"Nein nein nein nein nein!" Says Germany to it's IE users
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Since the recent attacks on Chinese Gmail accounts, Microsoft has revealed that a security hole in IE was to blame which allowed for "remote code execution" from within the browser. This allowed hackers working for the Chinese government to penetrate the Gmail accounts of several human rights activists in the country. In light of this astonishing revelation, the German Government has issued a warning to all of it's citizens, urging them NOT to use Internet Explorer. The warning covered all current versions of the browser: 6,7, and 8. However, it could be assumed that the same warning applies for legacy versions as well. It's about time governments started protecting their citizen's digital interests!
Chat With Intel Engineers!!!
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I'd like to first start off by asking you all to please excuse the lack of recent posts. I haven't quite been on my game over the past few months and as a result have neglected to maintain this blog for some time. Anyways, I have some interesting news for you. I was recently given the opportunity to speak with some representatives of Intel with regards to their brand new P55 chipset, along with the trusty X58 chipset. I was able to ask them some questions about their future strategies, plans for future chips and some other things. I was very impressed by their answers and have to commend them on answering as directly as they did. The full transcript can be found here, but for now I will just post the highlights as some questions were repeated quite frequently as people came and went. Some EVGA reps also sat in on the chat to answer questions about their products as the chat was hosted by them. My username is PsychoTeddy for the duration of this chat.
Q : xfinrodx: Do i3 processors work on existing p55 motherboards?
A : EVGA_JacobF: Yes, but for video you would need a discrete graphics card for video.
Insight: This is a nice revelation as some consumers were confused by the H55/H57 chipsets being released primarily for the i3. This gives the consumer more freedom by allowing them to take advantage of the advanced features of the P55 chipset, albeit at the expense of not being able to use the on-die GPU of the i3. Intel did, however, recommend a BIOS upgrade to those who wish to use an i3 on the P55 chipset to accommodate for the change.
Q : Blazen22: When will corei9 be out?
A : Intel_TonyV: From a branding perspective our processors are the Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 family of processors.
Insight: This question was asked several times throughout the session by many people. It would appear that either Intel is not willing to comment on the Gulftown processors at all at this point, or the naming convention has been lowered to the next-gen i7. The six-core Gulftown has already been produced (engineering samples) and benchmarked, but it appears that Intel is not willing to speculate on release dates as-of yet. Intel seemed to over-emphasize a three-phase marketing scheme each time this question was asked, that being that the Core i3 is for home users, Core i5 is for performance users, and Core i7 is for the enthusiast/extreme users.
Q : Dispater: what is the biggest change in the i7 (X58 series) chips compaired to the i3/i5 (p55) series chips.
A : Intel_TonyV: From a processor perspective, Core i7 provides an additional channel of DDR3 for a total of 3 memory channels. This provides greater memory capacity capability and improved theoretical bandwidths for gaming and media type applications. In addition, with the X58 chipset, the lanes dedicated for Gfxs remain on the northbridge and there are 36 lanes available whereas on the core i5 you get up to 16 lanes only. The Core i3 processors introduce integrated Gfxs targeting lower platform price points.
Insight: I liked this question because the answer explicitly sums up the differences between Intel's X58 and P55 platforms. These marketing conventions aren't just BS, they have major differences between them and each consecutive step is a huge leap in overall performance.
Q : chizow: Will we see any 32nm Westmere Quad Core Desktop processors, or will we have to wait for 32nm Sandy Bridge for P55 and X58 platforms?
A : Intel_TonyV: For X58 (Core i7-900 processor family), expect something in 2010!!
Insight: Looks like Intel will be putting out a 32nm i7 this year!!!
Q : PsychoTeddy: Thank you so much for this event EVGA and Intel! I would like to know if Intel has any plans to integrate the onboard graphics and memory controllers that we saw in the recently-released i3s into one die? What do you predict insofar as savings on thermal efficiency and performance? How would this compare to the current setup?
A : Intel_TonyG: Socket PIN count could be a constraining factor, along with the signal routing on the breadboard, and possibility of increase layers. eg. increased cost. Future technologies could change these constraints.
Insight: It looks like Intel is a tad weary of committing to the idea of a single-die, all-in-one package as of yet. Sounds like there are a lot of kinks to work out before that becomes a reality. Personally, I hope they stick with the current X58 platform for the enthusiast market until they can achieve the all-in-one CPU architecture.
Q : PsychoTeddy: Does Intel have any plans to eliminate the LGA 1366 socket and opt for the 1156 in it's place? Or will we continue to see high-end i7s with a 1366 socket? I presume the extra pins are for the extra memory channel?
A : Intel_TonyV: We will continue to drive processors for Core i7 that provide the best experience for the Enthusiast. I can't comment on future plans and yes, the bigger socket accommodates the third channel of memory as well as a QPI interface to the X58 IOH.
Insight: I had feared at first that, when Intel released the 1156 socket immediately following the release of the 1366, that we were seeing a subtle, fleeting chipset that wasn't dedicated to the longterm. Surely, many people were also worried that Intel would drop the 1366 socket in favour of the 1156 mainstream socket, thus eliminating support for 1366. It appears that this is not the case, and that the 1366 and 1156 sockets are here to stay for some time.
All-in-all, this was quite an exciting experience to be a part of, and I'll be looking forward to more events such as these in the months to come. Stay tuned! :D
Q : xfinrodx: Do i3 processors work on existing p55 motherboards?
A : EVGA_JacobF: Yes, but for video you would need a discrete graphics card for video.
Insight: This is a nice revelation as some consumers were confused by the H55/H57 chipsets being released primarily for the i3. This gives the consumer more freedom by allowing them to take advantage of the advanced features of the P55 chipset, albeit at the expense of not being able to use the on-die GPU of the i3. Intel did, however, recommend a BIOS upgrade to those who wish to use an i3 on the P55 chipset to accommodate for the change.
Q : Blazen22: When will corei9 be out?
A : Intel_TonyV: From a branding perspective our processors are the Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 family of processors.
Insight: This question was asked several times throughout the session by many people. It would appear that either Intel is not willing to comment on the Gulftown processors at all at this point, or the naming convention has been lowered to the next-gen i7. The six-core Gulftown has already been produced (engineering samples) and benchmarked, but it appears that Intel is not willing to speculate on release dates as-of yet. Intel seemed to over-emphasize a three-phase marketing scheme each time this question was asked, that being that the Core i3 is for home users, Core i5 is for performance users, and Core i7 is for the enthusiast/extreme users.
Q : Dispater: what is the biggest change in the i7 (X58 series) chips compaired to the i3/i5 (p55) series chips.
A : Intel_TonyV: From a processor perspective, Core i7 provides an additional channel of DDR3 for a total of 3 memory channels. This provides greater memory capacity capability and improved theoretical bandwidths for gaming and media type applications. In addition, with the X58 chipset, the lanes dedicated for Gfxs remain on the northbridge and there are 36 lanes available whereas on the core i5 you get up to 16 lanes only. The Core i3 processors introduce integrated Gfxs targeting lower platform price points.
Insight: I liked this question because the answer explicitly sums up the differences between Intel's X58 and P55 platforms. These marketing conventions aren't just BS, they have major differences between them and each consecutive step is a huge leap in overall performance.
Q : chizow: Will we see any 32nm Westmere Quad Core Desktop processors, or will we have to wait for 32nm Sandy Bridge for P55 and X58 platforms?
A : Intel_TonyV: For X58 (Core i7-900 processor family), expect something in 2010!!
Insight: Looks like Intel will be putting out a 32nm i7 this year!!!
Q : PsychoTeddy: Thank you so much for this event EVGA and Intel! I would like to know if Intel has any plans to integrate the onboard graphics and memory controllers that we saw in the recently-released i3s into one die? What do you predict insofar as savings on thermal efficiency and performance? How would this compare to the current setup?
A : Intel_TonyG: Socket PIN count could be a constraining factor, along with the signal routing on the breadboard, and possibility of increase layers. eg. increased cost. Future technologies could change these constraints.
Insight: It looks like Intel is a tad weary of committing to the idea of a single-die, all-in-one package as of yet. Sounds like there are a lot of kinks to work out before that becomes a reality. Personally, I hope they stick with the current X58 platform for the enthusiast market until they can achieve the all-in-one CPU architecture.
Q : PsychoTeddy: Does Intel have any plans to eliminate the LGA 1366 socket and opt for the 1156 in it's place? Or will we continue to see high-end i7s with a 1366 socket? I presume the extra pins are for the extra memory channel?
A : Intel_TonyV: We will continue to drive processors for Core i7 that provide the best experience for the Enthusiast. I can't comment on future plans and yes, the bigger socket accommodates the third channel of memory as well as a QPI interface to the X58 IOH.
Insight: I had feared at first that, when Intel released the 1156 socket immediately following the release of the 1366, that we were seeing a subtle, fleeting chipset that wasn't dedicated to the longterm. Surely, many people were also worried that Intel would drop the 1366 socket in favour of the 1156 mainstream socket, thus eliminating support for 1366. It appears that this is not the case, and that the 1366 and 1156 sockets are here to stay for some time.
All-in-all, this was quite an exciting experience to be a part of, and I'll be looking forward to more events such as these in the months to come. Stay tuned! :D
Conficker Set to Go Off in Less Than 24hrs.
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With all the commotion about the Conficker-C virus coming up, I thought I jump on the bandwagon and write a post about this too (since I'd like to see as many people informed about this issue as possible).
Conficker-C is a worm set to go active worldwide on April 1st, 2009. It has been ranked one of the highest IT Security threats of all time, and rightly so. The code in the virus has been analyzed and was found to allow remote code execution on infected machines. With a botnet that's been established in the millions, this could spell all kinds of four-letter-words across the globe.
What's even more interesting is that the virus has embedded code to protect citizens of the Ukraine. On the surface, it would appear that this virus was created in the Ukraine. However, it could possibly be someone attempting to pin the blame on the them (Russia, anyone?).
Most all internet security software providers have posted instructions on successful removal of this worm before it's set to activate, although not much can be established on post-mortem removal once the virus goes active. Some companies are actually charging clients for removal tools, but ESET has a free removal tool for everyone to use. link: http://www.eset.com/threat-center/blog/?p=865
With less than 24hrs to go, it's still anyone's bet. Let's hope the hype isn't as bad as the storm.
Conficker-C is a worm set to go active worldwide on April 1st, 2009. It has been ranked one of the highest IT Security threats of all time, and rightly so. The code in the virus has been analyzed and was found to allow remote code execution on infected machines. With a botnet that's been established in the millions, this could spell all kinds of four-letter-words across the globe.
What's even more interesting is that the virus has embedded code to protect citizens of the Ukraine. On the surface, it would appear that this virus was created in the Ukraine. However, it could possibly be someone attempting to pin the blame on the them (Russia, anyone?).
Most all internet security software providers have posted instructions on successful removal of this worm before it's set to activate, although not much can be established on post-mortem removal once the virus goes active. Some companies are actually charging clients for removal tools, but ESET has a free removal tool for everyone to use. link: http://www.eset.com/threat-center/blog/?p=865
With less than 24hrs to go, it's still anyone's bet. Let's hope the hype isn't as bad as the storm.
IGN: Commercialized Reviews?
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Occasionally I will stroll onto the scene of IGN to get some quick gaming news and read a couple of reviews. However, over the past couple of years I can't help but notice a new trend in their subjectivity: They suck. Let's look at some numbers (taken straight from the site):
Guitar Hero WT (Xbox 360): 7.9
Rock Band II (Xbox 360): 9
Rock Band II is barely even playable on an HDTV due to the fact that is has two lag settings: SDTV and HDTV, no ms-by-ms tweaking here (for video OR audio for that matter). And this game got a better rating than the game that allows lag tweaking on a ms scale for both audio and video? Please... Don't rate unplayable games better than ones that are playable... Yes, there is a method of fine tweaking Rock Band 2 to get it calibrated, but I find myself hard-pressed to spend $200+ on a title and it's associated hardware that requires forensic investigation to even make playable!
Ace Combat 6: 8.4
Tom Clancy's HAWX: 6.7
IGN recently criticized HAWX for some of the very things that were simply overlooked in it's review of AC6 (and they rightly should have been). AC6 has always been known to be an unrealistic combat flight sim with exceedingly high expectations from it's aircraft. Somehow, your F-16 is expected to hold 150 missles (50 of which are Long-Range Missiles) and 80,000,000 gallons of fuel. Realistic? I think not, but it certainly makes for a fun arcade experience. These are things that IGN decided to rip apart UbiSoft for when reviewing HAWX, even though it made no intention to be a realistic flight sim either.
Mirror's Edge: 7.3
Come on... No... 6.0 at best, and everyone knows it...
Watchmen: 3.5/5
Watchmen (IGN UK): 2/5
This movie is one of the best films that I've seen in years, if ever. Their main criticism: "It's too much like the graphic novel."
>.>
<.<
THAT WAS THE ENTIRE IDEA!!!
>.<
Madden NFL '09: 8.8
Madden NFL '08: 8.7
Madden NFL 2005: 9.5
Madden NFL 2004: 9.5
Madden NFL 2003: 9.1
You get the idea...
This the most blatantly re-hashed franchise of all time, spanning multiple titles throughout nearly all of video gaming history. Little innovation and monotanous gameplay are the pinnacles of this series. And they regularly give them scores near or above 9.0? Come on...
Flight Simulator X: 7
Flight Simulator 2004: 9
Flight Simulator 2002: 9
FSX was the most innovative game in the FS series to date. Missions, free flight, better planes, more detail, DX10 graphics, integrated VATSIM multiplayer, it had it all. The reviewer even said FS9 (2004) was better... Also, FS2004 was a CARBON COPY of 2002 in every aspect sans a couple planes. How on earth did this game earn a 9.0 in light of this?!
Tomb Raider Underworld: 7.5
Tomb Raider Legend: 8.2
Tomb Raider Anniversary: 7.6
Tomb Raider (N-Gage): 7.0?!
The Tomb Raider series died to me after Chronicles. The PS2 and later releases have had some of the worst controls of all time, hands down. Also, anyone who rates any N-Gage title higher than a 4.0 needs to be shot on sight.
Test Drive Unlimited: 8
Worst racing game I've ever played. Repetetive environments, limited car customization, boring online play. However, it was the most-advertised racing game I've ever seen up until GRID... Co-incidence?
And the kicker...
Barbie Horse Adventures: Riding Camp: 6.2
Oh... My... God...
Guitar Hero WT (Xbox 360): 7.9
Rock Band II (Xbox 360): 9
Rock Band II is barely even playable on an HDTV due to the fact that is has two lag settings: SDTV and HDTV, no ms-by-ms tweaking here (for video OR audio for that matter). And this game got a better rating than the game that allows lag tweaking on a ms scale for both audio and video? Please... Don't rate unplayable games better than ones that are playable... Yes, there is a method of fine tweaking Rock Band 2 to get it calibrated, but I find myself hard-pressed to spend $200+ on a title and it's associated hardware that requires forensic investigation to even make playable!
Ace Combat 6: 8.4
Tom Clancy's HAWX: 6.7
IGN recently criticized HAWX for some of the very things that were simply overlooked in it's review of AC6 (and they rightly should have been). AC6 has always been known to be an unrealistic combat flight sim with exceedingly high expectations from it's aircraft. Somehow, your F-16 is expected to hold 150 missles (50 of which are Long-Range Missiles) and 80,000,000 gallons of fuel. Realistic? I think not, but it certainly makes for a fun arcade experience. These are things that IGN decided to rip apart UbiSoft for when reviewing HAWX, even though it made no intention to be a realistic flight sim either.
Mirror's Edge: 7.3
Come on... No... 6.0 at best, and everyone knows it...
Watchmen: 3.5/5
Watchmen (IGN UK): 2/5
This movie is one of the best films that I've seen in years, if ever. Their main criticism: "It's too much like the graphic novel."
>.>
<.<
THAT WAS THE ENTIRE IDEA!!!
>.<
Madden NFL '09: 8.8
Madden NFL '08: 8.7
Madden NFL 2005: 9.5
Madden NFL 2004: 9.5
Madden NFL 2003: 9.1
You get the idea...
This the most blatantly re-hashed franchise of all time, spanning multiple titles throughout nearly all of video gaming history. Little innovation and monotanous gameplay are the pinnacles of this series. And they regularly give them scores near or above 9.0? Come on...
Flight Simulator X: 7
Flight Simulator 2004: 9
Flight Simulator 2002: 9
FSX was the most innovative game in the FS series to date. Missions, free flight, better planes, more detail, DX10 graphics, integrated VATSIM multiplayer, it had it all. The reviewer even said FS9 (2004) was better... Also, FS2004 was a CARBON COPY of 2002 in every aspect sans a couple planes. How on earth did this game earn a 9.0 in light of this?!
Tomb Raider Underworld: 7.5
Tomb Raider Legend: 8.2
Tomb Raider Anniversary: 7.6
Tomb Raider (N-Gage): 7.0?!
The Tomb Raider series died to me after Chronicles. The PS2 and later releases have had some of the worst controls of all time, hands down. Also, anyone who rates any N-Gage title higher than a 4.0 needs to be shot on sight.
Test Drive Unlimited: 8
Worst racing game I've ever played. Repetetive environments, limited car customization, boring online play. However, it was the most-advertised racing game I've ever seen up until GRID... Co-incidence?
And the kicker...
Barbie Horse Adventures: Riding Camp: 6.2
Oh... My... God...
Government-Mandated Record Keeping Causes Pandemonium
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The Federal Government is proposing a bill that will require everyone operating a DHCP-based server or routing system to maintain logs of every IP address that is assigned from their particular access points. AP owners that will be affected will include everyone; Businesses, Government Agencies, individuals even. No matter what the case (WEP, WPA, WPA2, Encryption, MAC Filtering, etc) these persons will be required to keep logs of each IP for the purpose of "assisting police investigations".
Why? How are you going to prove that any one person was using any one IP address? There's no face tied to this IP, there's not even a name in most cases. Concrete proof of usage would be impossible to obtain even with this system in place. Even if this system could prove usage by any one person, is this a practical system? How many billions, trillions of IP addresses are going to have to be logged only to "assist" in only a handful of cases each year?
Another issue facing this problem is un-permitted access. Even if someone sets up a WPA key or equivalent security, there are always ways of cracking them. Those that do crack the keys would not be permitted to access the network, and often fly under the radar to the owner. How can the owner possibly be aware of every single user on their device at any one time given this information?
All of this, of coure, is being sold under the umbrella of protecting kids on the internet. Here's an idea: Children are minors, therefore they have limited rights. Less kids on the internet means less kids being molested and killed. Just as parents should teach their kids not to talk to strangers IRL they should teach their kids not to talk to bigdaddychildrapist09 on the internet. Take kids off of the internet, spare me the paperwork, and stop holding me accountable for your shitty parenting job, please.
Why? How are you going to prove that any one person was using any one IP address? There's no face tied to this IP, there's not even a name in most cases. Concrete proof of usage would be impossible to obtain even with this system in place. Even if this system could prove usage by any one person, is this a practical system? How many billions, trillions of IP addresses are going to have to be logged only to "assist" in only a handful of cases each year?
Another issue facing this problem is un-permitted access. Even if someone sets up a WPA key or equivalent security, there are always ways of cracking them. Those that do crack the keys would not be permitted to access the network, and often fly under the radar to the owner. How can the owner possibly be aware of every single user on their device at any one time given this information?
All of this, of coure, is being sold under the umbrella of protecting kids on the internet. Here's an idea: Children are minors, therefore they have limited rights. Less kids on the internet means less kids being molested and killed. Just as parents should teach their kids not to talk to strangers IRL they should teach their kids not to talk to bigdaddychildrapist09 on the internet. Take kids off of the internet, spare me the paperwork, and stop holding me accountable for your shitty parenting job, please.
The Lost and The Damned: Rockstar's New School of Marketing
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With the great success of the original GTA IV title, Rockstar is now seeking to expand their horizons within the game by releasing an "expansion" of sorts for IV called "The Lost and The Damned". The game takes place in the already-existing Liberty City in a time parallel to the story of Niko and his excapades. What makes this so phenomenal is the fact that this is crossing the line from "expansion" to "game" and making for an overall experience that is much richer and more diverse, while utilizing everything that Liberty City has to offer. What we see here is a conservation of development and a streamlined process of production. No longer do level designers need to toil away at a new map every time Rockstar says "New GTA. Six months until release. Go.". This, in-turn, makes for happier consumers (assuming this title will live up to the hype) because they get to see what they thought was "Niko's Liberty City" in a different light, in a new way, while also releases come in more frequently. I also think this makes for a much more eye-opening and intriguing gaming experience than the previous "one map, one story line" approach that most developers have taken thus far.
Now, before anyone gets upset and starts pointing to Operation Anchorage as the frontrunner to this concept, I must say that I agree with them. However, I feel that Operation Anchorage was a small side quest, whereas L&D will be an entire revamp of plot and story. Bethesda had the right idea, but I think Rockstar is taking it to a whole new level.
I would love to see this concept implemented in other games as well (like an alternative character in FO3 or Fable, etc.). I think that this release could spark a revolution into the realm of game content, delivery, and development.
Of course, all of this is assuming that Rockstar put the time and effort that would have been spent in level design and core game development into story and plot progression. Elsewise, my entire article is moot. With all the hype preceding the last few GTA games, I am confident that Rockstar & Take Two will deliver, as they usually do. We'll see this week when it's released on XBL for $20.
Now, before anyone gets upset and starts pointing to Operation Anchorage as the frontrunner to this concept, I must say that I agree with them. However, I feel that Operation Anchorage was a small side quest, whereas L&D will be an entire revamp of plot and story. Bethesda had the right idea, but I think Rockstar is taking it to a whole new level.
I would love to see this concept implemented in other games as well (like an alternative character in FO3 or Fable, etc.). I think that this release could spark a revolution into the realm of game content, delivery, and development.
Of course, all of this is assuming that Rockstar put the time and effort that would have been spent in level design and core game development into story and plot progression. Elsewise, my entire article is moot. With all the hype preceding the last few GTA games, I am confident that Rockstar & Take Two will deliver, as they usually do. We'll see this week when it's released on XBL for $20.
RE5 and Racism:
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Recently there has been some uproar about the upcoming Resident Evil title hailing racism and discrimination. The game is set in Africa where the __-Virus has taken over. You are leading a squadron of people trying to get through the masses yadda yadda yadda roll credits.
Ok, this is where I start to get pissed:
In the 30+ years of history that video gaming has seen, we have yet to see a game where you're not targeting a certain group of people. Germans (WWII shooters), Japanese (WWII Shooters), Bhuddists (Tomb Raider), Vietnamese (Conflict: Vietnam), Arabic people (WoT shooters), even Women (Grand Theft Auto) have all been target groups of video games in some form or another. Where have these groups been? Why aren't they complaining? They don't see a video game as a racist attack; They see it as entertainment for the masses that just happens to include members of their particular race. Hell, I've watched Japanese kids play "MoH: Rising Sun" before without batting an eye.
Quite frankly, I'm surprised that there hasn't been an FPS set in Africa yet. It seems to be the only ethnic group that seems taboo to include in the bloodbath that is the video gaming world is Africans or African-Americans. I think that we are being far too hypersensitive to this issue. God forbid we do a game about tribal warfare in Africa, I think the NAACP would have a hayday.
You know what? I'm offended that Fallout 3 is set in Washington DC, because you're shooting white people that are afflicted by some terrible disease (ghouls). Where are the black ghouls? Where are the muslim ghouls? Seriously, how stupid does that sound? Get over it, people.
Oh, and I voted for Obama.
Ok, this is where I start to get pissed:
In the 30+ years of history that video gaming has seen, we have yet to see a game where you're not targeting a certain group of people. Germans (WWII shooters), Japanese (WWII Shooters), Bhuddists (Tomb Raider), Vietnamese (Conflict: Vietnam), Arabic people (WoT shooters), even Women (Grand Theft Auto) have all been target groups of video games in some form or another. Where have these groups been? Why aren't they complaining? They don't see a video game as a racist attack; They see it as entertainment for the masses that just happens to include members of their particular race. Hell, I've watched Japanese kids play "MoH: Rising Sun" before without batting an eye.
Quite frankly, I'm surprised that there hasn't been an FPS set in Africa yet. It seems to be the only ethnic group that seems taboo to include in the bloodbath that is the video gaming world is Africans or African-Americans. I think that we are being far too hypersensitive to this issue. God forbid we do a game about tribal warfare in Africa, I think the NAACP would have a hayday.
You know what? I'm offended that Fallout 3 is set in Washington DC, because you're shooting white people that are afflicted by some terrible disease (ghouls). Where are the black ghouls? Where are the muslim ghouls? Seriously, how stupid does that sound? Get over it, people.
Oh, and I voted for Obama.
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