best track record when it comes to dropped calls.
So what does this mean for you and your decision? As you correctly noted in your question, the LG Nexus 4 does not support LTE. And the Samsung Galaxy S3 does. But as you also point out, the Nexus 4 has the latest version of Google's Android OS 4.2, aka Jelly Bean. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S3 on AT&T is still supporting the previous version of Android 4.0, aka Ice Cream Sandwich.
Personally, I think that the faster speed of the LTE network, which is supported on the Galaxy S3, trumps the software benefits of having a pure Google phone.This is especially true for AT&T customers such as yourself. As I pointed out above, the LTE speeds really are a marked improvement over AT&T's existing network speeds. What's more, the Galaxy S3 on AT&T is likely to get the upgrade to Jellybean sooner rather than later. Sprint's version of the same device already has gotten the update.

At any rate, I think the faster LTE network is worth the sacrifice of not having the latest Android software. I understand that some people may not like the software called TouchWiz that Samsung adds to its Android devices. There are many who prefer a pure Google Android experience. And I can understand their point. But I don't mind TouchWiz so much.
Still, that is a consideration. If you prefer the pure Google experience, you won't be getting that with the Galaxy S3. But I really do think that for AT&T customers in particular, the lack of 4G LTE on the Nexus 4 is a deal-breaker.
That being said, if you live in an area where AT&T doesn't offer LTE, then my advice might change. But keep in mind that AT&T is adding new markets for its LTE service every quarter. The company plans to have LTE in 100 cities by the end of this year, and it will complete its rollout by the end of 2013. So even if you don't have LTE today, it's likely you will get it before your contract on your next device runs out.
When LTE doesn't matter
If you're a T-Mobile customer or you live anywhere other than the U.S., then I'd probably offer slightly different advice. T-Mobile doesn't yet have an LTE network. It doesn't expect to deploy LTE until next year. This means that when you're deciding between these two devices, LTE isn't much of a factor. Also, T-Mobile's HSPA+ network seems to perform better than AT&T's HSPA+ network. And in some instances, people say T-Mobile's HSPA+ service rivals some LTE networks.

T-Mobile has deployed a faster version of HSPA+ that offers theoretical download speeds of 42Mbps. AT&T's network tops out at a theoretical speed of 21Mbps. The Nexus 4 for T-Mobile supports the HSPA+ up to 42Mbps. So in theory, the Nexus 4 could operate at twice the rate of AT&T's version of the phone wherever T-Mobile supports HSPA+ 42Mbps.

If you're an international wireless consumer, then LTE is also less relevant, since very few carriers around the world have deployed LTE so far. In that case, the Nexus 4's pure Google Android experience looks very attractive by comparison with the Galaxy S3, which in international versions doesn't support LTE.
Also, as you pointed out in your question, the Nexus 4 lacks a memory expansion slot. By contrast, the Galaxy S3 offers a micro-SD. While this is not a huge deal-breaker for me, if you plan on storing a lot of apps, music, pictures, video, or other media on your device, it's definitely something to consider.
The Nexus 4 comes only with either 8GB or 16GB of internal storage, depending on the model you choose. And because it doesn't have the expansion slot, you can't add additional memory for storage. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S3 comes in three flavors with 16GB or 32GB of internal storage, as well as a 64GB version that is now offered in Europe. Because this device supports micro-SD, the storage can be expanded using 32GB and 64GB cards.
The bottom line for you is that I recommend the Galaxy S3 over the Nexus 4, because I really do think LTE is a differentiator that matters for all AT&T customers. I hope this advice was helpful. And good luck!

Amputee to climb building's 103 flights with mind-controlled leg

2012-11-06T21:09:00.003+05:30

This Sunday, amputee Zak Vawter will stand at the foot of Chicago's Willis Tower and focus his thoughts on climbing. If all goes according to plan, his bionic leg will listen to those thoughts and he'll ascend 103 flights without a hitch.

Vawter, who lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident in 2009, will be wearing a cutting-edge, thought-controlled prosthetic that's about to make a very public debut. He'll head up the 1,451-foot skyscraper (also known as Sears Tower) as part of SkyRise Chicago, an indoor stair-climbing fund-raising event for the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC). About 2,700 other climbers will join him.

Following his amputation, Vawter underwent a surgical procedure called "targeted muscle reinnervation" originally pioneered by the RIC's Center for Bionic Medicine for upper-arm amputees.

The operation reassigns nerves that once controlled a lost limb, allowing amputees to have more natural control of prosthetic devices. In Vawter's case, this meant rerouting the residual nerves that normally would carry signals to his lower leg by attaching them to his hamstring.

Vawter, 31, lives in Seattle with his wife and two children but travels to Chicago every few months to work with RIC software engineers, physical therapists, and doctors to refine the control mechanisms of the bionic leg. The unique limb has a powered knee and ankle that work in unison, and it reads the wearer's intent. When Vawter pushes on the device to stand up, for example, it pushes back on him, propelling him up.

"One of the biggest differences for me is being able to take stairs step-over-step like everyone else," Vawter, a software engineer, said in a news release. "With my standard prosthesis, I have to take every step with my good foot first and sort of lift or drag the prosthetic leg up. With the bionic leg, it's simple, I take stairs like I used to, and can even take two at a time."

The leg also features an "anti-stumble" feature; if it senses that its user is starting to stumble, it lifts to avoid obstructions and plants on the floor to optimize balance.

Prosthetic devices seem to be getting stronger and more sophisticated by the day. The latest BeBionic hand, for example, works by detecting faint electrical signals in the user's arm skin that are amplified by the hand's electronics and translated into one of 14 possible grips. Development on bionic legs for paraplegics continues to progress apace.

We have reported previously on Vawter's lower-limb prosthetic, as it's been under development at Vanderbuilt University's Center for Intelligent Mechatronics for approximately eight years. It weighs about 9 pounds and can operate at normal levels of activity for roughly three days without recharging the battery. Studies, according to the Nashville university, have shown that users equipped with the device naturally walk 25 percent faster on level surfaces than when they use passive lower-limb prosthetics. That is because it takes users 30 percent to 40 percent less of their own energy to operate.

Others who have collaborated on the neural-controlled prosthetic leg include the University of New Brunswick, MIT, and URI. The last time we checked in on the prototype limb, it was undergoing extensive testing by Craig Hutto, a young man who lost his leg in a shark attack. Vawker's uphill trek this weekend marks the leg's most high-profile appearance to date, and there's no doubt Hutto and many others will be cheering him on.

Mark 2012 as history's last 'social media' election

2012-11-06T21:02:00.001+05:30

As soon as President Obama offered the phrase "horses and bayonets" during his final debate with Mitt Romney last month, the Twitterverse lit up. It wasn't long before we learned that the quip turned out to be the most tweeted remark of the final presidential debate, good for some105,767 tweets per minute.

The media duly took note of the occasion. In fact, each time there's big news -- Hurricane Sandyor a presidential debate -- the media quickly inform us how the event is playing out on social media. Indeed, we've come to expect such details as tweets per minute, and even tweets per second. But this seeming fascination with all things social as something separate, even novel, maybe a fleeting phenomenon, as 2012 could be a turning point of sorts -- the last U.S. presidential election in which the media pore over every detail about what's going on with social media.

Why? At some point, it's simply no longer surprising. It just...is.

First, however, the Internet will need to play an even bigger role in an election than it currently does. And that, says Marc Andreessen, one of Silicon Valley's best-known and often spot-on prognosticators, is inevitable.

"There is going to be a national election that is going to be about the Internet the way that 1960 was about TV for the first time with the Kennedy/Nixon debate," says Andreessen. "That hasn't happened yet. Best guess would be 2016, but could be 2020 or conceivably one of the midterms 2014 or 2018...When that happens, everything changes. The spending will tip, and the campaigning methods will change."

What the catalyst is for that, Andreessen says, is anybody's guess.

"It might be social media, it might be live streaming high-definition video, it might be an AMA [ask me anything] on Reddit -- or some new form of micro-targeting of voters -- or some new form of lifecasting. I don't think we can guess yet."

Already, there is ample evidence testifying to the extent of the digital impact on the rival campaigns. It's no stretch to suggest, as did researchers Paul Springer and Mel Carson, that 2012 may go down as the Twitter election. But this is about more than just Twitter, although that microblogging service has turned into a powerful medium to help the rival sides shape their message.

This year's election season has certainly moved us a lot closer to that point Andreessen talks about, with both campaigns turning to online ad targeting and using social media in unprecedented ways. For good reason: Social media is where voters are, and it's where they express themselves. A recent Pew Internet & American Life Project study found that 66 percent of the adults using Twitter and Facebook do so in part to conduct civil and political activity. Ignoring that audience would be foolish.

In 2008, then-candidate Obama's use of Facebook to reach voters was widely covered because it was so new. Facebook, which had only just left Mark Zuckerberg's Harvard dorm room during the 2004 election, boasted more than 100 million worldwide users when the 2008 election came around. (The company won't break out its U.S. adult users.) Facebook became a way for Obama to reach young people and to set himself apart from his far older Republican opponent, John McCain.

"It was still a novelty and a sidelight," Lee Rainie, director of the Pew project, said of using Facebook to drum up political support. "That's why Obama owned the space as much as he did. Now everybody is sure of it."

Which is why this time around both campaigns leaned on Facebook heavily to reach potential voters. Using Facebook was as obvious as running TV ads. After all, Facebook now boasts more than 171 million users in the U.S. alone. Importantly, Facebook can influence voters. A recent study, led by the University of California at San Diego and based on the 2010 election, found that peer pressure mattered: People seeing that their friends had voted did, in fact, make them go to the polls.

Twitter, however, is a different story. Twitter was a toddler during the 2008 election, a tool used almost entirely by the tech world that had yet to burst into the mainstream.

Yet Twitter has proven itself an invaluable tool this season. Consider:

Tweets drove real donations. In a study Twitter conducted after the first presidential debate, the company said that people exposed to any kind of political tweet were 98 percent more likely to visit a donation page as the average person on Twitter. Not only that, but the average Twitter user is 68 percent more likely to visit such a page than the average Internet user.
Get-out-the-vote tweets abound. Twitter is all about personal influence, and this election some of those with the biggest influence -- celebs such Ashley Judd and Justin Bieber -- are urging their tens of millions of followers to vote.
Who's tweeting what? It was late in the race, but last week Twitter rolled out a political engagement map that lets anyone see where people are tweeting most about specific political issues. The tool lets you search a term (say, abortion) that then creates a map showing which states have the highest engagement level (and on which side of the political aisle) for tweets featuring the term posted by either Obama or his challenger, Mitt Romney.

In future elections, these tools will doubtless become more integral to elections; savvy politicians will focus even more on Twitter strategies. They'll spend a large chunk on social media and, eventually -- as Andreessen mentioned -- the Internet overall will dominate in the way that television did this year. "You'd have to say 2012 was still more about TV," says Andreessen.

And then?

"I think it's obvious that the 2024 election will be conducted entirely online," says Andreessen. "The entire thing, front to back, all the advertising, and most likely including voting itself. Between here and there things should be very interesting."

Surface tension: Acer needs to shut up about Microsoft tablet

2012-11-06T14:14:00.001+05:30

Acer may only be hurting itself by criticizing Microsoft.

The Taiwanese company, best known for its low-cost Netbooks from several years ago, has been one of the most outspoken opponents of Microsoft's new hardware push since the software giant first revealed its plans in June. Comments have ranged from pleas for Microsoft to change its plans to predictions Surface will flop. The common theme is that Acer believes Microsoft should stick to what it knows -- software -- and leave the hardware to its partners.

Sure, all of the PC makers are upset. Microsoft has been their closest software partner for years, and the software giant blindsided them with its Surface tablet plans. Microsoft developed the tablet on its own and only notified companies a few days before its launch. But since that time, most computer markers have declined to publicly criticize Microsoft, instead focusing on their products.

"It creates an impression Acer can't compete," said Rob Enderle of tech research firm Enderle Group. "And it pisses off Microsoft."

Acer has been posting steep shipment declines in recent quarters, hurt in part by its exposure to the weak consumer market. Many people Netbooks, but that sector was killed by the iPad and other tablets, not to mention the recent thin-and-light PC push.

The company has said it's unsure if Windows will help revitalize the PC market, and it delayed its plans to build a Windows RT device. Acer, meanwhile, continues to post financial results that are weaker than expected.

While Acer already has been struggling, publicly criticizing Microsoft isn't likely to help things. Doing so could anger the software company at a time it needs all the support it can get.

For one, Microsoft could choose to highlight Acer products less at events and provide less marketing support. It also could give Acer limited access to early software or find other ways to make things uncomfortable for the company.

"To Microsoft, Acer must look like a difficult company to work with," Pat Moorhead, Moor Insights & Strategy principal analyst said. "If choosing partners to do innovative things with, probably at the bottom of your list is Acer."

Then there are consumers. If Acer consistently says its products can't compete with Surface, people will believe it.

However, some analysts say the commentary is "just noise" and won't really impact Acer, Microsoft, or the broader market.

Roger Kay, Endpoint Technologies principal analyst, noted that Acer has long been more rebellious than other PC makers, and it likely won't face many -- if any -- repercussions from its comments.

"In the old days, it would have," Kay said. "But it's not going to hurt them or help them... They're just grousing. At the end of the day, they will license from Microsoft just like they always have."

For some, it's refreshing to see a company so upfront about its frustrations. But it's probably not helping strengthen Acer's relationship with Microsoft. For now, at least, it still needs Microsoft, and that's not likely to change anytime soon.

The problem with that criticism, though, is that it makes Acer look like a sore loser, kind of like a tennis player grousing over getting beaten by his former doubles partner.

Microsoft cues up the Windows Phone 8 ball

2012-11-04T19:59:00.003+05:30

Just before Hurricane Sandy started to pummel the East Coast this week, Microsoft managed to grab the tech headlines with the official debut of Windows Phone 8.

The launch of the next-generation mobile operating system, which came on the heels of last week's splashy Windows 8 debut, got people talking with its support for multicore processors and mobile payments, and its tighter relationship with the Windows platform. And as with Windows 8, Window Phone 8 uses live tiles instead of icons. (Though Microsoft is already being sued for those tiles, over patent-infringement claims.)

So far, Windows Phone 8 has been well-received. In a hands-on review, CNET's Jessica Dolcourt says "it's sharp, colorful, clean, and simple, but also hip and a bit exuberant." But whether Microsoft's mobile efforts will have some staying power or be doomed to a short run still remains to be seen. No doubt there's a lot at stake. While the traditional Windows software remains the company's breadwinner, everything is going mobile, and Microsoft could slip into irrelevancy if it doesn't catch up to the giants in the industry, Apple and Google.

A tale of two execs: Microsoft's Sinofsky and Apple's Forstall

2012-11-03T17:57:00.000+05:30

The company's legendary co-founder was his mentor, and in many ways he embodied what's good and bad about his employer. He had a habit of picking political fights with fellow executives, many of whom say he zealously promoted his group's work at the expense of the rest of the company.

Am I talking about Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky, the Windows chief who was onstage last week for the launch of Windows 8, or Apple's Scott Forstall, the iOS software chief who is being shown the door after the disappointment of Apple maps (and perhaps making too many enemies inside the company)?

Of course, I'm talking about both. Bloomberg's Peter Burrows and Adam Satariano craft a great behind-the-scenes look at what may have led to Forstall's planned departure and the increased roles of Apple design guru Jony Ive and iTunes chief Eddy Cue. I worked with Burrows for five years, and I saw firsthand how he's one of the most deeply sourced Apple beat writers out there. When Peter describes what happened, you can believe him. In a nutshell, when Forstall refused to sign Apple's apology note for the problems with the new Apple maps, his days were numbered.

Making matters worse, despite his admirable track record running software development for the iPhone and iPad, he could be -- much like his mentor, Steve Jobs -- difficult to work with. So much so that Ive and he rarely sat in the same meetings. When Jobs was still running Apple, he was able to keep the tension under control. But without Jobs playing mediator, it became difficult to manage. The Bloomberg story continued:

Supporters admire Forstall's ability to manage massive technical complexity while pushing his team to innovate. Critics said he was overly concerned with empire building and pushing through favored features while blocking other teams' ideas.

As I read that paragraph, it occurred to me: They could just as well be talking about Sinofsky, the controversial executive who was the driving force in the development of Windows 8. Last week, CNET's Jay Greene had an in-depth look at Sinofsky, a longtime Microsoft exec who was once Bill Gates' technical assistant and, like Gates, brings significant technical prowess to the job. And like Forstall, Sinofsky has a way of ticking off his fellow executives with turf fights and an unwillingness to accommodate other groups inside Microsoft. The nut of our story comes down to this passage:

But Sinofsky's critics say he's elevated those battles to a new level, thriving by marginalizing rivals while running the company's most profitable businesses, Windows and Office. Along the way, he's created a rigid product development process that puts more control in his hands and, those critics say, diminish the ability to innovate at Microsoft.

There's one big difference, of course: Forstall had years of success, but some aspects of the last two iPhone releases were disappointments. The Siri voice-recognition service failed to live up to its billing (personally, I still find it to be more of a neat proof-of-concept than a useful tool) and the Apple maps gaffe was, well, a head-scratcher.

Sinofsky has had no such mishaps...at least not yet. He gained a reputation for metronome-like consistency while running the development of the Office suite, and he resuscitated Microsoft's reputation when he took over Windows development after the Vista disaster. Windows 7 wasn't a blockbuster, but it eased fears that Microsoft's quality control had gone off the rails.

While the jury is still out on the success of Windows 8, early returns have been positive. Microsoft, for the first time in years, appears to have that hard-to-define "buzz" among consumers again. Whether that translates into sales is another matter. But it's a lot better than customers fleeing, as they did after the release of Windows Vista.

If there's a lesson to be learned, I suppose it's that personality doesn't matter all that much in the executive ranks. The youthful Bill Gates had a reputation for being every bit as incorrigible as Sinofsky. And Jobs, well, he was called many things, but "swell guy" was rarely one of them. Success doesn't justify unpleasant behavior, but it often excuses it.

That is, until something goes wrong. That's when the knives come out, as Forstall finally learned. Could he have benefited from some well-timed humility and signed that apology note? Perhaps. But humility and playing nice isn't exactly what made him a success in the first place. Same with Sinofsky.

But he'd better not screw up.