Rob Williams
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Recent posts
Since the Raspberry Pi's launch, we've seen the market surrounding these small all-in-one system boards explode. Usually, however, any form of competition that comes along amps things up only so much. Maybe a slight RAM boost, performance increase or the addition of some other functionality such as wireless. Well, for...
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It's a patent that sounds like a plot description for a science-fiction movie or the result of Apple's Siri and Google's AdSense mating. With it, Verizon could program its set-top boxes to survey a room to determine relevant ads to display either on your television or mobile phone. Sound a bit scary? It kind of is...
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While the ASUS name may be well-recognized by visitors of HotHardware, it's still a relative unknown in North America to those who don't eat tech for breakfast. This, despite the fact that the company really does produce some compelling products. Let's not forget that it was ASUS which spear-headed the entire netbook movement. ASUS has proven...
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Want to scare the life out of a programmer friend? Just utter the words "multi-threading" into their ear - it works every time! Alright - that's a bit of an exaggeration, but writing multi-threaded code is one of the biggest challenges a programmer can ever face. The reason boils down to the fact that for the...
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The release of the next 3DMark is right around the corner, and to help tide us over Futuremark has released a new trailer called "Fire Strike" that shows off some pretty DirectX 11 effects - aka: effects we hope to actually see implemented in our future games. If you can believe it, this trailer is even shorter...
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The folks behind Bing Maps have been undeniably busy this past month: they've released 121 terabytes worth of satellite and Global Ortho imagery to its Windows 8 Maps app and Bing Maps, released a Hurricane Sandy-specific map app and have also launched a Facebook page where they'll show off some cool imagery each and...
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Ubuntu fans on the lookout for desktops or laptops bundled with their favorite OS have had a rough time - there's been selection, but it's been painfully limited. Helping that just a wee bit is Dell, with its Vostro 2420 and 2520 notebooks, which each offer a singular Ubuntu option. The only difference between the two...
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When Mozilla dropped the latest version of its Firefox browser for Android on November 19th, it just seemed like any other update. If you're like me and have a couple of apps every single day wanting updates, it really doesn't leave much time to look into what's new with every one of them. Apparently Mozilla realizes...
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In what's likely to come as a surprise to no one, Facebook has called for an end to its close relationship with Farmville-creator Zynga. Unlike other game developers that use Facebook as their platform of choice, Zynga had access to promotional advantages that others didn't have. Essentially, if Zynga scratched Facebook's back, Facebook would...
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OCZ has seen quite a bit of action inside of its walls this past year, and clearly, not all of it has been ideal. In fact, it wouldn't be a stretch to equate the goings-on inside the company to like being on a roller-coaster - the company has definitely had its share of ups and downs. In September, problems within the...
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"But does it run Minecraft?" Yes - it's the tamer version of the age-old Crysis question, but it's an important one given Minecraft's amazing success. While mobile gamers have access to Minecraft: Pocket Edition, those who own DIY Raspberry Pi boards have been out of luck. But, thanks to the hard work by the...
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Thanks in part to the lack of stability and plugin support, Mozilla's Engineering Manager Benjamin Smedberg has requested that developers stop building 64-bit versions of Firefox. If the idea of a 64-bit Firefox sounds strange, it's likely because it's not something Mozilla ever promoted. Instead, it was left up to...
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If you were a kid of the 80s and happened to own a video game console, chances are good that it was a Nintendo Entertainment System. While the NES had its share of garbage titles, it also had some timeless classics, such as The Legend of Zelda, Contra, Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, Ninja Gaiden - alright, I could go on to list about 100 more....
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Want to take Mozilla's upcoming Firefox OS for a spin? You're in luck, because the developers have released a simulator called "r2d2b2g", or b2g for short, that allows you to install an .xpi extension inside of a desktop version of Firefox and see what it is that Mozilla has up its sleeves. Once the .xpi is installed...
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I have a confession to make: I enjoy the Call of Duty series. Some may scoff and hit me with a splash of Haterade, but the fact of the matter is, there's something that remains consistent with each new game in the series: I have fun. Fun is the operative word here, because while the series, like many others, has its obvious faults, what...
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Although a specific date is unknown, Microsoft should be releasing the consumer retail versions of its Office 2013 suite sometime before the end of the month. As we discovered in early October, the final release-to-manufacturing build has already been produced, and has been available to volume licensees ever since. If you're a regular...
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If you don't live in either one of the two Kansas Citys, get ready to be ridiculously envious. Google has just posted on its official Google Fiber blog that installations of its 1Gbit/s Internet service have now begun, with houses that opted for the service automatically being prepared for it. In a video explaining...
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If you like keeping current with your DirectX version and happen to dislike Windows 8, you're going to be finding yourself in a bit of a bind. Despite having shipped alongside Windows 8, DirectX 11.1 hasn't been talked about too much. In fact, it wasn't until just now that I even learned of it. Being a minor version...
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It's beginning to feel like we're unable to go even a single week without learning of a public official caught in an affair, but last week's discovery of the affair of CIA Director David Petraeus came as a shock for a couple of reasons. David wasn't some mere politician, but a decorated war hero who most recently sat at the helm of one of...
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People taking old hardware and tuning it to make music isn't anything new, but it's not often we see it done on a much grander scale. Today, we can, thanks to some geeks over at isthis.gd. Inspired by other "radical tinkerers", they set out to create a MIDI orchestra for the Grey London PR agency and Brother - a...
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Despite the fact that I've been using Windows 8 for the past three weeks, I somehow managed to overlook a rather stark feature in the OS: ads. No, we're not talking about ads cluttering up the desktop or login screen (thankfully), but rather ads that can be found inside of some Modern UI apps that Windows ships with...
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For about as long as it's existed, Adobe's Flash plugin has been one of the most vulnerable pieces of software on the planet. Much like an operating system itself, most people readily install a Flash plugin soon after a fresh install, so it's no wonder that people are often on the hunt to see what kind of exploits can...
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