Tech ARP has updated its infamous Hard Drive Myths Debunked guide. it’s not supposed to be funny but unfortunately some of the misconceptions about hard drives are truly ludicrous.

As you read through this guide, you may think that some of these myths may have been made up. We wished it was true. We collected these from discussions we heard or read over time.

To be honest, many articles have covered these topics. It would have been easy for someone to do a quick search online before imparting their opinions to newbies. Unfortunately, it became apparent to us that some folks just prefer to trust their innate instincts over logic and knowledge. As such, these hard drive urban legends have remained more popular than the simple truth.

Some of my personal favorites are “Downloading too much *stuff* from the Internet will reduce your hard drive’s lifespan” and “It’s okay to drop a hard drive as long as it is not running.” Of course there’s always some creative and entirely wrong solution to any hardware problem born of sheer desperation. For example, “If your hard drive dies, freeze it and it will buy you enough time to retrieve its data.” I guess that in this world where sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic to the less mechanically inclined, there are bound to be a few ridiculous assumptions made about hardware.

For those in the know which I’m assuming in most of you, this article is definitely good for a laugh.

Analyst Todd Greenwald recently called for a “real” Xbox 360 price cut following the price reduction of the 20GB Xbox 360, which was simply a means of phasing out that particular SKU.

Ars Technica is reporting that their reliable mole (who has apparently undergone a Joker makeover, as the picture proves) has said that a fairly significant price drop is coming in early September.

• Arcade (no hard drive) to $199
• Pro (60GB) to $299
• Elite (120GB) to $399

That would only be a $50 slash for the Pro and Elite SKUs, but getting the Xbox 360 Arcade under the Wii’s price and at the $199 sweet spot for the holidays would be huge. Combine that price with a marketing campaign about the “new Xbox experience” and the difficulty in finding a Wii, and you’ve got a pretty good formula for posting some big sales numbers in the last quarter of 2008.

If you’re looking forward to Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning the moment you’ve been anticipating or dreading, depending on your PC build, has come. EA Mythic has released the minimum system requirements for WAR. Here are the specs:

PC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

For Windows XP

· 2.5 GHz P4 (single core) processor or equivalent
· 1 Gigabyte RAM
· A 128 MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
· At least 15 GB of hard drive space

For Windows VISTA

· 2.5 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
· 2 Gigabyte RAM
· A 128 MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
· At least 15 GB of hard drive space

There’s a special note for gamers who hope to run WAR on a laptop. Integrated chip sets will run alright on low settings, but most chip sets will run slow if they work at all. Make sure to check your hardware out before you invest in the game.

Supported video cards are listed after the break
Read the full article »

The students at IT University of Copenhagen have found a new and exciting way to use the Wiimote. While US politicians and Media are having hysterics over 45 second sex scenes that could be easily found in a PG-13 movie; a new party game created for the 2008 Nordic Game Jam has players exploring taboos and finding the rhythm of love in the dark. This game is most definitely Not Safe For Work.
Read the full article »

Microsoft has news of DirectX11 official with an announcement at the Gamefest 2008 developer conference in Seattle. Like DirectX 10, DX11 will be exclusive to Vista “as well as future versions of Windows.” The good news is that it is designed to be compatible with DX10 hardware.

Chris Satchell, Microsoft’s Entertainment Business Division CTO, explained the decision to make DX10 incompatible with DX9 devices in his keynote speech.

“We want to break away from purely having a paradigm of pixels, vertices and shaders.”

“DX11 is totally compatible with DX10. There’s not that 9/10 discontinuity we created before,” he said.

Satchell also explained the delay in switching from 32-bit to 64-bit architecture is a software problem.

“We’ve been shipping 64-bit CPUs on the hardware side for awhile,” he pointed out. “We’re not at the point where the 64-bit OS is catching up. I think we are [there] in the next six to eight months.” Satchell did not specify Windows platforms when referring to 64-bit systems.

Gamers can expect new shader technology that will allow GPUs to be used as more general-purpose parallel processors, better multi-threading capabilities; and hardware-based tesselation from DX11.

via Gamasutra

AMD has announced that peripheral manufacturer WOLFKING has been granted “recommended vendor” status for its products for use with its new GAME! line. WOLFKING’s Trooper Gaming Mouse, Warrior, Warrior XXTREME, and TimberWolf gaming keyboards have been thoroughly tested with AMD ultimate PC gaming system configurations.

“WOLFKING is thrilled to be recognized by AMD as a leader in providing quality gaming keyboards & mice,” said Bob Costlow, director of sales, WOLFKING. “AMD is a recognized leader in breakthrough gaming technology and we know the WOLFKING products will only enhance the gamer experience on these systems.”

“With the support of industry leaders like WOLFKING, AMD GAME! is designed to help consumers more easily select and use PCs for an amazing gaming experience,” said Godfrey Cheng, director, platform technologies, AMD Graphics Product Group. “AMD is proud to lead the industry towards greater dependability and simplicity for millions of consumers who enjoy PC gaming. We’re pleased that WOLFKING is on board with this expanding industry-wide initiative.”

If you’re curious about AMD’s ultimate gaming system line up, you can visit the new AMD GAME! website.

via Business Wire

There’s an in depth review available of a retail ready model of OCZ Technology’s Neural Impulse Actuator. The NIA is a brain-computer interface that can be used to control computers and play video games; in this case Unreal Tournament 3 and Counter-Strike: Source.

The article compares learning to use the NIA to touch typing. Actually learning how to use it takes only a week or so, but mastering the device can take months. However, once mastered controlling the NIA is as effortless as controlling your own body minus the physical feedback.

Exactly how the special headband picks up and interprets the body’s natural biosignals generated by your brain, facial muscles and eye muscles is fully explained. The article also covers setup and software and configuration.

Of course the fun part of the article is always the saved for the big finish. The reviewer talks about his experience using the NIA to play UT3 and CS:S. Whether you’re fascinated about all the details or just want to skip to the video game control part, checkout the full article on HotHardware

Within five years, computer industry experts believe the mouse will be extinct due to obsolescence. This common PC peripheral is doomed to be replaced with touch screens and facial recognition.

According to the BBC, vice president and Gartner Fellow Steven Prentice, credits new motion control innovations like those used in Nintendo’s MotionPlus for the Wii and Apple’s iPhone are driving the mouse out of business.

“With the Wii you point and shake and it vibrates back at you so you have a two-way relationship,” said the analyst.

“The new generation of smartphones like the iPhone all now have tilting mechanisms or you can shake the device to do one or more things.”

“For all its faults, the keyboard will remain the primary text input device. Nothing is easily going to replace it,” he said. “But the idea of a keyboard with a mouse as a control interface is breaking down.”

Gaming Today has covered a few innovative uses of the PS3 Eye and the Wiimote for head tracking in conjunction with PCs for desktop virtual reality displays. It’s not hard to believe the PC industry would implement it’s own version to compete with consoles.

via PC Authority

SanDisk has announced that it’s sponsoring Guerilla Union’s Rock the Bells 2008 International Music Festival. The International tour will feature world class hip-hop artists including A Tribe Called Quest, NAS, Mos Def, De La Soul, Rakim, Method Man & Redman, Raekwon & Ghostface (Cuban Linx), Immortal Technique, Dead Prez, Murs, Kidz In The Hall and the reunited The Pharcyde.

Sponsoring Rock the Bells is part of SanDisk’s Wake Up Your Phone campaign. The company known for its flash memory is focusing on educating people on the uses of its products for expanded storage in cellular phones and handheld gaming platforms like Sony’s PSP.

“Sponsorship of this leading international music event speaks to our commitment to reach consumers where our products can make the greatest difference for them,” said Michael Romero, Vice President, Mobile Retail Business, SanDisk. The new SanDisk® Mobile Ultra™ line of memory cards makes the digital lifestyle more manageable by offering consumers enhanced ability to bring all types of digital content, especially music, with them wherever they go. These cards are truly the most convenient way for people to store, move and play such content using their mobile phones, so we’re excited to marry our promotion of this high-performance, premium product with one of the summer’s leading pop culture events.”

Rock the Bells 2008 will be touring July through September in cities including Chicago, Toronto, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London and Amsterdam.

via Business Wire

Last year, one PS3 owner made headlines when Sony refused to repair his console because it was dusty. Although his story had a happy ending; if you don’t want to end up in the same fix, ExtremeTech has a guide out covering the proper care and cleaning of your electronics. The guide covers PCs, consoles and peripherals as well as other household electronic like cellphones and televisions.

In some cases, the mess is only superficial: The kids’ fingerprints on the computer monitor from when they were pointing out the new Webkinz goodies won’t harm anything. Sometimes, however, it can be harmful; when dust builds up on the computer motherboard, it can insulate the logic chips and cause them to overheat. Dust in the fans or their filters can also add to the thermal problems.

If you’re not absolutely sure whether you can clean all the gunk out of your keyboard by sticking it in the shower or not, consult Clean Machines: Keeping Your Electronics Spotless on ExtremeTech.