Think the new FrostBite 2 engine is skeptical? Think that the many hu-ha from the Modern Warfare 3 camp is awesome? Well, let me reassure you, this Battlefield vs Call of Duty catfight this time is very epic. Just watch this actual gameplay footage of the upcoming Battlefield 3 game by DICE, and I will assure you that you’ll be blown away. Well sadly Infinity Ward didn’t release any ‘actual’ gameplay footage of Modern Warfare 3, or else we’ll be able to compare both games in a clearer way.

We’ve seen the newer generation SSDs reaching speeds of 480MB/s and are totally in love with it, but what if there’s a faster SSD? Fancy speed of 2GB/s?

Yes, you’re not reading it wrong. The Texas Memory Systems (TMS) RamSan-70 is the superstar this time, packing 900GB of high-speed SLC NAND flash onto a single half-length PCIe card. Boasting an incredible 2GB-per-second sustained external throughput, this near-terabyte solid state drive is clearly not for us the average peasant.

This new RamSan-70 ‘Gorilla’ is targeted for server use of course, and with that it’ll be carrying a price that’ll cost two babies and eight limbs, and several livers too. If you had that much fresh organs in your cold storage, then you can order one for your ‘show off’ rig in four weeks’ time.

SOURCE via Computerworld

Don’t like to let people know what you’re listening on your iPod Touch? Don’t like your friends peeking at your lovey-dovey messages with your scandalous mysterious friend? I think Apple is getting lots of emails regarding these problems that their users are facing, and they’ve come up with a solution apparently.

Apple has a new patent on an LCD display with adjustable viewing angles, explicitly designed to “shield the display away from unintended viewers”, which may slip into future iDevices if Apple managed to iron out this new technology perfectly.

According to the filing, the display would include steering modules made of liquid crystal material, which aim the so-called scattering modules that sit on top of them. The top layer then redirects the light, making it possible to narrow down and alter the viewing angle. The patent specifically calls out cellphones and laptops, paving the way for discreet displays on MacBooks and iPhones, though the broad phrase “other portable electronic devices” leaves plenty of room for iPads and iPod Touches.

No word, of course, on when or if Apple will secure this patent and if so, what devices might incorporate such screens, but Apple is also the company that filed many patents just for the lulz anyway, though there are some that managed to get into final products too. Hopefully we’ll see this in the next iPhone.

SOURCE via Electronista

Bad news for Android users that love to root their handheld devices, as Google is going to block you from accessing the movie rental section of their Android Market if you’ve rooted yours.

Android Central points out a Google support document that details the “Failed to fetch license for [movie title] (error 49)” message users will see when they try to play a movie on a rooted Android device.

Of course, thus far only Xooms with Android 3.1 have access to the service right now, but once support rolls out to all Android 2.2 or higher devices in a couple of weeks some will have to choose between their superuser privileges and Google’s nascent movie offerings.

So, will you stop rooting, just to watch movies from YouTube that you have to rent?

SOURCE via Android Central

When HP announced its new TouchSmart 610, which has a special rigid hinge to allow users to slide down the 1080p display panel at nearly 60-degree angle, the thing is powered by the ‘much slower’ Intel Core processors.

But now HP has updated its TouchSmart 610 to be powered by Intel’s brand new Sandy Bridge processors, making them even more powerful. This means that almost all of HP’s Intel-based products are now powered by this new processor. The unique thing about the TouchSmart 610 is that it provides a more ergonomic position for poking ’round the TouchSmart software while standing.

Like pretty much every other HP computer on the market, it comes standard with Beats Audio and, depending on how much money you’re willing to shell out, you can trick it out with up to 16GB of RAM, 2TB of storage, and your choice of NVIDIA or ATI graphics with up to 2GB of video memory.

Those Sandy Bridge models are available now starting at $1,100, though as always, you can get an entry-level configuration with quad-core AMD innards for $900 and up, though I don’t see that to be a very good choice since the Intel package seemed to be much superior then the AMD package.

Read more…

Is Apple getting closer to launching their new cloud-based music streaming service? Previously we’ve heard of Apple sealing a deal with EMI Group and Warner Music, and now Apple has already managed to complete a deal with Sony Music and Universal Music.

Following Thursday’s report, Bloomberg on Friday revealed that Apple landed a licensing agreement with Sony Music, inching it one label closer to possibly launching the new cloud-based music service during its Worldwide Developers Conference taking place in San Francisco on June 6 – 10. Insiders close to the situation said that Apple is close to closing negotiations with the fourth and final label, Universal Music. But even with the four major labels under its belt, Apple will still need to pursue agreements with music publishers which control different rights than the actual labels.

For a while it was speculated that Sony wouldn’t agree to Apple cloud service after launching its own Qriocity streaming music offering here in the States back in February. There was even talk that Sony Music may even pull out of iTunes, that it would be a conflict of interest. But Sony assured consumers that a withdrawal wasn’t in the books, that it still generated tons of revenue from Apple’s platform and saw no sign of departure in the immediate future.

Once launched, consumers will have the ability to purchase and store the tunes on Apple’s servers rather than download them locally to a PC or iOS device said sources who requested to remain unnamed. While no additional details were provided, it’s likely that consumers will be able to stream and cache music, the latter for listening when offline.

So, will we see Apple launching this new service in the upcoming WWDC 2011, which is in early June?

SOURCE via Bloomberg

It’s been quite some time since we last heard of TDK, but they’re not dead. TDK has just introduced a new speaker called ‘Life’. Well, the full name is actually ‘Life on Record Sound Cube’.

This cute little boxy speaker features two 5 1/4-inch powerful coaxial drivers that deliver space-filling sound in a unique, bold design. There’s an innovative equalizer that help gives your music a visual heartbeat, while rotary dials give you control over the music source, volume and tone.

Well, it is 2011 already, so support for Apple devices are expected, especially for something priced so elegantly. Digital data streaming allows premium audio decoding and playback while charging your Apple iPod and iPhones. Additional features include a 3.5mm audio jack, a USB port and Apple’s 30-Pin dock connector.

Amazon has already listed the TDK Life on Record Sound Cube for $299.95, so if you’re interested you can grab on at the source link below.

SOURCE via Amazon