Mereja

Author: Zach Walton

  • Microsoft Office 15 and Office 365 Now Available For Windows 8

    Microsoft has often touted Windows 8 as an operating system for consumers. It has been arguably successful thus far, but Microsoft hasn’t forgotten its bread and butter – the enterprise and productivity markets. For those consumers, Microsoft is finally launching the newest version of Office today.

    Compared to past launches of Office, this one is a little different. Microsoft will be launching two distinct versions of its productivity software for different consumers. The first is the traditional Office 15 that customers will pay a one time fee for. The second is the cloud-based Office 365 that Microsoft has offered for some time now, but it now includes the updated Office 15 tools for Windows 8.

    The traditional Office 15 will come in multiple flavors depending on the user’s needs. The three versions available include Office Home & Student 2013, Office Home & Business 2013, and Office Professional 2013. What makes these stand out over previous versions of Office is that they’re built specifically for Windows 8 and its new touch controls. Working on a text document or spreadsheet with touch controls doesn’t sound super exciting, but at least it’s an option.

    Those wanting to get the newest versions of Office better be prepared to break the bank, however, as Microsoft’s usual pricing is in full effect for the newest versions of Office. Home & Student 2013 costs $139.99, Home & Business costs $219.99, and Professional costs $399.99.

    If you want a cheaper option, you’ll want to go for Office 365 Home Premium. With the service, users will have access the entire software suite included in Office for $99.99 a year. With the annual subscription, you can also install Office on up to five devices. Students have it even better as Microsoft offers special pricing of only $80 for a four year subscription. University students, staff and faculty are eligible for the promotion.

    For a limited time, Microsoft is also offering one month of Office 365 Home Premium for free. The free trial nets you the entire Office software suite, 20GB of SkyDrive storage and 60 minutes of Skype calls. You can grab it here. Businesses can also try a limited trial of Office 365 with small businesses (50 or less employees) getting a 90-day trial and midsize businesses (50,000 or less) getting a 30 day trial. You can view all your options here.

    [h/t: Business Insider]

  • NuoDB Officially Launches Its Cloud-Based Database

    Developers need scalable databases more than ever for their apps. Of course, this presents a problem for those apps that become really popular and need more room to grow. It might prove too costly for some developers to traditionally scale their database, but a new startup is challenging that notion with a cloud-based database that easily scales to developers’ needs.

    NuoDB announced that its new cloud-based database service has officially launched. The new system operates on what the company calls the “12 Rules for a Cloud Data Management System:”

  • Modern Superset of an RDBMS
  • Elastic Scale-out for Extreme Performance
  • Single Logical Database
  • Run Anywhere, Scale Anywhere
  • Nonstop Availability
  • Dynamic Multi-tenancy
  • Active/Active Geo-distribution
  • Embrace Cloud
  • Store Anywhere, Store Redundantly
  • Workload Mix
  • Tunable Durability Guarantees
  • Distributed Security
  • Empower Developers & Administrators

    • With these rules in hand, NuoDB set to change the way developers use databases:

    “After a comprehensive trial and intense listening to our 3,500 beta customers, NuoDB is ready for market,” stated Barry Morris. “Our Cloud Data Management System is a game changer. We are challenging the industry to offer comparable elastic scaling, over 1 million transactions per second performance on just $50,000 worth of commodity hardware as published in our latest benchmark report, as well as the many other cloud-friendly features found in our NuoDB Starlings release.”

    For the more visual-oriented among us, here’s a helpful video that explains what makes NuoDB different from the rest:

    NuoDB in 90 seconds from NuoDB on Vimeo.

    NuoDB is already in use by a number of large clients who are using it to build out expansive, scalable databases. One in particular, NorthPoint, has nothing but praise for NuoDB’s service:

    “NuoDB is launching a revolution in the database world by leveraging commodity storage. For the first time, an application’s storage requirements can be satisfied using a pool of shared resources, operating in a fully-elastic way, as the nature of cloud computing requires,” said Richard Cooley, Managing Partner, NorthPoint. “The database is no longer a monolithic, resource-intensive burden with limited scalability. While still maintaining the documented benefits of ACID and SQL, NuoDB is about as disruptive as it gets.”

    Developers have three options to choose from when it comes to deploying NuoDB. The first is a free option that offers 2 hosts, 4GB of storage, unlimited databases and limited deployment. The second is the Pro version that supports 2 or more hosts, 16GB to multi-petabytes, full deployment and starts at $1,200 a year. Finally, there’s the developer version that offers all the benefits of Pro, but lacks deployment options. It’s free, however, so developers can just go crazy with it.

    [h/t: Computer World]

  • Windows 8 Adoption Is Slow Going, Windows Phone Cracks 1 Percent

    According to Microsoft, the company has officially sold 60 million Windows 8 licenses. The number accounts for upgrades, individual purchase and the bulk purchases made by OEMs. It seems many of the latter licenses haven’t been put in use yet as Windows 8 has yet to hit a growth explosion.

    Net Applications recently updated its desktop OS market share numbers for December 2012, and Windows 8 is still having a rough time of it. At the end of December, Windows 8 only made up 1.72 percent of the entire desktop OS market. That’s only a .63 percent jump from November’s numbers. We can give Windows 8 some slack because it’s still relatively new, but it’s still looking a little sluggish.

    As for Windows in general, Windows 7 is obviously still on top after it finally dethroned Windows XP in September of last year. Since then, you can see that Windows 7 has been growing at almost the exact same rate at which Windows XP is declining. That means Windows XP users are upgrading to Windows 7 instead of 8. Not exactly the best news for Microsoft, but it shows that people may finally be wising up to the security risks the outdated Windows XP poses. It could also just mean that PC gamers are finally starting to realize that they need Windows 7 if they want to take advantage of DirectX 11.

    Just like with mobile browsers, Apple still rules the mobile OS scene. iOS has a majority of the market with 60.13 percent. Android is lagging far behind with only 24.6 percent. Samsung may finally be beating Apple in handset sales, but the numbers also account for tablets. Apple’s iPad is unmatched in sales so it makes sense for iOS to have such a large presence here.

    Of particular interest, however, is the growth of Windows Phone. Microsoft launched Windows Phone 8 in November with the hopes of finally becoming a major player in the smartphone market. Did it work? Not really, but it was enough to finally push Windows Phone over 1 percent.

    It will be interesting to see how Windows 8 and Windows Phone both grow in the coming year. Microsoft has bet a lot on these two products, but it doesn’t look like either is gaining much traction as of yet. There’s talk of a “relaunch” for Windows 8 happening in February that would help Microsoft refocus its efforts on getting the OS into the hand of more consumers. If successful, we could see a marked jump in market share in February’s numbers.

  • Internet Explorer 10 Adoption Slow Going, Still Strong Overall

    In a perfect world, everybody who uses Internet Explorer would be on the latest version so all the problems affecting IE8 wouldn’t be happening. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on who you ask, IE10 is only available on Windows 8. That means Microsoft’s latest browser isn’t doing super well in its second month on the market since Windows 8 isn’t doing that well either.

    Despite having sold 60 million Windows 8 licenses since launching at the end of October, the latest browser marketshare numbers from Net Applications shows that Internet Explorer 10 hasn’t even cracked one percent yet. Being exclusive to Windows 8 isn’t doing the browser any favors. There’s a beta for IE10 on Windows 7, but it has received little to no publicity from Microsoft. It probably didn’t add much to these numbers.

    That being said, Internet Explorer is still king. Overall, the browser still has a majority of the browser marketshare at 54.77 percent. When broken down, the constantly hacked Internet Explorer 8 is used the most with 23 percent of the marketshare and the much safer Internet Explorer 9 coming in 21 percent.

    As for the other browsers, Firefox and Chrome are still battling it out for second place. Firefox was in the lead in December with 19.82 percent of the market while Chrome lagged closely behind with 18.04 percent. Safari and Opera came in at 5.24 percent and 1.71 percent respectively.

    In mobile browsers, Apple Safari for iOS is still by and large the dominant force with 60.56 percent of the marketshare. The generic Android browser and Opera Mini are the only other mobile browsers with percentages in the double digits with 22.10 percent and 10.71 percent respectively. Chrome is picking up pace, however, as it has increased from 0 percent to 1.48 percent in only a year. Not bad for a relative newcomer to the mobile browser scene.

  • BioShock Infinite Mockumentary Explores The Origins Of Columbia

    I may not have been the biggest fan of the original BioShock, but I absolutely adored the world of Rapture. I was more concerned with finding the audio logs from its residents more than I was the central narrative because I had to know more about the underwater hell I was exploring. BioShock Infinite’s Columbia inspires similar feelings of awe and wonder, but now we have a documentary to fill in some of the pieces before the game launches in March.

    2K Games released a mockumentary today titled, “Columbia: A Modern Day Icarus?” It explores the origins of the floating city of Columbia with some expertly edited photos and video footage from the late 1800s/early 1900s. It’s probably the best trailer released for the game yet. Check it out:

    If you’re like me, you’re probably wanting an entire short feature done in this mockumentary style now. The world of BioShock Infinite looks compelling enough to deserve a short film exploring its world. Maybe the troubled BioShock film can be converted into a BioShock Infinite film. The themes and iconography of the game would probably play better to an American audience instead of the Ayn Rand drenched world of the original.

    BioShock Infinite will be available on March 26 for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

  • Self-Replicating 3D Printers Are Among Us

    Self-replication has always been a pipe dream of futurists and technologists. Why should we have to waste time and resources making new parts for a broken down machine when the machine can just make the replacement parts itself? It’s not exactly feasible in most industries as of yet, but it is entirely possible in the 3D printing industry.

    Objet recently showed off how its researchers experiment with minor design changes to its 3D printers. The team will create multiple “ABS-like parts that are drilled, assembled and then used as short run end-parts in an Objet Desktop 3D printer to test a new design tweak.”

    For printers from a professional design 3D printer company like Objet, 3D printed parts can only do so much. The smaller companies like MakerBot, however, have already created 3D printers that can make be made almost entirely by another 3D printer. There are other “indie” 3D printers that have found success on Kickstarter based on the promise of an open source design that can be created by other 3D printers.

    All that being said, it probably won’t be long before industrial 3D printers can replace their own parts. We might even be able to upgrade older printers with newer 3D printed parts in the near future. The constantly evolving nature of 3D printing technology makes everyday an adventure in innovation.

  • Calling All Hackers: Google Wants You To Break Chrome OS At Pwnium 3

    Pwnium is the annual hacker competition where Google invites coders from around the world to find security holes in Google Chrome. That changes this year as Google wants hackers to break both of its Chromium projects.

    Google announced today that Chrome will be one of the browsers hackers can take on at the annual Pwn2Own Competition. This year’s competition is hosted by HP’s Zero Day Initiative alongside Google, the latter of which will be underwriting a portion of the winnings for all targets – including non-Chromium browsers. The event will last between March 6-8 in Vancouver, BC. You can register here.

    At the CanSecWest conference on March 7, Google will be hosting its own competition – the third annual Pwnium. Instead of hacking Chrome, however, Google will task hackers with breaking Chrome OS. The company will be offering rewards in the following categories with up to $3.14 million in prize money up for grabs:

  • $110,000: browser or system level compromise in guest mode or as a logged-in user, delivered via a web page.
  • $150,000: compromise with device persistence — guest to guest with interim reboot, delivered via a web page.

    • Hackers attempting these challenges will have to use a base Wi-Fi model of the Samsung Series 5 550 Chromebook. You are allowed to use any installed software, including the kernel and drivers. You can also use a virtual machine if you do not have the required hardware.

    Last year’s big winner was a teenage hacker who went by the alias of Pinkie Pie. It’s unknown if he will be bringing his skills back to Pwnium 3 to take on the much more difficult task of cracking Chrome OS. Either way, it’s going to be interesting to see if anybody can crack Chrome OS.

  • Mozilla Was Most Trusted Internet Company For Privacy In 2012

    January 28 is Data Privacy Day. It’s a topic that has become increasingly more important in recent years as more of our information moves to the Internet. Consumers are largely untrusting when it comes to Internet companies, but one has at least earned more trust than others.

    A study from the Ponemon Institute found that Mozilla was the most trusted Internet company for privacy in 2012. The non-profit ranked number one in the Internet & Social Media category and number 20 overall. The study doesn’t detail the competition, but we can assume that Mozilla beat out the likes of Google, Facebook and Twitter.

    In accepting the award, Mozilla says that it doesn’t strive to win awards when it comes to its users’ privacy:

    This is certainly quite a distinction and the product of a user-centric philosophy implemented by contributors to the Mozilla project over the past decade. Engineers, UX designers, security, engagement, IT and privacy folks have made thousands of small decisions over the years that have collectively created the user trust reflected by this survey. This recognition is not something we sought, as we don’t view privacy as an end unto itself, but it’s greatly appreciated given all the complexities and nuances associated with privacy and security today.

    That being said, Mozilla finds that the rankings only detail the inherent distrust consumers have for online services. It hopes that itself and others can fix that perception going forward:

    The rankings have another implication. It means we as an industry all have a lot more work to do. It’s unfortunate that users largely distrust the ecosystem of online service and application providers. What we really want is an environment where those of us developing Internet and social media services and applications deepen trust in a way that empowers and protects users and engenders confidence. We all have to continue our efforts — both big and small — to create a more trustworthy environment of online products that seamlessly integrate ease of use, transparency, and user choice.

    Speaking of other companies, Google and Facebook both detailed new privacy initiatives today to coincide with Data Privacy Day. Google says that it requires search warrants whenever law enforcement requests a user’s information. It also notifies users when their information is being requested. As for Facebook, the company’s Chief Privacy Officer, Erin Egan, will be accepting questions from users to keep the privacy dialog transparent and accessible to all.

  • Pentagon To Expand Its Cybersecurity Force To Over 4,000 People

    Cyber warfare has been a popular trope in books and film since the 80s, but it’s never really felt like a real thing until recently. Every day, there are new reports of hacking attacks made by individuals and countries against their rivals and adversaries. The U.S. military rightly thinks this trend is only going to continue, and is now preparing to greatly expand its cyber warfare capabilities.

    The New York Times reports that the Pentagon is preparing to expand the Defense Department’s Cyber Command to more than 4,000 people. The center only has about 900 personnel currently working for it. With the expansion, the Defense Department hopes to create three different forces – national mission forces, combat mission forces and cyber protection forces. The first would protect national infrastructure, the second would execute cyberattacks against enemies, and the third would protect the Pentagon’s computer systems from unauthorized intrusions.

    It’s an ambitious plan, but the Pentagon recognizes that it’s a challenging one as well. Defense officials say that it will be difficult to find and train thousands of people in something as complicated as cyber defense. That being said, the military says that the threat of a cyber attack is “real” and it needs to bolster its defenses before something disastrous like Stuxnet attacks U.S. infrastructure.

    The Pentagon’s move to expand its cyber forces comes as the number of cyber attacks against private and public organizations increase every year. Anonymous has been a major source of these attacks with its latest target being the U.S. government. The government also regularly attributes a number of attacks against its systems to China or Russia. The most recent being a supposed Chinese cyber attack against the White House’s servers.

    Alongside an increase to the Pentagon’s cyber defenses, the U.S. government will most assuredly propose more legislation that will beef up security. CISPA and CSA were defeated last year after privacy and government regulation concerns were brought to light, but some lawmakers will undoubtedly bring it up again this year. It’s also been suggested that President Obama will issue an executive order to institute a number of cybersecurity rules in the country.

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  • Gatorade Contains Flame Retardant No More: PepsiCo To Remove Controversial Ingredient

    You may not know this, but certain citrus flavors of Gatorade contains an ingredient called brominated vegetable oil. The bromine chemical in the ingredient is somewhat controversial as it’s used in flame retardants. As such, it’s illegal to use as a food additive in most countries except for the United States and Canada. Some companies, however, are beginning to voluntarily remove the ingredient from their products.

    Reuters reports that PepsiCo will be removing BVO from its citrus flavored Gatorade drinks in the coming months. Many people are attributing the change to a petition started by a 15-year-old girl named Sarah Kavanagh from Mississippi. Kavanagh’s petition on Change.org had received more than 200,000 signatures before PepsiCo announced the change.

    Speaking to Reuters, a spokesperson for Gatorade said that the change wasn’t the direct result from any one petition. The company says that it had planned to remove the ingredient for some time now, but the public announcement just happened to come as soon as Kavanagh’s petition went viral.

    That being said, Kavanagh is still celebrating the victory that she shares with numerous food safety watchdog groups around the nation. One in particular, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told Reuters that it applauds “PepsiCo for doing the responsible thing and voluntary getting [BVO] out of Gatorade.”

    Gatorade may be ridding itself of BVO, but numerous other citrus soft drinks include the controversial ingredient. The removal from Gatorade may convince soft-drink manufacturers to remove it from their other products though.

  • RIM Announces Large Selection Of Film, TV Shows And Music For BlackBerry 10

    RIM will be launching BlackBerry 10 to the public later this week. It could very well succeed, but it must become more than an enterprise device if it’s going to do so. RIM’s latest move may very well just make it an attractive consumer device as well.

    The BlackBerry World for BlackBerry 10 will feature a large selection of media when it launches later this week. RIM announced that the store will feature the latest movies, TV shows and music for consumers who want to check out their media on the go.

    To make things even sweeter, RIM announced that it would be getting films same day as the DVD release, and TV shows the day after broadcast. The move helps BlackBerry 10 be more attractive to the regular consumer that may have moved away from BlackBerry after it fell behind Android and iOS in media content availability.

    “Music and video content is an integral part of a rich mobile experience. People want easy and convenient access to their favorite music, movies and TV shows wherever they are,” said Frank Boulben, Chief Marketing Officer at Research In Motion. “RIM is committed to working with content providers to bring the best, most up-to-date content to our customers with BlackBerry 10, and to make it easy for them to get what they want.”

    Video downloads and rentals will initially be available only to customers in the U.S., UK and Canada. Films and TV shows from pretty much every distributor will be available, including independent labels.

    As for music, there will be plenty of content from all the major and independent labels. Unlike visual media, music on BlackBerry 10 will be available in 18 countries at launch. These include Canada, U.S., UK, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, South Africa, Spin, Australia, India, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore.

    I was a little worried at first as RIM was only showing off enterprise features with BlackBerry 10. Granted, the company’s most important customers come from the enterprise market, but it needs to appeal to consumers to really get a foothold in the mobile industry again. This latest move is a big step in appealing to those who want more than just enhanced security and job contacts on their mobile devices.

  • iPad 5 To See Complete Redesign, Will Launch In October [Report]

    The iPhone 5 was the first major change to Apple’s iconic mobile device since the iPhone 4. The move to a 4-inch display was the most noticeable change, but there was a number of small adjustments that made it another hit for the Cupertino-based company. The same, however, could not be said for the iPad as its fourth iteration featured no discernable aesthetic difference. That all may change this year.

    In a report from iLounge, Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Horwitz claims to have seen a “supposedly accurate” physical model of the iPad 5. In his report, he claims that the iPad 5 will be noticeably smaller than its predecessors. In fact, the next-generation iPad will be taking a cue from the iPad Mini by removing the left and right bezels and reducing the size of the top and bottom bezels to only include enough room for the home button and camera.

    So, when we will see this supposedly redesigned next-generation iPad? Horwitz says that Apple is targeting an October release after its previously planned March launch slipped through its fingers. The delay is welcome, however, as it gives Apple ample time to perfect the newest iPad into something that may just wow critics after the disappointing fourth-generation iPad.

    The iPad 5 may be the star of this report, but Horwitz adds more credence to the rumors of two iPhones launching this year. He says that the iPhone 5S will look much like the iPhone 5, but feature a larger flash. The other iPhone model coming this year is the same rumored cheaper iPhone that features a plastic body. It will be sold to emerging markets like China where most of the population can’t afford the regular iPhone.

    As for that rumored bigger iPhone, Horwitz says that it’s in the planning stages. He says that it will feature a 4.7-inch display. You shouldn’t get too excited though as he says it may never come to market. It’s only experimental for now, and it may just remain that way.

  • #OpLastResort Is Anonymous’ Latest Fight Against U.S. Government

    Ever since the death of Aaron Swartz, hacktivist collective Anonymous has been on the warpath against those it blames for his death. MIT’s Web site was immediately taken offline and defaced in the wake of his death, but now Anonymous is going after a much bigger entity – the U.S. government.

    Over the weekend, Anonymous hacked and defaced ussc.gov – the U.S. Sentencing Commission Web site. ZDNet reports that the hack left the Web site unavailable for a number of hours. The Web site has been intermittently down since then. Anonymous also obtained a wealth of classified information that it’s now holding ransom.

    The ransom is the central part of #OpLastResort. Nobody knows what the 900 MB encrypted file contains, but Anonymous says that it holds particularly sensitive information. In fact, the group has taken to calling it a warhead, and says it will release the decryption keys if its demands for legal reform are not met.

    Here’s the statement that comes with the “Anonymous Warhead:”

    Citizens of the world,

    Anonymous has observed for some time now the trajectory of justice in the United States with growing concern. We have marked the departure of this system from the noble ideals in which it was born and enshrined. We have seen the erosion of due process, the dilution of constitutional rights, the usurpation of the rightful authority of courts by the “discretion” of prosecutors. We have seen how the law is wielded less and less to uphold justice, and more and more to exercise control, authority and power in the interests of oppression or personal gain.

    Since the release of the encryption information, Anonymous has been attacking the Sentencing Commission Web site non-stop. ZDNet reports that Anonymous defaced the Web site a second time, but this time turned it into a game of Asteroids that visitors to the site would play to reveal a message from Anonymous. There was no new information in regards to #OpLastResort as Anonymous is still focused on spreading its “warhead” to the corners of the net.

    All of this is still a little unreal. It’s hard to believe that Anonymous was able to obtain any kind of classified information since the group has threatened similar information releases in the past, but never came through in the end. That being said, Anonymous was responsible for the Stratfor dump on Wikileaks so the group has proven that it can grab sensitive information when it really wants to. It seems that Swartz’ death has proven to be quite the potent catalyst for extreme action on the part of Anonymous – extreme action that we’ve not see in quite some time.

    We’ll continue to follow this story, and let you know if Anonymous does anything else. The ussc.gov Web site is still down, and it looks like Anonymous isn’t quite finished with it just yet. There’s also reports that Anonymous may be targeting other U.S. government Web sites as well. It seems that #OpLastResort is going to get far more interesting before all of this is over.

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  • Google Developers Talk About The Future Of Dart

    In 2011, Google introduced the Dart programming language as an alternative to JavaScript. It’s been a little over a year now since it launched. It’s come a long way since then, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.

    In today’s Google Developers’ Office Hours, the Dart team talks about the latest developments in the programming language. They also address what the next year and beyond will hold for Dart. If you are a fan of Dart or want to know more about Google’s foray into programming languages, you’ll want to check it out:

    As an added bonus, here’s a video on how to enable continuous integration with Drone.io using Dart:

  • The Web Can Be A Dangerous Place: Learn To Protect Yourself

    Malware, phishing scams and other dangerous entities are all over the Web these days. A report from earlier this month said 2013 was going to be even worse than 2012 in regards to the proliferation of malware across the net. It’s now more important than ever to protect yourself, but perhaps you don’t know how. That’s where these helpful tips come in.

    Google thought it was high time to remind its users once again how to remain safe and secure on the Web. The following video contains a number of common sense tips, but you’d be surprised by how many people don’t actually actively protect their computers from Web-born attacks and malware.

    As I said, a lot of these are common sense safeguards that you can put into place. I would like to give special attention, however, to the 2-step verification process. I never used the feature for my Google account because I’m careful about who I give my personal email address to and never ventured outside the “safe boundaries” of the Web without the proper precautions. Even with all my precaution, my account was almost hijacked by a hacker out of China. It was a much needed wake up call.

    In short, if you use a personal email client, you really need to take advantage of the security options that your service provider employs. If you’re proactive about security now, you won’t have to deal with the fallout of having your online identity stolen later.

  • Objet And Stratasys Celebrate Merger With 3D Printed Pen Holder

    For the longest time, there were two giants in the world of 3D printing – Stratasys and Objet. These two companies announced a merger in early 2012, and completed said merger in December. Now the company is combining its forces to continue innovating in the 3D printing space.

    Objet recently showed off a 3D printed card and pen holder that’s made up of two parts. Each part was printed on a different printer from each company, and the pieces fit together perfectly. It’s never explicitly stated, but it’s like this particular piece is a metaphor for how well Objet and Stratasys fit together.

    Here’s how they made it:

    This card and pen holder was created to illustrate the range of possibilities using Stratasys’ different 3D printing technologies. One half of the model is created using FDM technology in ABSi material – strong, light, durable and suitable for real production requirements. The second part is created using Inkjet multi-material jetting technology which deposits 2 photopolymer-based materials at the same time and mimics the precise look and feel of more complex end products. This part features extremely smooth surfaces, fine details and embedded writing in a separate material. Together, using both FDM and Inkjet technology, designers and manufacturers can cover the entire gamut of Fit, Form and Functional Prototyping and Rapid Manufacturing requirements!

    The Objet blog states that this particular model is the first thing made since the merger of the two companies. It’s not as impressive as some previous models featured on the blog, but it’s still incredibly awesome. It will be exciting to see what these two companies, with their combined powers, can cook up in 2013.

  • Resident Evil 6 For PC Gets Exclusive Mercenaries Mode

    Resident Evil 6 was critically panned when it first launched, but that hasn’t dissuaded Capcom from releasing the PC port in March. In fact, the publisher announced a new mode exclusive to the PC version that should provide a hearty challenge to the most hardcore players.

    Capcom announced today that Resident Evil 6 for the PC will launch with a new mode for the popular Mercenaries game type. It’s called No Mercy, and it throws more enemies at players than was possible on consoles. Furthermore, Capcom will release a benchmark test before the title’s launch so PC players can determine if their PC is up to snuff. You can check out the system requirements here.

    PC players aren’t the only ones getting some new Resident Evil 6 content in the future, however, as the console versions will be getting a new multiplayer mode called “Seige” in March. The add-on pack supports two to six players who are spread across two teams. One team consists of monsters trying to kill an AI controlled BSAA agent while the other team is made up of the cast from RE6 trying to protect him. In short, Capcom has turned the escort mission into a multiplayer mode. This is innovation, folks.

    The new Seige mode will retail for $3.99 when it launches sometime in March for the PS3 and Xbox 360. This mode, alongside previously released DLC, will be available for the PC version shortly after its launch on March 22.

    In other Resident Evil news, Capcom will be bringing a hi-def port of 3DS title, Resident Evil Revelations, to the PS3, Xbox 360, PC and Wii U in May.

  • Give Your Smartphone The Iron Throne Its Always Deserved

    Are you sick of your iPhone 5 not having a dock to sit comfortably in? Are you a huge Game of Thrones fan? If you answered yes to both, this latest 3D printed creation may be just for you.

    Instructables user mstyle183 has recreated a miniature Iron Throne that will comfortably seat an iPhone 5 or other mobile devices. The beauty of 3D printing is that the creator can adjust the size of the dock on the fly for any type of phone without changing the overall design.

    Check out a few pictures of the dock complete with iPhone 5:

    Iron Throne Smartphone

    Iron Throne Smartphone

    You can download the dock’s design from its Instructables page. If you don’t have a 3D printer, you can purchase it from the creator’s Web site for $49.99.

    [h/t: 3ders]

  • Microsoft Blames PC Makers For Slow Windows 8 Sales [Report]

    Microsoft released its quarterly earnings report yesterday, and there was a bit of good news for the company’s Windows business. The company announced that it had sold 60 million Windows 8 licenses and that it was making more money off of the operating system than last year. Windows 8 is performing worse than Windows 7 and Vista, however, and Microsoft is putting the blame on its hardware partners.

    In a report from The Register, a source close to Microsoft say that the company is blaming PC makers for the lackluster Windows 8 sales that the company has seen thus far. Microsoft says its hardware partners are not following the “clear and specific guidance” it gave on how Windows 8 hardware should look and operate, specifically the touchscreen input that it wanted in every machine.

    PC makers are reportedly objecting to Microsoft’s accusations saying that its “guidance” would have led to expensive PCs that nobody would understand or want. It would have led them to the situation that Microsoft is in now with its Surface RT tablet – a lot of expensive product rotting on shelves. The manufacturers also blame the rise of cheap alternatives, like Android tablets, and a marketing campaign that didn’t properly explain Windows RT. In fact, the latter is the very reason that Samsung won’t be bringing its Windows RT tablet to the U.S.

    All of this reeks a little of deja vu as Microsoft has occasionally been at odds with its hardware partners over the decisions it makes. The most recent was its secret development of the Surface tablet that was a complete surprise to hardware partners.

    It’s not like any of this is going to suddenly destroy the long standing relationship between Microsoft and OEMs though. Both realize that they need the other to survive. The PC is still a popular piece of hardware even if global shipments are falling. Maybe what’s best is that both parties temper their expectations and aggressively market to its strongest allies – the power user, enterprise and education.

    So, what is Microsoft going to do in response to sluggish Windows 8 sales? The Register’s source says the company will be rebooting the launch of Windows 8 alongside the launch of the Surface Pro tablet on February 9. It’s not known what form this “reboot” will take, but it could very well tie into the rumored Windows Blue launch scheduled for 2013.

    It will be interesting to see how much of this pans out in the coming year. A reboot of Windows 8 this soon after the launch might be seen as a sign of Microsoft’s admittance that Windows 8 was a “disaster,” but it could also be the best thing to happen to the struggling operating system.

  • Go Daddy’s First Of Two Super Bowl Ads Is Better Than Last Year’s

    Go Daddy has broadcast ads during the Super Bowl for the past nine years. Last year’s ads were not received very well, and we suggested that Go Daddy change its strategy. The company will once again have two ads going up this year, and the first has been revealed. Does it remedy the errors of the past?

    The first ad to be revealed this year is called “YourBigIdea.CO.” As you can obviously tell, the ad is trying to sell you Go Daddy’s new .co domains. The ad implicates that .co domains are the new Gold Rush of the Internet age. If you get one, you’ll become incredibly wealthy.

    Compared to last year’s ads, this ad is way better. It seems that Go Daddy may be done with trying to exclusively use sex appeal to sell domains. Sure, some of the men watching the game may like the models that Go Daddy employs for its ads, but it doesn’t exactly sell its product. To be fair, however, Super Bowl ads have always been more about entertaining viewers than trying to sell a product.

    According to Ad Week, Go Daddy has one more ad that it will reveal soon. The other ad will star supermodel Bar Refaeli alongside longtime Go Daddy spokesperson Danica Patrick.

    In other Super Bowl ad news, Hulu recently kicked off its Ad Zone once again. The site will feature all the Super Bowl 2013 ads in real time as they appear during the game. Viewers will then vote on which ads are their favorite. Go Daddy better hope viewers respond more favorably to its ads this time.