Chicken Little tells us Lion kills our NAS devices
Written by Sean Kalinich
You may have heard that Apple’s new OS, Lion is making all of the NAS appliances incompatible. Well, we can tell you that the reports of these appliances demise have been greatly exaggerated. In fact three days before the launch we heard from multiple vendors that they have new firmware updates that will be available to keep compatibility with Lion and its new version of Time Machine.
NETGEAR has even sent us theirs and we are at work testing is on their ReadyNAS Pro 6. So when you hear about how this or that product does not work, remember… you are listening to people that are ALWAYS trying to get a scoop sometimes they might not take the extra time to verify things before they push something like this out.
Keep checking back as we work to demystify some of what is out there on the net and give you the straight information.
Anon did it!, Well at least that is what you will be told
Written by Sean Kalinich
Yesterday we were sent a link to some interesting news about a nation-wide crackdown on suspected Anon members. This even included a “hacker” that is fairly close to where I live. The total number of people that were collared was around 15. The FBI and other agencies were very pleased with the day’s activities and went on to say that this was a “major arrest”. However was it really? Do the news or Law Enforcement agencies involved have any clue as to what is really going on? One little indicator that they do not comes up with their timeline; according to most media sources Anon starts as a result of the WikiLeaks incident. However most of the groups involved with Anon pre-date that by many years (in fact Anon does as well).
Asus Sabertooth P67 B3 Performance Review Featured
Written by Sean Kalinich
We have told you about Asus’ design choices for the Sabertooth P67 and even gone into some detail about the mindset behind this and other products in the TUF line. However all of the best design choices and components in the world will not make a board perform. To get great performance takes a little more. In this half of our Sabertooth review we are going to look into that side of the product. Asus has always had a reputation for tinkering with their BIOSes (not always a good one though). So let’s start off there and see where it takes us.
Taipei, Taiwan – July 19th, 2011 - Cooler Master, an industry leading chassis, thermal solution, peripheral, and accessory manufacturer, today announces the release of the new CM Storm Sirus 5.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset. Boosting no less than 8 speakers (4 on each side) Sirus delivers powerful, immersive 5.1 surround sound and marks the beginning of a new range of CM Storm audio gear for gamers and audiophiles alike. Immense Sound
Sending shockwaves throughout the industry, Sirus delivers real 5.1 surround sound with a dedicated extra large 40mm sub driver for explosive bass sound. Thanks to no less than 6 additional 30mm drivers, each fed by a discrete audio channel, Sirus produces precise and crisp directional sounds. Combine all channels and pair it with the bundled Tactical Mixing Console and you get full 5.1 channel-adjustable, real-time 360 degree audio. In addition, Sirus is coupled with a uni-directional microphone with background noise cancellation that enables crystal clear communications with teammates to coordinate strikes or mock your enemy’s after a dominating victory.
Suitable for extended MissionsEngineered to provide ultimate comfort and style, CM Storm Sirus features a futuristic military design and extra large comfortable cushions that sit around your ears and not on them. You can choose between smooth leatherette and breathable weaved earpads that can be clipped on and off in-combat within a few seconds.
On-the-Fly Customizations
Setting itself apart from the competition, the CM Storm Sirus includes a Tactical Mixing Console that is capable of precise real-time adjustments to the all separate 8 speaker channels. Loading an FPS game? Quickly lower the center channel and raise the remaining channels to simultaneously reduce distractions from your own gun noise and steps and increase your ability to detect enemy footsteps with pinpoint accuracy.
Advanced TuningCM Storm Sirus features a Tactical Software Console to further tune the performance of the headset to each user’s needs. Those with a keen ear will appreciate the ability to delve deeper into the settings to make detailed changes to various levels or disguise their voices with a few simple clicks.
Praised with awards before hitting the battlefields!
Sirus has already won the Red Dot Design Award 2011 and Computex Design & Innovation Award 2011, both of them praising its futuristic rugged carbon looks with smooth rubberized surfaces that not only prevent fingerprints and smears but give it a solid comfortable grip, and its innovative 8 massive speaker design with on-the-fly channel control.
The CM Storm Sirus 5.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset will be available in mid-July 2011 at an MSRP of $129.99 at every serious gaming gear shop.
Through long-standing research programs, CM Storm product are co-developed with the world's most prolific enthusiasts and eSport prodigies. Thanks to intensive testing and continuous feedback, the CM Storm division has been able to fulfill gamers' needs and produce creative gaming gear fit for intense firefights. Marking a new era for Cooler Master, CM Storm Gear gives you an edge over standard Peripherals in your digital conquests. For more information, please visit www.cmstorm.com.
Asus Crosshair IV Extreme Performance Review Featured
Written by Sean Kalinich
Asus has a flare for design and for choosing the right parts to go on their products. Over the years of working with them I have often had them tell me “wait for our design” instead of tinkering with the reference parts. The benefit of this is that the consumer usually gets a much better product in the end and we see the upper potential of a GPU, CPU or Chipset. We have walked you through the layout and design of the Asus Crosshair IV, now we are going to show you how well it performs.
Asus' Crosshiar IV Extreme in the Lab for some testing Featured
Written by Sean Kalinich
When you hear the term Crosshair several things come to mind. The first is probably the two lines that intersect inside the optics on a targeting scope (which were originally real hairs). The next could be the options in most of your first person shooter games. If you are an AMD enthusiast you might think of Asus’ Crosshair line of motherboards for AMD CPUs. It is this last one that we are going to dive into and talk to you about today. The Crosshair line is fittingly named, as it relates to accuracy, and performance. Asus has worked hard to make sure these boards represent the highest level of performance for AMD CPUs. Although not the most current available we are taking a look at the Hydralogix enabled Crosshair IV Extreme. This is a $299 890FX based board with Lucid’s Hydralogix multi-GPU technology hanging out on the board. We are going to look at its design and features today and will follow this up some single GPU performance testing shortly.
Not too long ago I made a comment about the iPhone losing ground in the smart phone market. Not too long after that I started looking at the mobile phone market; not because I was trying to find some information about on smartphone purchases, but because I was interested in a new phone. The phone I was replacing is one of the most popular Android based phones on the Market. It was actually one that many people went to after the issues with the iPhone 4 (the grip of death). In fact that is how I ended up with my HTC EVO 4G from Sprint. The phone that caught my eye was another HTC phone. This was the HTC EVO 3D. This is a dual core high performance phone with a 3D Screen that does not need glasses to view. So I went out and picked one up, let’s see if it was worth the money and time.
The Asus Sabertooth P67 Part I - Design and Features Featured
Written by Sean Kalinich
We have been following Asus and their progress as a company for a very long time. When we first began working with them they were a very ambitious company (and at times too ambitious). This came out in their products in many ways. Some were good others were bad. However, over the years they have learned from their mistakes and began to build products that not only performed but also made sense. One our favorite lines from Asus is the Republic of Gamers line, but right behind that is their “The Ultimate Force” line. We have looked over a few boards from this line and like their quality and stock performance. When the P67 chipset hit the market we were looking forward to getting the Sabertooth on the test bench. Unfortunately just before we did Intel found the error in the B2 Stepping of the Cougar Point. Now, all of that is in the past and we have the Asus P67 Sabertooth on the bench for some test time. So let’s look at the design philosophy and what you get when you buy this board from Asus.
MSI Big Bang Marshal Performance Review Featured
Written by Sean Kalinich
So we have taken a look into how well the MSI Big Bang marshal was put together and now we are ready to put this board through its paces. We will be taking a look at this product from as many angles as we can to see if it is worth your money. Will all of the components that MSI threw together work well under stress? Well read on to find out.
The Cooler Master Notepal Infinite EVO keeps its cool in the lab Featured
Written by Sean Kalinich
There was a time when if you were talking about gaming you were talking about a desktop system. There was no other option really. To get the performance and power you needed you had to have a desktop system. Then a few years ago GPU and CPU manufacturers found a way to put a lot more power into their mobile products and real mobile gaming was born. However, with that came more power draw and more heat. There have been and more than a few solutions to keep these mobile power houses cool, but not all of them have worked. Cooler Master has had a string of these products that have been fairly capable. We have one of these in the lab, a new one, called Cooler Master Notepal Infinite EVO. It is a dual fan aluminum surface cooler with a 4-port USB hub built in. Let’s see what it can do.
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MSI's Big Bang Marshal shows off for us Part I Featured
Written by Sean KalinichThe term Big Bang is used by many scientists to describe the moment of creation. They say that before this event the universe was a chaotic mass of gasses and unformed matter. The gravity and heat combined to compress this to a critical mass. At that critical point all of that gas and unformed matter exploded in all directions to form the basis or the universe we know. MSI’s Big Bang is a culmination of ideas, components and design choices that have, well not really exploded but, hit the market in a fairly big way. Before the launch of this line up MSI was having a rough time in the market. However, even then we saw the hints of big things on the horizon. MSI had partnered up with Lucid; they had begun tinkering with new components for their motherboards and their video cards. We have seen what they can do with the X58, P55 and even the 8xx chipsets from AMD. Now let’s take a look at what they do with the P67 chipset in their Big Bang Marshal.
The Lenovo USB 2.0 Dock with Digital video trys to impress Featured
Written by Sean Kalinich
So you bought a new Windows 7 Based tablet. If you are like me you and you picked up the Asus EEE Slate EP121 then you are very happy with your purchase. However, no matter what product you picked up you are probably finding limitations. The biggest one that I have found is that I run out of USB ports and there are not many monitors that support HDMI in a resolution that the EEE Slate can realistically handle. There is also the little nagging issue that I would like to use the Gigabit network I have built in my house. I mean sure, the wireless n card in the EP 121 is good and certainly fast, but why stick with 150Mbps when you can have 1000? Today we offer up a possible solution as we take a deep look at the Lenovo USB 2.0 dock complete with DisplayLink’s USB to VGA technology. It should be interesting to say the least.
Anon goes legal? Well legal action any way... Featured
Written by Sean Kalinich
In what is a rather interesting move for the mischievous group known as ANONYMOUS we are hearing they are working to file a real, legal class action law suit against what they are calling “private Federal Reserve Bank and it's shareholders”. Their claim is simple, they are angry that the Fed allowed the toxic debt that were building in 2008 and 2009 (and before when you really get to it) and now want accountability. They are asking everyone to join in for this. They have posted a PR statement and also Youtube video explaining everything. Since a picture is worth a thousand words we will let them speak for themselves but have also posted up their typed PR Statement.
When we first thought about launching Decrypted Tech, we wanted to offer our readers a different experience. Unfortunately we were also a little limited on funds. As such we moved forward with what we had and what we could build ourselves. For this I found the best site layout that I could that fit in with our vision of a very visual site. However, we lost on the feel of a user oriented experience.