Hasta La Gadget!

If you were deciding between the Samsung Galaxy Note II and the Nokia Lumia 920 (and/or Lumia 820, for that matter), but didn’t know if they’d all be working on your favorite carrier AT&T, today’s you’re lucky day! A tip has been dropped today about the Galaxy Note II on how it not only appears to be hitting AT&T as its predecessor the original Note did, but will be appearing on October 21st, the same day as the new Nokia Lumia lineup.

The Samsung Galaxy Note II is a massive 5.5-inch display-having phablet device that’s smaller than a tablet but bigger than a smartphone, complete with a Samsung-made S-Pen for writing on the display and taking notes. This S-Pen works with technology unique to Samsung and fits neatly inside the casing of the mobile device for easy transport. Have a peek at a hand-on video with some of the most recently revealed features in this next-generation device.

A source trusted by BGR has made it clear that the 21st of October will be the launch date for the AT&T version of the Note II, and just like it’s predecessor we can expect no less than 4G LTE connectivity all day long. This device has also been tipped recently as coming to Verizon this Autumn, but no updates have been made on that front. Should this device come to Verizon, it will be going head to head with the LG Intuition (see our full review here).

The Nokia Lumia lineup has been slated for Fall release with both October 21st and November 2nd tipped as release dates. It would make more sense, one would think, to have the release dates for two large releases such as these to be separated by days at least. We’ll know soon enough!

[via Android Community]

Samsung Galaxy Note II may hit AT&T the same day as Nokia is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Yesterday Kanye West’s “Cruel Summer” Mixtape leaked. In the typical grandiose style of ‘ye, it’s packed with just about every artist who’s big in hip hop right now. The morning is one of the songs off the G.O.O.D. Music compilation, and it might be one of the first hip hop bangers to make a Mark Zuckerberg reference. Or at least the first to put ol’ Zuck in a track that also name checks the Illuminati (it does exist). More »

Today the gaming world was reintroduced to one of their most beloved places to do battle with a total conversion remaking of Half-Life 2 by development group Valve Software. After seven full years in development, this release has been not just given away for free on its own, but given away with a full soundtrack as well. This is the fulfilled promise of the Source engine port of Half-Life as made by the developers all those years ago – if you thought Half-Life: Source was awesome, you’re going to have a heart attack today.

This download was made available earlier today through several portals, the most official of these being the [Black Mesa Source Download Page] as provided by Valve. This page will be your one and only location where tried and true – and trusted – sources for the build can be found. As the game modification is given away for free, you will see some advertisements here and there on the webpage, but the final product will be just as ad-free as your original game was and always has been.

That same page shows you the Black Mesa Trailer that you see here above. This trailer was released earlier this month for those that’ve been following the project for several years – and it’s gotten rave reviews in and of itself. Here with this new product, you’ll see above as well, the game mechanics have remained largely the same (to gamers’ glee) while the storyline and overall scale of the game have been exploded with greatness.

You’ll now be playing as Doctor Gordon Freeman right alongside the original cast of environments and characters you’ve grown fond of from the original Half-Life. What you’ve got here instead of the same product is one made much more visually fantastic and immersive. This full reconstruction of Half-Life uses Source to what the developers describe as its “fullest potential” with enlarged level sizes, art detail, and code features galore.

You’ve also got new maps entirely, new models, new voice actors – save some key heroes, and textures. And again, there’s a whole new soundtrack as well that you can also download for free – be sure to donate to the team though if you’re feeling especially appreciative.

The download of this game does have some requirements, those being:

• A copy of any Source Engine game (as seen here).

• Minimum System Requirements
Software : Windows XP, Vista, or 7
Processor : Pentium 4 3.0 GHz, or AMD processor.
RAM : 1GB (1024 MB)
Graphics Card : Shader Model 2.0 capable, ATI 9600, NVidia 6600 or better.
Sound : DirectX 8.1 compatible.
HDD : 8 GB (Not including the Free Source SDK, installed separately)

• Ideal System Requirements
Software : Windows XP, Vista, or 7
Processor : Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz or AMD equivalent.
RAM : 1 GB (1024 MB)
Graphics Card : Shader Model 3.0 capable, ATI X1600, NVidia 7600 or better.
Sound : DirectX 9.0c compatible.
HDD : 8 GB (Not including the Free Source SDK, installed separately)

Fun Fact: the Xbox360 controller is supported for this game – use it!

If you have a Mac, you’re out of luck. It’s not likely that any builds other than what’s listed above will be supported, but we’ll certainly keep you up to date on any developments in the future regarding furtherances of this build. They’ve got Portal on the Mac, maybe we can dream!

Black Mesa download madness hits the Half-Life gamer universe is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Oh hello. Good to see you again. You know the drill—we’ve got a ton of gorgeous things we posted this week. From a giant birdhouse to a repurposed old chair, here are the most beautiful items of the week. More »

If you were interested in any of Sony’s most recent camera revelations, it is now time to ready up that wallet of yours because Amazon’s set to start taking orders pretty shortly. At this very moment, the trio’s listed as “temporarily out of stock,” but this is presumably due to the retailer being in the middle of stocking shelves with the latest and greatest shooters from the Japanese electronics outfit. Still, you can take your pick between that flagship Alpha A99, the mirrorless NEX-6 or the full-frame Cyber-shot RX1 and order one now, though they’re not due to ship until October, November and December, respectively. As expected, both the A99 and RX1 are priced at around $2,800, while the NEX-6 carries a smaller $848 tag — this, of course, being for the body-only flavors. All the links you need are down below, so make sure to bookmark ’em if you’re interested in making one of these your own.

Filed under: Cameras

Amazon starts selling Sony’s Cyber-shot RX1, NEX-6 and Alpha A99 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 18:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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