Tech News
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Microsoft is Making .Net Open Source?
This bit of news is very interesting to me. Microsoft, the king of "crack" coding is making their dot net framework open source. For years if you wanted to code using dot net you needed a Windows platform machine, either desktop or server, and then simply install the framework. ASP.Net developers like myself would need to configure IIS but the coding process is identical. The problem I ran into most often was me building a website for a client who only had access to Linux hosting or an IT group who only worked with Linux based servers.
I would usually win and they would be forced to install Windows Server however that always raised questions about security when the support staff wasn't familiar with Windows Server. By offering up the framework to the open source community they are allowing developers to port the framework to Linux and Mac systems which not only adds to market share but will also compete directly with Java (*yuk)
On the downside it also opens up the framework to hackers looking to exploit applications written in dot net however given the maturity of the framework I doubt there will be any issues.
Several sites have posted this story and I find the ZDNet outlook to be accurate. Give it a read.
Last week, Microsoft announced it was open sourcing the full server-side .NET stack, and expanding .NET to run on the Linux and Mac OS platforms.
The move was warmly received across the IT community, which often has been skeptical of Microsoft's intentions. (Well, with the possible exception of my good friend Adrian Bridgwater, who suggests the company's open source move was only to solidify its world domination.)I'm an ASP.Net developer and I support this transition.
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Elegance in Aluminum – Lian Li PC-A61 Chassis Review @ Techgage
Some of the great cases in the past 10 years have been made from aluminum and while the "me to" novelity of an aluminum chassis has subsided with major manufactures there is still one company out there building quality boxes for your PC components.
Lian Li is to PC chassis as what tailor-made suits are to men’s clothing. Sure, they cost more, but the higher quality and generally improved design usually makes the premium worth it. Does Lian Li’s mid-tower PC-A61, then, live up to the company’s legendary pedigree? There’s only one way to find out.
One of these days I'll have to stop by the Lian Li factory outside Taipei and see about getting some review samples to check out or, at least a case with my logo on it.
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Biostar Hi-Fi Z97Z7 Motherboard Review @ Modders-Inc
Biostar is making a gaming motherboard? (actually we knew this already)
The Biostar Hi-Fi Z97Z7 has been touted as Biostar’s way of flirting with the idea of a high-end gaming motherboard and that is a weird description considering it is technically a budget Z97 motherboard price-wise.
Again with the prices.
Historically speaking Biostar has always been a budget company and actually made some pretty solid stuff back in the day. Of course "solid" is relative since everyone basically built the same thing. These days quality of components plays a huge factor in price and quality.
By the looks of it they have actually made a real attempt at building a quality motherboard. The VRM looks weird and the PCB is bare but, you have high-end audio component in the corner and two 16x PCI Express slots, what more can you ask for?
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ASUS Rampage V Extreme LGA 2011-v3 Motherboard Review @ [H]
I sometimes have to wonder about reviews at HardOCP. Not so much about the content but rather about how they choose to do their article layout. This review starts out talking about ASUS with a bunch of photos related to the packaging and four showing the CPU socket and "both" sets of memory banks.
Kinda think you could do that with one photo but, maybe that is what people want/need in a review.
The Rampage V Extreme needs no introduction. It is the flagship of the ASUS Republic of Gamers aka ROG product line. If the pattern of previous Rampage motherboards holds it should be one of the best motherboards money can buy. Is the new ROG crown jewel still worthy of the crown at its $475 price point
Speaking of price point. $475 isn't a bad price for an overclocking motherboard and when dealing with high-end hardware it is never about cost but rather features and ease of use. Pretty sure they included that in the review, might have to read it to find out.
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MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC Motherboard Review @ Techgage
Need a gaming motherboard and have a few extra dollars to spend? You might give the MSI Z97 Gaming 9 AC a look and Techgage has a pretty good review posted that shouldn't answer all your questions.
The last time we took a look at an MSI gaming motherboard, it was the company’s smallest current offering: Z97I Gaming AC. For this review, we’re looking to the top of the Z97 ladder, with the Z97 Gaming 9 AC. Priced at about $290, it’s easy to predict what this board might bring to the table, but all told, it still managed to impress us.
Keep in mind that buying a motherboard is not always required for a processor upgrade but is an investment for any system you plan to build.
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MSI X99S MPower review: affordable X99 board for overclockers @ Hardware Info
Back in the day I could easily look at 20 motherboards and tell you everything about them. These days 20 is tough and usually means more than one from a single vendor.
The guys at Hardware Info have gone through a list and named the MSI MPower X99 affordable for overclockers?
The MPower is very similar to the entry level board offered by MSI, the X99S SLI Plus. The a bit more expensive Mpower does have a better audio implementation, more CPU power phases, flat Hi-Caps and the extra buttons on the motherboard, justifying the higher price of the Mpower. We feel the Mpower is actually a good alternative to the ASUS X99-A. For the users that were thinking to be able to get a overclocking board for £ 190 / € 255 / $ 270 that offers similar features to the more expensive boards already introduced: unfortunately we have to disappoint you.
Seems good, though I'd want to see the numbers first. oh wait. that is what the review is for.
check it out. -
Connect Electronics DGZHE A06 Bluetooth Speaker Review @ ModSynergy
There was a time when having speakers connected to anything was super awesome. I also had a "boom box" back then which had both batteries and a wall plug so I could play CD's and Tapes where ever I wanted.
These days music is digital and stored on your 'pod or fone and designed for "personal listening" aka, kept to yourself. So, what if there was a way you could share your music like I did back in the days of the "boom box"?
One of those popular gift ideas is undoubtedly going to be the portable Bluetooth speaker. This year we'd been focusing a bit more on Bluetooth speaker systems, and for good reason; they are becoming ever increasingly popular with people who are interested in having a no wires solution.
Seems like there is, and its even pink!?!
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Phj34r my L4k of n3wz
Hey everyone, It would seem that I have let the news page slide quite a bit over the past several months and I have to apologize.
As you can imagine the "job" of posting "news" aka posting content on this page is not an easy one. Normally I just glean the news@ inbox for review stories and for many years that has worked out great. Mostly because I spend some time writing about the review, both good and bad. The problem is the Google gods don't count news postings as content anymore and have refused to index those pages or posts. Likewise many site owners have taken the Google decision and stopped posting links to reviews making the whole "Review Site Ring" model no longer work.
Of course, there are still some hard asses out there that say "post my stuff and I'll post yours". Seems like a Good Guy Greg approach to sharing traffic but, you know, that never worked with the girls in high school and it has never worked with review sites either.
I have learned a few things over the past 15 years of running a content based website.
- Never trust other site owners, instead appreciate that they are willing to help, value their opinions and never demand anything from them.
- Even though the Google Gods love to bully websites they do so because there is always someone out there looking to exploit the system. We have them to thank for making news postings invalid.
- I'm pretty sure that even if I paid someone to post news on this website (and I have) it would still never get done on a regular basis. Either the post frequency falls off or the quality goes to shit.
- Content is King, unless it comes to posting news on a website that is generated by a third party with a link at the end saying "read more". (oh wait isn't that what everyone does?)
- Phj34r my lack of n3wz. Gonna start working on that again. For those of you loyal readers who have bothered to read this. I thank you for sticking around.
- This is post 6565 in my news database, that might not be enough given the history of my site.
Sorry for the rant and apparent lack of news stories for you to read. When I designed Hardware Asylum I decided to put more emphasis on Articles and Reviews and less on News. Reason being, nobody reads this stuff and try as I might there was only one time in the history of Ninjalane/Hardware Asylum where news actually became a factor in site traffic.
I would like to get back to that time. Strangely enough it was a time when I didn't post anything and let someone else run the page.
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GTA 5 PC gets 4k support and first person mode @ PC Gamer
Now this has me excited for playing GTA5 on the PC.
The PC iteration will be the most visually impressive version of GTA 5, according to CVG's latest hands-on account. GTA 5 will run at 4K resolution on PC, and all 'next gen' versions of the game will include a fully-supported first person mode, complete with modeled car interiors and proper first-person shooting.
As Dan mentions in his preview, "It's not just a case of plonking a new camera within a character's head, just because they could, but an extensive rework of the game's movement, driving and targeting engines. There are thousands of new animations for gun reloading alone, no to mention the first-person views of parachuting, carjacking etc."
First-person extends to GTA's sandbox online mode, which creates space for proper FPS modes within GTA. Multiplayer heists—a long awaited feature for console players—are also nearing completion.4K has really become big news lately, panels are getting cheaper (rather fast I might add) and high-end graphics cards are adding proper support for the new resolution. Seems I might be buying one sooner rather than later.
If anything, to play GTA5 at 4K
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MSI's GT80 Titan Notebook Becomes World's First To Include Mechanical Keyboard @ HotHardware
With newer mobile gaming notebooks coming out, it was only a matter of time until one took the leap and looked into building in mechanical switches. Gaming aside, I see this as a positive improvement for even notebook users who utilize their keyboard routinely for work or play. Hopefully this catches on and we start to see some of the linear switches like MX Red's or Blacks released as well.
For what it's worth, this isn't just some ordinary mechanical keyboard; instead, it comes from SteelSeries, a company that knows how to design great peripherals. Because of the GT80 Titan's 18-inch size (you read that right!), a full numpad is included, although it's touch, rather than mechanical.
