videos – Page 22 – Tech Today w/ Ken May

Cell service out for thousands across the American Southeast

Cellular service appears to be down across every major provider throughout Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky with Nashville, Chattanooga, and Knoxville being the hardest hit. According to the website Down Detector , more than 10, 000 AT&T, 1, 000 Verizon, 7, 000 T-Mobile and 300 Sprint customers are without internet or phone access. None of the affected companies have disclosed the specific reason for the outage yet, though they all have already issued vague statements about how they’re working on the issue. Update : Verizon is reporting the issue is resolved as of 8PM ET, however we haven’t seen an update from the others yet. Verizon issued the following statement after fielding numerous complaints on its Twitter account: A connectivity issue is causing a service interruption in our market. Our engineers are aware of this issue and are working with our vendor partners to resolve this issue quickly. At present we do not have an estimated time of resolution. As did T-Mobile: @baegail Customers across all carriers are affected in your region. Engineers are on it and working to restore your services asap! *MMH – T-Mobile USA (@TMobileHelp) August 4, 2015 Sprint followed the same pattern in its statement: We are aware of the impacts to service in which customers may be unable to access voice and some data services. This appears to be an issue caused by a local exchange provider and our network team is working with the provider to restore service to impacted customers as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience. As did AT&T: Some customers across parts of the Southeast are experiencing wireline and wireless service issues. We are investigating the cause and working as quickly as possible to restore service. We apologize for this inconvenience. According to Re/code , a Sprint rep has hinted that the issue originated at a local exchange provider that works with the affected companies. “We are aware of the impacts to service in which customers across multiple carriers may be unable to access voice and some data services, ” the rep said. “This appears to be an issue caused by a local exchange provider and our network team is working with the provider to restore service to impacted customers as quickly as possible.” Filed under: Internet , Mobile , Verizon , Sprint , AT&T , T-Mobile Comments Via: Gizmodo Source: WATE 6

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Cell service out for thousands across the American Southeast

Intel targets gamers with sixth-gen ‘Skylake’ CPU launch

With mobile annihilating the mainstream PC industry, Intel knows gaming is buttering its bread . The chip giant launched its sixth-gneration “Skylake” desktop processors today with two enthusiast quad-core models: the Core I7-6700K and i5-6600K. The 14-nanometer chips are unlocked for maximum overclocking (all the “K”-series will be), and if you’re not into that, the two new chips have fairly high base frequencies: 4.0GHz for the Core i7-6700K and 3.5GHz for the i5-6600K. Compared to similar current-gen models, prices are reasonable — suggested retail is $350 for the i7-6700K and $243 for the i5-6600K, with street prices likely lower. Unfortunately, the i7-6700K offers just a modest performance increase (10 percent) over last-gen Haswell i7-4790K CPUs and little, if any, advantage over the current Haswell-E i7-5820K chip. However, the Skylake models are the first 14-nanometer performance CPU’s that Intel has launched, since the lower-powered Broadwell 14-nanometer desktop chips aren’t aimed at gamers. The smaller transistors should help overclocking, and rumor has it that the i7-6700K can be pushed to 5GHz, which may give it an edge over current tech. At any rate, with 10-nanometer “Cannonlake” CPUs now delayed , Skylake is it until next year. Intel also revealed a new platform for the chips, the Z170 chipset. Like Haswell-E, the Skylake models use DDR4 RAM, which is much faster than DDR3 memory, but also way more expensive. (Skylake chips won’t run on Haswell-E X99 motherboards, which also use DDR4 RAM.) However, the Z170 chipset has a dual memory controller, so you can use use cheaper DDR3L memory on motherboards that support it . Another plus to the platform is new Intel HD 530 graphics, which run 20-40 percent faster than last-gen Intel HD. It also has 16 PCI Express 3.0 lanes, giving you more USB 3, graphics and storage options. And Intel just happens to have a new PCI Express 3.0-based 800GB 750 series SSD drive with read speeds up to 2, 200 MB/s. Many folks expected Intel to launch more of its Skylake lineup today, including mainstream and mobile CPUs, so what happened? That was just a rumor in the first place, but Intel has narrowed down the timeline. It’ll reveal more information at the Intel Developers Forum on August 18th, and launch the rest of the sixth-gen Skylake lineup sometime in Q3 2015. The mainstream chips will also see a modest performance bump over current-gen tech, but are expected to sip less power, giving future Macbooks, ultrabooks, laptops and tablets improved battery life. Down the road, it may also reveal more high-performance desktop Skylake CPUs, hopefully including an ” Extreme ” model. Filed under: Desktops , Gaming , Intel Comments Tags: Core i7-6600K, Core i7-6700K, enthusiast, gaming, Haswell, intel, Sixth-generation, Skylake

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Intel targets gamers with sixth-gen ‘Skylake’ CPU launch

New Xbox dashboard and backwards compatibility come in November

At E3, Microsoft unveiled a revamped dashboard for the Xbox One that put an emphasis on speed and community. It’s now here at Gamescom when the company has revealed when exactly this revamped user interface will be filtering down onto your console: this November. The biggest additional feature is backwards compatibility , which means that around 100 Xbox 360 titles will be available to play on the hardware. Of course, if you’ve already paid for these games for the older console, you won’t be charged again for the privilege. In addition, the company’s Mike Ybarra has revealed that all future Games with Gold that are available on the Xbox 360 will also be accessible on the Xbox One. At the same time, he also announced that DVR functionality — which is also free — will come to the console in time for the holidays. The rest of the dashboard’s features were outlined at E3, the most notable being the integration of Cortana, Microsoft’s digital voice assistant. She can be used to perform minor tasks — like recording and sharing in-game footage — without you having to stop your epic career mode run on Fifa 16 . The revamped UI also offers a new quick-launch menu that pops up when you double-tap the Xbox button on your controller. We’re live all week from Cologne, Germany for Gamescom 2015. Click here to catch up on all the news from the show. Filed under: Gaming , Microsoft Comments Source: Xbox Tags: BackwardsCompatibility, Dashboard, FallUpdate, Gamescom2015, GamesWithGold, Microsoft, Xbox, XboxOne

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New Xbox dashboard and backwards compatibility come in November

DJs can buy remix-friendly ‘Stems’ music files starting today

Back in March, Native Instruments — the company behind the ubiquitous Traktor DJ software — announced Stems : a music format that lets DJs and remixers to control individual parts of a track. Today Stems launches to the buying public on a number of popular music stores including Beatport and Traxsource have them listed already, Bleep, Juno, whatpeopleplay, and Wasabeat will also be selling them. For years DJs and producers’ only chance of finding a cappella versions of songs was to hope a vocal-only recording existed. The advent of the internet made finding these a little easier, but they were still rare. Expensive software can sometimes help you surgically remove parts or a track, or isolate vocals, but the results aren’t always very clean. Stems makes all that a thing of the past. The new file-format allows DJs to turn the separate parts of a track on and off at will. Importantly, Stems is open, so anyone will be able to export music as a compatible file (Native Instruments will release tools for this later in the year), and big artists and labels are already on board. A Stems file will break a song into four parts; usually drums, vocals, bass and lead, each of which can be manipulated independently with compatible hardware (Native Instruments’ Kontrol S8 , D2 , and F1 for example). Beatport, will even let you audition tracks as separate parts in the browser (as seen below). It’s unlikely most casual listeners need to worry about Stems — it’s definitely more for performers — but, if there’s a killer track, with a really annoying vocal , there might just be a workaround at last. An update for Traktor that adds Stem compatibility is available via NI Service Center today. Filed under: Misc , Home Entertainment Comments Source: Stems , Beatport

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DJs can buy remix-friendly ‘Stems’ music files starting today

HTC Spends Nearly $10M On A 15% Stake In Virtual Reality Platform WEVR

HTC is planning to release its extremely well-received virtual reality headset Vive to consumers later this year, possibly in November. In the meantime, the Taiwanese company is busy building out its VR ecosystem. HTC disclosed that it spent almost $10 million for a 15 percent stake in WEVR, an open VR platform and community based in Los Angeles. Read More

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HTC Spends Nearly $10M On A 15% Stake In Virtual Reality Platform WEVR

OnStar hack remotely starts cars, GM working on a fix

Hacker Samy Kamkar unveiled his latest triumph this morning: OwnStar, a tiny box that acts as a Wi-Fi hotspot and intercepts commands sent from a driver’s OnStar RemoteLink app, allowing an unauthorized user to locate, unlock or start the vehicle. Simply place the box somewhere in an OnStar-connected car and wait for the driver to start up the RemoteLink app within range of the vehicle. The driver’s smartphone should automatically connect to OwnStar’s network and, voila , the hacker now has all of the car owner’s information (email, home address, final four digits on a credit card plus expiration date), and control of the car. GM has already issued one patch this morning aimed at securing the RemoteLink app, but it was unsuccessful, according to Kamkar . Kamkar never intended to wreak havok with OwnStar, he said in an interview with Wired . He wanted to expose a vulnerability in the OnStar app and help GM fix it — and it seems as if that’s precisely what’s happening. GM is working to patch the RemoteLink bug now and Kamkar says he’s in contact with the company as they fix it. Kamkar plans to reveal more technical details about OwnStar at Defcon 2015, which runs from August 6th to the 9th in Las Vegas. OwnStar update: GM told WIRED that OnStar bug was fixed, however it’s not actually resolved yet. I spoke with GM & they’re working on it now – Samy Kamkar (@samykamkar) July 30, 2015 This is the second major car-based hack to surface this month. On July 24th, Fiat Chrysler issued a voluntary recall of 1.4 million US vehicles with certain touchscreen entertainment systems, after Wired reported that it was possible to remotely cut the engine, disable and activate the brakes, and track the location of these cars. Filed under: Gaming , HD Comments Source: Wired , CNET

Facebook’s ‘Security Checkup’ is ready to guard your account

Facebook initially rolled out a new account safety feature, dubbed Security Checkup , this May as part of a limited test release . Today, that feature is available for all users. Security Checkup is designed to make finding and enabling Facebook’s multitude of optional security settings much easier. Users will be able to automatically logout of rarely used devices, set alerts for suspicious login activity and reset their password. Even finding the checkup function itself will be a snap as it’s going to be positioned at the top of your feed for the next few weeks. [Image Credit: shutterstock] Filed under: Internet , Facebook Comments Source: Facebook

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Facebook’s ‘Security Checkup’ is ready to guard your account

US wants the world’s fastest supercomputer by 2025

President Obama has signed an executive order demanding that the US build the world’s fastest supercomputer by 2025. The National Strategic Computing Initiative has been implemented to get the country building an Exascale machine and not fall behind rival nations in the technological arms race. This supercomputer will be developed by arms of the federal government and then be harnessed to speed up research into a wide variety of topics. One example is that the hardware will be used to help NASA better understand turbulence for aircraft design, while another is to crunch the numbers for medical researchers. The US may have more of the Top 500 supercomputers than any other nation, but its prestige in this area is slipping to nations like China and Japan. China’s Tianhe-2 has been the world’s fastest machine for two and a half years in a row, and the list’s authors feel that the US approaching is plunging to a “historical low.” With the weight of the federal government behind it, the NSCI is hoping to steal a march on its rivals and break new ground in the high performance computing sphere. With all of the various challenges that the planet is facing — challenges that we’re told Exascale computing will be able to fix — it can’t come soon enough. Filed under: Desktops Comments Via: BBC News Source: White House , (2) (.PDF)

Microsoft now rolling out free Windows 10 upgrades

Today’s the day! Windows 10 is now available in 190 countries as a free upgrade to Windows 7 or 8.1 owners. Replacing an OS is no one’s idea of fun, but we’re actually looking forward to this one. First off, we’ll be leaving behind the most hated version of Windows ever (sorry, Vista). In return, we’ll get one Microsoft was so confident in that they skipped version 9 altogether because hey, Windows 10 sounds better. So how to get it? We’ve got a handy guide , and Microsoft has info here , but if you already reserved your free upgrade, hang in there, as Microsoft says it’s rolling out in waves. Organizations will start to see the new version on August 1st. The computer you have should work just fine, as the minimum requirements haven’t changed much from Windows 7 and 8: A 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM (2GB for the 64-bit version) and 20GB of free space. The whole thing will take 30-45 minutes, according to Microsoft, not counting the 4-5GB download. Speaking of which, you’ll likely need to be patient, as the roll-out may actually break internet traffic records. As for what’s in it for you, the answer is plenty: you’ll get a much improved interface that takes the best of Windows 7 and 8.1, the new Edge browser, Cortana and better modern apps. You can read more about it in our Windows 10 review , but to cut to the chase, we gave it a stellar 91 rating. Filed under: Software , Microsoft Comments Source: Microsoft

The latest ‘King’s Quest’ adventure starts today

In case Shenmue 3 and a Castlevania spiritual successor were a bit too recent and console-centric for your nostalgia kick, maybe the new King’s Quest will tickle your fancy. The hand-painted adventure game’s first episode is out today across a wide swath of platforms (PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 , Xbox 360 an Xbox One , Windows). Creative director Matt Korba writes on the PlayStation Blog that the aim was to make a family-friendly game in an effort to bridge the gap between players of yore and today. What’s more there are apparently quite a few references to the original games hidden here and there. Should you want to try and find ’em for yourself, it’s $9.99 per episode or $39.99 for the season pass. Filed under: Gaming , Home Entertainment , HD Comments Source: PlayStation Blog

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The latest ‘King’s Quest’ adventure starts today