Hasta La Gadget!

Those who cover the gadget and technology universe in news know that Microsoft is more than ready for a face change – they’re ready for a whole nip and tuck age reduction. With the logo they’ve released today, they’ve made it clear that they’re willing to make their way into the post-PC age – or perhaps the mobile age, if you want to call it that. While many companies flounder with fabulous software and hardware because they don’t want to see their precious graphic design change, Microsoft has hired Pentagram to make it work.

With the new logo, Microsoft takes their lovely equilateral square grid and flattens it out, letting you know that they’re not messing around with frills here in 2012. The logo that came before this one had a faux-3D effect to it with the same flag, extra shadows, and a logotype addition below – and sometimes beside – with italics and a chip taken out of the mark. It was a very well-traveled mess.

Back when it was introduced, of course, it was a masterpiece. With a bit of help from Neatorama you’ll see that the first Micro-Soft logo had them working in the Atari age with lots and lots of lines. Another iteration that existed for just about 12 years had the company keeping with the strange love of shutter-lines in the center O and cutting out the junk in the rest of the now-lovely simple letters.

Then came the italics and the chip – the chip was added by designer Scott Baker who has been reported quite a few times as having added it so it would look like Pac-man. We’ve since evolved way, way past simple silly cuts such as that. Microsoft’s new design will look like a “I could have done that with Photoshop” sort of situation, but it’s no joke.

Machines are getting more and more complex as they’re getting smaller, more portable, and more powerful. We do not see the complexities, we only see the simplicity and the effortless implementation that manufacturers and developers across the board are pushing as their representation to the world. We have as few steps as we’ve ever had now between our wallet and the final product.

Watch the company evolve now perfectly in-sync with their renewed brand power. We’re glad to see this legend in the software business keep up with the times behind the scenes as well as on the surface.

Microsoft’s logo update tells us they’re ready for new era is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Players of the fastest selling PC game in history Diablo III will be glad to find this week that Blizzard, the creator of the game, has added an upgrade that allows characters to level up past 60. This limit on the game has existed since the game’s introduction and now it’ll be dashed apart with a feature called the Paragon system. This new system has you able to move past your initial 60 levels and into a whole new set of 100 levels that bring on Magic Find and Gold Find that stick to you like stats, and you’ll get a whole lot more shiny in groups as well.

This system allows players to progress past level 60 and is what Blizzard hopes will be a way for people to stay interested in one character rather than having to start over constantly when they’re bored with their top-level hero. Blizzard describes the Paragon system with the following set of bonuses:

• After you hit level 60, any further experience you earn from killing monsters will begin to count toward Paragon levels.
• There are 100 Paragon levels

– Every Paragon level will reward you with:
• Core stats such as Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Vitality in amounts similar to what you’d gain from a normal level
• 3% Magic Find and 3% Gold Find

• In addition, a distinctive increasingly-impressive border will surround your character portrait in the in-game party frame to denote your Paragon progression, with a new frame earned after every ten levels. Your Paragon level will also be visible to other players wherever your normal level is shown.

This upgrade also changes the game to include a 300% cap on Magic Find and Gold Find. When you reach level 100 in Paragon, you’ll no longer need Magic Find or Gold Find gear because your character will be maxed out no matter what. Nephalem Valor, a system which gives level 60 characters incentive to fight multiple enemies in the same game rather than leaving a game to create a new game to fight that same monster. With the Paragon system in place, NV also adds 15% to your experience gain to level up inside the Paragon system.

So head on out and start leveling up 100 more levels, all you Diablo III addicts! Then wait a few more months and perhaps there’ll be more levels still, with another different title besides!

Be sure to check out the diverse timeline of Diablo III news bits and columns below, and let us know if you’re playing the game right now!

[via Blizzard]

Diablo III upgrades to level 160 with Paragon system is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Acer rose a place to become the world’s third biggest PC maker this quarter, with net profits rising to $14.48 million, up from $11.2 million last quarter. It’s the second positive period since it ended 2011 with a $212 million loss, but the financial crises in the US, Europe, China and Asia Pacific all hampering its recovery. Like many of its PC brethren, it’s pinning hopes on Windows 8 to spark a buying frenzy, but thanks to tight margins, only expects profits to be “on par” with those it’s just announced.

[Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons]

Continue reading Acer scrapes $14.5 million in profit as it becomes world’s third biggest PC maker

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Acer scrapes $14.5 million in profit as it becomes world’s third biggest PC maker originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Aug 2012 07:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After delivering an overachieving laptop, Lenovo has delivered financial results that also exceeded expectations, producing $8 billion in revenue and $141 million net profit. Those figures are up 35 and 30 percent respectively over last year, which the company has chalked up to a higher than ever market share of 15 percent. That growth came in part from a 59 percent sales bump in emerging markets like India and Brazil, on top of a 9 percent spurt in its home market — lifting the company 24 percent in world-wide PC shipments for the quarter. Lenovo has also become the second largest player in China’s smartphone market, after Samsung, now up to a 13 percent market share. CEO Yang Yuanqing also proclaimed that, unlike other Redmond partners, he wasn’t stressed about Microsoft’s Surface tablet — and that his company had “much better hardware” than the software giant.

Continue reading Lenovo’s Q1 shows ‘record high’ market share, profits up 30 percent to $141 million

Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

Lenovo’s Q1 shows ‘record high’ market share, profits up 30 percent to $141 million originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 06:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been almost a year since Thrustmaster rolled out its first replica Ferrari 458 Italia racing wheel and pedal set for Xbox 360, and the company’s finally outed its successor: the Ferrari Vibration GT Cockpit 458 Italia Edition. Like its elder, the GT Cockpit has an 11.2-inch replica of the Ferrari 458 Italia’s steering wheel, with A,B, X and Y buttons in place of turn signals and an Engine Start button that’s actually a d-pad. It also sports brushed metal paddle shifters and 16-bit resolution to ensure a realistic digital driving experience. However, the new wheel is attached to a base sporting a pair of stamped steel pedals via an adjustable steering column. The whole thing has metal underpinnings and weighs 22 pounds to provide stability as you virtually race around Sebring or Laguna Seca. Plus, it’s foldable, so you can easily stow it out of the way when you’re not doing your best Stig impersonation.

In addition to the GT Cockpit, Thrustmaster has also outed the GPX LightBack Ferrari F1 Edition Gamepad. It largely looks like a standard corded 360 controller, with a Ferrari-style white and red paint job (replete with racing sponsor logos), backlit thumbsticks and two rows of LEDs at the top of the controller. The LEDs are programmed to provide visual indicators for engine speed or braking power, and the thumbsticks have been tweaked to be more precise than those on other available 360 gamepads. The F1 gamepad’s up for pre-order today for $49.99, and the GT Cockpit can be yours in September for $300. Wanna know more? Check out our hands (and feet)-on impressions after the break.

Continue reading Thrustmaster unveils Ferrari Vibration GT Cockpit 458 Italia Edition and Ferrari gamepad for Xbox 360, we go hands-on

Filed under: Gaming

Thrustmaster unveils Ferrari Vibration GT Cockpit 458 Italia Edition and Ferrari gamepad for Xbox 360, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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