Oct 21

Rock Band 3 Fender Mustang Pro guitar review

Posted in: guitar, review, Today's Chili

Next week’s Rock Band 3 launch marks a giant step for the franchise, with the pro mode edging its gameplay closer to actual musicianship. The keyboards and drums are easier transitions to make, given what’s essentially one-to-one mapping for notes and logical input solutions. But what about a guitar, arguably the genre’s flagship instrument? We’ve seen and tried two solutions to the pro guitar input conundrum: the Squier Stratocaster, an actual guitar that’s still not ready for primetime, and the Mad Catz Fender Mustang, a 102-button replica more reminiscent of peripheral than instrument. Still, with a mid-November release date, the latter’s likely to be your only official option for pro guitar rocking this holiday. So, how does it fare? Read on to find out!

P.S. For all your other Rock Band 3 queries, check out Joystiq’s exhaustive review!

Gallery: Rock Band 3 Fender Mustang Pro guitar review

Continue reading Rock Band 3 Fender Mustang Pro guitar review

Rock Band 3 Fender Mustang Pro guitar review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Oct 2010 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 21

Rock Band 3 Instruments Review [Video]

Posted in: Games, gaming, Music, review, Today's Chili, top

As we said before, Rock Band 3 is ambitious because it’s not just a game where you push buttons to music, it’s a game that gives you real(ish) instruments and makes you develop actual, usable musical skills. More »

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Oct 21

ATI Radeon HD 6870 and HD 6850 reviewed, deemed worthy of the midrange

Posted in: AMD, ati, GraphicsCard, now shipping, NowShipping, radeon, reviewed, Today's Chili

AMD’s Radeon HD 6870 and HD 6850 graphics cards are here, but they might not be what you expect — though alphanumerics suggest they’d succeed the lauded Radeon HD 5870 and 5850, these new “Bart” chips are actually a pair of solid plays for the PC gaming mainstream. $180 buys you a Radeon HD 6850 with 960 stream processors, a 775MHz core clock and 1GB of GDDR5 memory at a 1GHz effective rate, and $240 nets the HD 6870 with 1120 stream processors and 900MHz / 1,050 MHz clocks respectively. On paper that puts them a good bit behind the finest, but a collection of reviews show they can keep up with the pack, as the 6870 consistently manages to surpass the framerates possible with NVIDIA’s $200 GeForce GTX 460, and even the cheaper 6850 can do the same in certain games. Some reports indicate they run a good bit hotter than their predecessors, however, so despite the bevy of ports they’re probably not right for your next HTPC. Hit up the reviews below for some promising benchmarks, and if you aren’t turned away by AMD’s lipsticking of the pig, you’ll find ten varieties already for sale at our source link. PR after the break.

Update: NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 460 768MB now sells for $170, so there’s definitely still some mid-range muscle in the green camp.

Read – AnandTech
Read (1), (2) – Guru3D
Read – HardOCP
Read (1), (2) – Bit-tech
Read – PC Perspective
Read – Legit Reviews
Read – Techgage
Read (1), (2) – TweakTown
Read – Hexus
Read (1), (2) – TechPowerUp
Read – HotHardware
Read – TechSpot

Continue reading ATI Radeon HD 6870 and HD 6850 reviewed, deemed worthy of the midrange

ATI Radeon HD 6870 and HD 6850 reviewed, deemed worthy of the midrange originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 23:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 21

Ask Engadget: best 30-inch LCD monitor out there?

Posted in: AskEngadget, Today's Chili

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Edward, who isn’t afraid of making us all envious by asking for tips on a monstrous monitor. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

Hey, I run a small graphic design business in South Yorkshire, UK. Currently we use HP’s LP2475w as our workstation monitors, and are looking for something newer. Since I hate to downgrade electrical stuff, the only logical step would be to 30-inch monitors. They need to have an HDMI input as well as DVI since we’ve a VAIO Z in the office whose only output is HDMI. The other important factors are accurate color (so I guess an IPS panel) without ridiculous pricing. I’m looking at £1,500 ($2,400) as the absolute maximum. Currently I’m looking at the HP ZR30W and the Dell 3008WFP, what would your readers recommend?

The 30-inch monitor space has become increasingly competitive over the past couple of years, and your options now are more numerous than ever. So, what 30-incher are you reading this right now on? Let ’em know in comments below!

Ask Engadget: best 30-inch LCD monitor out there? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 23:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 21

WrapUp: Google Calendar Gadgets, Mozilla Comments on Safari Downloads, and More

Posted in: Today's Chili, WrapUp

This article was written on June 16, 2009 by CyberNet.

Welcome to the WrapUp by CyberNet. This is a collection of news stories, downloads, and tips that we have collected over the last few days, but never got around to writing about. Don’t forget to send in your own tips, or just leave a comment on this page if you think you’ve got something we should include.

–News–

digital tv.jpgDigital TV Transition in Full Swing
It felt like this day would never come since it was one delay after another, but the government finally pulled the plug. Millions were caught off guard when their TV’s all of a sudden didn’t have a signal, but I’m sure they’re aware of what’s going on now.


twitter icon.jpgTwitter Reschedules Downtime  
Twitter’s service provider had some downtime planned for last night, but they managed to get postpone it a day because Twitter is being used as a communication tool for the events transpiring in Iran. Kudos to Twitter for trying to minimize downtime when it really does matter.


google calendar.jpgGoogle Calendar Gadgets Appearing  
Looks like Google is working on some additional “gadgets” that you’ll be able to see in your Google Calendar sidebar alongside the tasks. This includes features like upcoming events, time zones, google searches, and more.


mozilla logo.jpgMozilla Comments on Safari’s 11 Million Downloads  
Apple boasted the fact that Safari 4.0 had been downloaded over 11 million times in merely three days, which sounds like an impressive number… until you compare it with Firefox. Mozilla said that Firefox 3.0.11 was downloaded 150 million times in a 24-hour period.


opera bittorrent.jpg8 Browser Innovations Started by Opera  
Even though Opera may not have the largest market share for browsers we do have a lot of things to thank them for. At one point I was using Opera as my daily browser, but once I could get similar functionality in other browsers I found myself drifting away in favor of website compatibility. I still go back to play with it from time to time, but I don’t know if I’d ever make a full-time switch again.


–Tips, Tutorials, and Reviews–

fedora 11.jpgFedora 11 Review  
About a week ago Fedora 11 was released, and as expected the reviews started pouring in. This review in particular is both thorough and informational, and is something you should read if you’re considering giving the OS a whirl.


yip.jpgFirefox Notifier for Web Apps  
A free Firefox extension called Yip adds a notification system to the browser that will let you receive a popup when a particular event occurs. Out-of-the-box it works with Meebo and Filttr, but what makes this so cool is that it can easily be extended through the use of Greasemonkey scripts. You’ll already find scripts for services like Gmail, Facebook, and Friendfeed.


update portable firefox.jpgUpdating Portable Firefox
If you’re having troubles getting your Portable Firefox updated this guide will show you some step-by-step instructions on how you can manually update it the easy way.


LiberKey.jpgLiberKey Installs 200+ Portable Apps  
Looking for a way to get some apps on your USB drive? LiberKey will let you install packages that include up to 200+ of the best portable apps you can carry in your pocket.


SKTimeStamp-1.jpgAdjust File Creation Date/Time in Windows   
Have you ever modified a file on accident, and didn’t want anyone to see that you had changed it? The timestamp on the file could surely get you caught red handed, but that’s why apps like this exist so that you can roll it back to anytime you want.


–Downloads–

Copyright © 2010 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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Oct 21

Television networks block Google TV from accessing web-based content (update)

Posted in: Google, GoogleTv, hulu, streaming video, StreamingVideo, Television, Today's Chili, TV

You may be able to watch The Office on your Google TV, but perhaps not on demand — ABC, CBS and NBC are barring Sony and Logitech’s web-infused TVs and set-top-boxes from accessing full episodes of streaming video content. The Wall Street Journal reports that all three networks have confirmed the ban, and that Fox hasn’t yet reached a decision on whether it will ban Google TV as well. For its part, Google says that it’s “ultimately the content owners’ choice to restrict their fans from accessing their content on the platform,” so don’t expect the search company to pitch in, unless it can work out some premium arrangements for all parties involved. This is the part where we’d normally direct you to the simple browser tweak that made Hulu accessible when it pulled the very same stunt, but alas, we’re finding Hulu too is once again blocked.

Update: Reuters reports that Google is “actively negotiating” with the three networks after all.

Television networks block Google TV from accessing web-based content (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 22:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 21

Hands-on with the HP Slate 500

Posted in: Today's Chili

At long last, an actual HP tablet is being officially released–but it may not be exactly what you’d expect. The HP Slate 500 Tablet PC is a 9-inch Windows 7 slate, aimed at business and industrial users, rather than casual consumers.

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Oct 21

AngelBird’s PCIe SSD solution brings breakneck speeds, achievable prices, ‘incremental awesomeness’

Posted in: controller, SSD, Today's Chili
Angelbird's PCIe SSD solution brings breakneck speeds, achievable prices, 'incremental awesomeness'

PCIe SSD solutions tend to be two things: stupidly fast and stupidly expensive. With read performance of up to 1GB/s and writes happening at up to 900MB/s the Angelbird Wings solution certainly has the speed. And, at a starting price of $239 for a 16GB model, the pricing isn’t too bad — for this sort of setup, anyway. What you’re getting for that money is an expandable PCIe controller board with slots for up to four SSDs of 120GB in size, each offering SandForce 1200 controllers. With one board you’ll get pedestrian read and write speeds of just under 300MB/s. But, with each new drive you basically multiply that, with the maximum figures quoted above coming with four. Interestingly, the controller comes with its own onboard Linux flavor called Virtue, a full UI that you can boot directly into and get all your RAID ducks in a row. Full cost for a fully kitted out system with four boards? $1399, which is hardly cheap for a mere 500GB or so of storage, but is a solid price for 1GB/s performance.

AngelBird’s PCIe SSD solution brings breakneck speeds, achievable prices, ‘incremental awesomeness’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 21:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 21

Official Twitter app for Windows Phone 7 goes live (update: hands-on)

Posted in: app, application, available, hands-on, launch, live, Microsoft, official, Today's Chili, twitter, video, windows phone, windows phone 7, WindowsPhone, WindowsPhone7, Wp7

Surprise of surprises! On the day that Europeans finally got to dig into the Windows Phone 7 cake in earnest, Twitter’s official app for the hot new platform has also gone live. We’ve downloaded it to our own WP7 device and are having a play around with it now. If you need a refresher as to what it looks like, check out the video after the break.

Update: Okay, we can neither log in nor get signed up at present, though others have clearly achieved the feat already. Twitter.com itself keeps alternating between its new and old versions, so we suspect there’s quite a bit of work going on behind the scenes at present. To answer your queries, loading time from the live tile menu to the top tweets page above is approximately three seconds, while scrolling is basically identical to the perfection available on WP7’s own apps. Swiping laterally gets you into Trends, Suggested, and Nearby categories which take a couple of moments to load up their tweets, but otherwise match the performance.

Exiting to the live tile menu throws you out of whatever you were doing and re-entering the app — as is par for the Windows Phone 7 course right now — means starting from scratch. The only way you can save you state is by locking the phone, which takes a second or two to resume when unlocked and returns you to the exact point you were at. Great, now let us in, Twitter!

Hold up, reader David Gordon points out that you can hit the live tile menu via the Windows/Start key and then return to Twitter through the Back button, yay, that works too.

Update 2: There are still errors being thrown up, but we finally got ourselves logged in. Well, it looks just like the vid promised it would and the app itself is working flawlessly, there are no processing delays that we can see. Oh, and there’s a landscape mode. Our only bugbear is that there’s no differentiation between your own tweets and those of your friends. Ah well, check out the gallery below.

Gallery: Twitter for Windows Phone 7 hands-on


Continue reading Official Twitter app for Windows Phone 7 goes live (update: hands-on)

Official Twitter app for Windows Phone 7 goes live (update: hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 21:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 21

Atheros Hybrid system merges WiFi with powerline networking in one tidy bundle

Posted in: hybrid, Today's Chili, wifi
Atheros Hybrid system merges WiFi with powerline networking in one tidy bundle

Network routers are increasingly becoming our portals to the world, and the latest model from Atheros, the Hybrid Router, is making that doorway wider than ever. Naturally it supports 802.11 WiFi and Ethernet, just like any good bit of networking kit, but it also adds in HomePlug AV powerline networking. By just plugging the thing’s AC adapter into the wall you’re extending your network signal throughout your abode and, by plugging in one of the company’s Ethernet or WiFi adapters, you can extend your access to places that even microwaves fear to tread. Atheros hasn’t announced pricing for the Hybrid Router or either the wired or wireless powerline range extenders, but all are said to be shipping before the end of the year, so we’ll all be finding out soon enough.

Continue reading Atheros Hybrid system merges WiFi with powerline networking in one tidy bundle

Atheros Hybrid system merges WiFi with powerline networking in one tidy bundle originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 21:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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