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  • Intel’s CEO Ejected After Relationship with Employee Revealed

    Intel’s CEO Ejected After Relationship with Employee Revealed

    Brian Krzanich, Intel’s CEO, has been forced from his position and from the board. This move follows Krzanich’s “consensual relationship” with an employee. Such a relationship would violate the company’s non-fraternization policy. While the incident is said to have occurred “some time ago,” it is just now being brought to light.

    Intel’s Statement 

    Regarding the CEO stepping down, the company stated this.  

    “An ongoing investigation by internal and external counsel has confirmed a violation of Intel’s non-fraternization policy, which applies to all managers. Given the expectation that all employees will respect Intel’s values and adhere to the company’s code of conduct, the Board has accepted Mr. Krzanich’s resignation.” 

    According to those familiar with the situation, the relationship occurred, and ended, some time ago. Exactly how long ago, and with whom, has not been said. However, such fraternization is in direct violation of company policies, regardless of when it occurred.  

    CFO Robert Swan is now the acting CEO while the board looks for a long-term candidate for the position.  

    Tough Times for Intel 

    This sudden change in leadership couldn’t come at a worse time for the company. They have led the market in processor manufacturing for years, but there are many threats to their dominance on the horizon. The looming specter of cloud processing and artificial intelligence have been hanging over the company for the past five years or so. More immediately, companies like Nvidia, Qualcomm and Apple have been making strides in their own processor production. Notably, AMD recently showed off a 32-core “Threadripper” processor that handily beat all of Intel’s strongest chips in benchmark tests.  

    No company ever wants their CEO to be suddenly ousted amidst a small scandal. Intel, in particular, though, was in no place for this to occur. With the competition heating up and computing landscape changing, the last thing Intel needed was uncertainty in leadership. While this certainly doesn’t spell doom for the chip-making giant, it doesn’t bode well for investors. The competition is certainly sharpening their knives, though. 

  • Major Phone Providers to Stop Selling Your Location

    Major Phone Providers to Stop Selling Your Location

    Data brokers have been accessing phone location services for as long as cell phones have had location tracking. However, in the our modern, breach-sensitive era, such actions make customers understandably upset. Recently, a company called Securus was revealed to be offering a service to law enforcement that allowed them to track the live location of cellphone users. Securus depends upon information from LocationSmart, a data aggregator. Securus actions fell under scrutiny from Senator Ron Wyden from Oregon, who called on the major phone providers to cut LocationSmart off. 

    Responses from Phone Providers 

    Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile have all made statements of varying intensity that they planned to cut off data brokers like LocationSmart. As the FCC investigates the Securus situation, the major phone providers are looking to distance themselves from the situation. Securus, notably, requires nothing more than a vague “court order” (that they don’t check) to access their database. As such, the legality of the service is dubious at best. Law enforcement agencies could easily look up individuals based on their phone and track them without a warrant. This situation is clearly a problem, and the major networks’ attempts to stymie Securus are a step in the right direction. 

    Further complicating matters, a recent “bug” in LocationSmart’s system allowed people to access the location of all phones in their database. Senator Wyden called on the major networks to cut these data brokers off and protect their customers. For their part, they have all made moves to do so.  

    Verizon has confirmed it is terminating contracts with LocationSmart and ZumiGo, another location broker. AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile have all also promised that they will stop providing this data to aggregators. Originally, the location services were meant to be used for things like roadside assistance and fraud prevention. However, Securus accessing user locations without customer consent is a major breach of user privacy.  

    How Soon Will These Changes Go Into Effect?

    The major providers have stated that they won’t be cutting off the location services immediately. According to them, those services offer some positive benefits that they don’t want to interrupt. However, if the cost for small conveniences is the loss of privacy, perhaps those conveniences are unimportant. In any event, Senator Wyden’s actions seem to have brought about a change for the better. The large telecom companies likely either didn’t know or care about this data misuse. Wyden’s public challenge that they should tighten consumer protections moved them to actions, though, and that’s commendable. 

  • Old Games, Big Bucks

    Old Games, Big Bucks

    A new hipster craze. Those words make my eyes roll straight out of there sockets, figuratively of course. However hipster gamers are not anticipating and pre-ordering the latest and greatest we saw announced at last weeks E3. Instead, they’re hunting through garage sales, flea markets, eBay and specialty stores for old games that came out 20 years ago. On top of that they are paying outrageous prices for these old games. looks like its time for trip to moms house to rummage through the attic for some aged tech treasure.

    The nostalgia theme taking a chunk of the video game market these days it all but fantastic. Nintendo, Atari and Sega have all brought back classic mini consoles or you can grab a raspberry PI kit and DIY. Its the Peter Pan in us aging men that is driving this desire for the enjoyments of our youth. This nostalgia isnt very discerning either as the old games and consoles that are bringing in these high dollar scores. They value is in all consoles from the Atari 2600 to the PlayStations of the 2000s.

     

    Odd Collectors are now finding them sitting on valuable assets, and hipsters are parting with tons of their parents money to get back their youth. Some games are bringing in as much as $50,000. If you are sitting on a copy of “Nintendo World Championships 1990?” Then you could have a $100,000. While its not only about the cash, please take the cash now while this market exists and the bubble hasn’t popped.  If Im writing about this then you know clever investors are plotting a what to capitalize so rest assure this bubble will pop, plan for that.

    The Final Thought

    While most collectors are more interested in rounding out their personal game libraries, reliving the games they loved as children or simply exploring the history of the gaming industry first-hand. The hype is real and these old games are back and getting a second dose of attention.

  • Tech Throwback: The Sega Genesis CD

    Tech Throwback: The Sega Genesis CD

    I like to take a look at where I’ve been to evaluate where Im going. Technology is cyclical after all… wait no its not. That said I still like all the feels that come rushing back like a flood of nostalgia every time I get my hand on the tech I grew up with. Im going to go back periodically and take a looking at the stuff that used to blow our hair back and get our minds rolling. Some of these device blew up and changed the world, some where ahead of their time and some just fell flat and became colossal failures. Today we are going to talk about the Sega Genesis CD

    When this CD-ROM accessory was released in 1991 for the Sega Genesis video game console, video gamers everywhere rejoiced. Let’s take a look at one of tech’s most beloved creations of the ’90s. While this was highly anticipated it was rarely adapted. The way this worked was you would purchase the Sega Genesis CD and plug it in to your existing 16 bit console allowing you to play PC like CD ROM games. The main benefit of CD technology was greater storage, which allowed for games to be nearly 320 times larger than Genesis cartridges. This benefit manifested as full motion video.

    The Games

    The Sega CD supports a library of over 200 games created both by Sega and an array of third-party publishers. Included in this library are six games which, while receiving individual Sega CD releases, also received separate versions that utilized both the Sega CD and 32X add-ons. Among the games released for the add-on were a number of FMV games, including Sewer Shark and Fahrenheit. Well-regarded games include Sonic CD, Lunar: Eternal Blue and Lunar: The Silver Star, Popful Mail, and Snatcher. And we wont even talk about the controversial Night Trap.

    Lets Play the Sega Genesis CD

    So for the small price of almost $300 I was able to get an original in box Sega Genesis with The Sega Genesis CD and one game.. Ecco The Dolphin. Ecco the Dolphin is an action-adventure game originally developed by Ed Annunziata and Novotrade International for the Sega Genesis CD.

    Since this is the only game I have and the only game I really remember from my brief time with my neighbors Sega Genesis CD. This is the game we are playing today. Basically you are a Dolphin, swimming around doing Dolphin stuff. Attacking enemies is accomplished by making Ecco ram into them at high speeds. Swimming can be made progressively faster by tapping a certain button. The speed can be maintained by holding it down. You can also perform a purely aesthetic spin in the air when jumping out of the water. Its ok and my nephews are loving it

    The Final Thought

    While this flopped, it was groundbreaking. Shortly after it would pave the way for the PlayStation and Sega DreamCast and for that we are grateful.

  • Google Maps and Uber Fall Out

    Google Maps and Uber Fall Out

    Uber and Google Maps have been integrated since January of 2017. However, in the newest Android update, that integration has been rescinded. Previously, users were able to see prices and hail Ubers directly through the Google Maps app. Uber was the only service that offered direct integration through the Maps app. While several other services, like Lyft, are visible through Google Maps, only Uber could be paid for directly through the app.  

    Why are Google and Uber Done? 

    It’s unclear why this split took place. Perhaps the ride-sharing giant would rather customers open their app and use it. Maybe Google tired of supporting just Uber through their Map app and didn’t have plans to integrate other ride-sharing apps. In any event, users can still see ride sharing details in Google Maps. Now, however, they will be moved to the ride-sharing service’s app when they want to actually hail a ride and pay for it.  

    Continued Troubles for Uber

    Uber has been in a good deal of hot water lately. For one, they’ve been under fire for classifying their employees as contractors, thus avoiding paying for insurance for them. Additionally, the company faced allegations of turning a blind eye to sexual misconduct last year. Other issues last year, like fines from many states at localities, lack of diversity in hiring and leaks of medical information led to the demotion of then-CEO Travis Kalanick.  

    Since then, the company has reaffirmed its commitment to hold itself to a higher standard. The ethical issues of its impact on the gig economy, however, are unresolved. Between pressuring traditional taxi services and warping the economy of transportation, the company has had a substantial impact. Despite being worth billions of dollars, they own very little in the way of cars or employees. They are still able to classify their drivers as contractors and use the property of others to fund their own profits.  

    These issues likely had little to do with the app’s de-coupling from Google Maps, but who knows? Perhaps Google is trying to send a message on how they feel about companies like Uber. Or, more likely, Google simply decided it didn’t want to be so closely identified with a company that has a record as rough as Uber’s. 

    Feature Image Credit: USA Today

  • HTC U12 Plus: Too Ambitious For its Own Good?

    HTC U12 Plus: Too Ambitious For its Own Good?

    The highly unusual and ambitious HTC U12 Plus is here. What’s the verdict? Well, it’s certainly weird. Let’s get into the specifics.  

    Buttonless Design 

    The lack of buttons on this phone is a lot more awkward than it needs to be. While the design decision makes sense, given that real buttons act as weak points in normal phones, the execution is poor. It feels forced, like it was a box to be checked off on a list titled “futuristic phone features.” While the side-squeeze customization is nice, it’s tiring to use. Being able to call up specific apps by squeezing the phone is certainly unique though, and we hope to see similar designs incorporated into future phones. It is worth wondering if the phone wouldn’t have been better off just having normal buttons. 

    Screen and Cameras 

    The screen is large and pretty, which is to be expected from a modern smartphone. It looks fine and is truly nothing special. It washes out in direct sunlight, unfortunately, making it feel a bit cheaper than most modern smartphones.  

    Similarly, the cameras are fine. You won’t be taking studio-quality pictures or filming any breathtaking footage, but they’ll suffice. The phone uses a dual-camera setup that works pretty well, which, again, is to be expected. It offers bokeh-style portraits, which has become industry standard, and they look quite good.  

    HTC U12 Plus Processor 

    HTC’s newest phone sports a Snapdragon 845 processor, which makes it speedy and responsive. It keeps up with modern smartphones like the Galaxy S9, but lags behind the iPhone X’s excellent A11 Bionic processor. That said, so does every other phone currently on the market, so it’s hard to knock the U12 Plus too much in that regard. 

    Battery Life 

    The battery life on the HTC U12 Plus is a joke, which is a shame. Testing has shown that the phone barely gets through 12 hours of video playback. This means you’ll have to charge it daily, and if you watch videos or play games often, consider carrying a charger with you. This would have disappointing in 2008, and it’s inexcusable in 2018. 

    Bottom Line 

    HTC’s newest phone costs $800 for the 64GB model, or $850 for the 128GB version. For a phone that is as awkward and disappointing as this, that price point is a deal breaker. Unless you particularly love the idea of a button-free phone, give this one a pass. Check out the Galaxy S9 or iPhone X for better phones in this price range, you won’t be disappointed. 

  • Which Smart Thermostat is Our Favorite?

    Which Smart Thermostat is Our Favorite?

    Everyone wants to be comfortable in their own house. That’s a given! However, it can be a pain to have to constantly mess with the thermostat. If you’re like me, you’d probably rather just set it and forget it and let automation take over. Well, good news! If you grab a smart thermostat, you can do just that! Which one is our top pick? Read on! 

    Sensi Wi-Fi Smart Programmable Thermostat 

    Photo Credit: Supply House 

    The coolest thing about the Sensi Thermostat is that it doesn’t require a C-Wire to hook up! What this means is that you can set this smart thermostat up in houses you normally couldn’t. This thermostat gets a nod for its great price, coming in at $118, and good app support. You can control it from anywhere with the app, and you can even set programs to cycle throughout the day, or week. It can even run on a pair of AA batteries! For those who aren’t as tech-savvy but still want a programmable thermostat, this one is for you! 

  • Looking for a Small but Powerful Phone? Try the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact

    Looking for a Small but Powerful Phone? Try the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact

    Most phone manufacturers tend to keep their phones as big as they can feasibly be and still fit in your pocket. Sony, however, is trying to look out for the little guy. Or, at least, the little guy’s little hands. There are few phones as small as the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact that pack the same amount of power. Here’s a quick rundown of our thoughts on Sony’s small wonder. 

    The Specs 

    The biggest issue with most phones this small—and it is small, coming in with a 5-inch screen—is that they’re not powerful. A QUALCOMM 845 processor is inside this little machine. For those unfamiliar, that’s a pretty hefty processor. For context, that’s a processor that beats the Google Pixel 2 in benchmark tests. If you like playing games or editing photos on your phone, the Xperia XZ2 Compact won’t disapoint. 

    The other powerful thing running under the hood is the camera. Sporting a 19-megapixel camera that shoots at 960 frames-per-second in HD, it’s no joke. You’re not going to be disappointed in the quality of photos or videos from the Compact. The selfie cam is only 5-megapixel, but that’s a small trade-off for this small phone. Additionally, the phone only has one rear-facing camera and one front-facing camera. As such, it has no portrait mode or other such features. This is a small complaint, but those used to high-end smartphones will notice it. 

    Design 

    On the design side, the phone is a bit bland. You could almost describe the design as boring. That said, the only other powerful phone this size is the iPhone SE. So, you’re sort of stuck with this design if you like Android. Fitting easily in a pocket or purse, it’s easily used with one hand. It has very small bezels, maximizing the screen size in spite of the incredibly small handset size.  

    A big negative to the phone, though, is the lack of a headphone jack. It seems that particular port had to be dropped to help the phone keep its slim profile. There is a conversion dongle with the phone, but using it means you can’t charge your phone and listen to music at the same time. You could opt for a set of Bluetooth headphones, but it’s a bummer in any event.  

    Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact: Bottom Line 

    If you’re in the market for a small handset and want it running Android, you’re sort of stuck with this one. That said, it’s actually a really good phone! It costs $650, which is really reasonable for how powerful it is. So, if you’re tired of putting your phone in one-hand mode or having to reach across a massive handset, this is a good choice. Those in the market for a compact phone won’t be disappointed! 

  • Futuristic Cyberpunk 2077 Could Be Future of Video Games

    Futuristic Cyberpunk 2077 Could Be Future of Video Games

    Acclaimed developer CD Projekt Red is fresh off the success of the Witcher 3, their farewell to the long-running fantasy RPG. At E3 this year, they had a new game to show off: futuristic RPG Cyberpunk 2077. The game looks like it could very well represent the future. Not just the future our flawed world is barreling into headlong, but the future of gaming. At the E3 demo, it seemed that anything the player chooses to do its possible. The promise of games like Deus Ex and Thief, of a completely immersive simulation, could be getting closer to reality. 

    Bloodstains Under Neon 

    Since William Gibson first wrote Neuromancer in 1984, the Cyberpunk genre has been synonymous with sex and violence. In that monumental work, protagonist Case is pulled into a web of crime, lies and violence by a beautiful, dangerous woman named Molly Millions. In that violent work, our heroes are hardly better than our villains, and the only lines dividing them are perspective. CD Projekt Red’s new game shares that spirit. The world is mean and neon and dirty, looking to chew up and consume any who take a wrong turn. If you’ve ever seen Blade Runner, you know the feeling they’re going for.  

    Fully Immersive 

    Looking cool and being powerful are all a core aspect of the cyberpunk fantasy, and this game seems to know how to deliver in that regard. Protagonist V is almost entirely in the player’s hands. The character’s backstory, skills and style are all up to the player. Clothing options can change your look and increase your stats. V is also a cyborg, so you can enhance your protagonist by upgrading various cybernetic parts. The developers have crafted a fully immersive world using the visual language of the cyberpunk genre. 

    Every action you can take, from driving to hacking to just conversing, is promised to have wide-ranging impact on the game’s world. If you go for a drive and hit a pedestrian, you’ll not only get heat from the police, but you’ll also be known as a careless and violent jerk to the people of Night City. Carefully considering one’s actions and reputation seems to be a core gameplay mechanic, one that truly fits in an immersive RPG. 

    When Can We Get Hands-On with Cyberpunk 2077? 

    We’re asking the same question, dear reader, and, sadly, we don’t know. But you can rest assured we’ll let you know as soon as we find out. Heck, we’ll be the first in line to buy the game whenever it does drop! It’s still early, but the game already looks like a contender for one of the greatest RPGs of all time. 

    Feature Image Credit: Screen Rant 

  • 5 Game Releases From E3 That Are a Must Play

    5 Game Releases From E3 That Are a Must Play

    This was considered by most to be a week year at the E3 conference. Expectations going in where low to begin with and nothing earth shattering or even mildly interesting was revealed. What we did get is a ton of really amazing games. An endless supply of games were announced and they all look pretty great. Lets take a look at the biggest and best 5 Game Releases we will be playing all next year.

     

    1. Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

    Finally we get what we wanted from Nintendo, and may have to go purchase a switch just for this. Nintendo Switch’s first “Smash Bros. was a classic hit, but Ultimate will be enev bigger. Yes, every character that’s ever appeared in a “Smash Bros.” is here (that’s over 60, including rarities like “Metal Gear’s” Solid Snake). Nintendo has really stepped up the combat and evolved every character to have the Ultimate moves, stages and animations. This will ensure “Ultimate” is the best, visually amazing, craziest and quickest “Smash” to date. This will be the game that keeps droves of children occupied this holiday season.

    2. Spiderman

    Just titled Spiderman and set for a Sept 7th release,  Sony and Insomniac’s “Spider-Man” is exploding with excitement and hitting number 2 on our top 5 Game Releases, The WebCrawlers latest installment  is going to be fantastic in its actions, NYC renderings and non stop Spidery action. Not to mention the best activity is still just swinging around over the Manhattan skyline, which will be greatly enhanced.  Bringing an “Arkham”-like combat system, impressive voice work and ridiculously cinematic battles, and endless parade of villains. This is  shaping up to be the best superhero games we’ve ever played. It’s also wowed a certain comic company: Marvel was so impressed with Insomniac’s work, they’re including the video game version of Spidey in their official canon. Hurry up and get here Sept 7th, im seriously pondering the Eric Cartman freezing my self idea.

    3. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

    Assassin’s Creed Origins was a magnificent success for Ubisoft, so much it decided to just take the leap  and blast out the next AC into a full-blown role-playing game for our enjoyment. For us, This one will be set during the Peloponnesian War in Greece, “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey” lets players choose genders, bulk up tons of stats, collect gear and goodies and even shape the story with new branching dialogue options. This is shaping up to take Assassins Creed to the next level of immersion and action. Ill be pre-ording this one ASAP. Its hard not to have this as the number 1 game on the 5 Game Releases list.

    4. CyberPunk 2077

    After three games of high fantasy, via an adaptation of The Witcher series, CD Projekt Red is starting up a new franchise in a completely different genre. It’s full of big ideas and promises huge amounts of customisation and individuality when it comes to your character and play-style. Cyberpunk 2077 is a role-playing video game played in a first-person perspective as V, a mercenary whose sex, hairstyles, face, body type, body modifications, background, and clothing are customisable. V’s clothing alters how interactions fare with non-player characters who are also at V’s disposal for romantic and sexual relationships. This looks to be the game we never saw coming, totally innovative and set to really blow us away, like the original resident evil did many years ago. This will be the game all the cool kids will be talking about around the water cooler.

    5. Fallout 76

    number 5 on our top 5 Game Releases for 2018…Who doesnt love Fallout? Who hasent been anticipating the next Fallout installment? Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Skyrim and Fallout 4, welcomes us all to Fallout 76, the online prequel where every surviving human is a *real person*. Work together – or not – to survive. Under the threat of nuclear annihilation, you’ll experience the largest, most dynamic world ever created in the legendary Fallout universe.