Intel vs. AMD : Do Specs matter?

     In computers, you can have your choice of different processors in your build. The two main companies that create the most popular and widely used processors are Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Intel. Intel was founded in 1968 and created its first microprocessor in 1971. AMD was founded in 1969 and focused mostly on the graphics industry before turning to create processors. Both companies have been around for about the same amount of time, but it seems that Intel has the edge in technology because they created their first cpu years before AMD did. Here are benchmarks of AMD and Intel cpus under a heavy load during gaming:

     It is surprising to see the pentium G860 and G630 preform better than the brand new FX processors that AMD has released this year, which are supposed to operate efficiently while gaming since they also feature built-in graphics processing.
     The best processor from the benchmarks made by AMD was the Phenom II X6 1090T. It is a six core, 3.2 GHz processor with a 6 megabyte L3 cache. The large cache anticipates data requests so that the processing instructions can be made without delay.
It seems that Intel creates the better processors, and that can be correlated to how they have been making them longer than AMD has. Either way, both companies are welll renouned for their computer technology and one must find the best product that fits their needs- AMD processors tend to be cheaper but still compare to Intel processors. However, the expensive Intel processors have the peace of mind of a company that has been around longer.


~George



Sources:
Intel.com
AMD.com
Tomshardware.com
WiseGeek.com

Facebook Hacks?

Recently, I have been bombarded by requests to join an event on Facebook called "Color My Facebook". The event claims that if you join it, then you would be able to actually change the color of the facebook layout. I've been getting about fifteen of these every day for the past week. Many people claim that it is a hack. However, this is not the case.  According to Ryan Butler, (http://butlerjournalism.blogspot.com/), “Both Facebook and other social networks like Twitter have Dev API's that allow third parties access to account details. The respectable ones will display an option (Facebook forces this option for all account access scripts, but not browser-embed scripts). Twitter runs account scripts without confirmation.” What this means is that by clicking on these events, you give a third party that is not Facebook access to your account, which in turn is used to send more invites to all of your Facebook friends. It is like a virus. When I asked Ryan if resetting my password would simply fix the problem, he added: “Not entirely. Once you click the link, you allow access to your account. This access doesn't go away when changing your password. I believe there is some way to view your allowed accass and disable it, though. Check apps and privacy settings. Twitter is hopeless though, I think. Changing the password MAY fix the issue but I don't know enough about how their API works.”
                Essentially, the only way to not become affected by this “virus” is to not click on the links or the event. Simply declining the invite is enough. You need to be informed and vigilant when dealing with links on the internet. You should make sure to click on links to verified websites to avoid problems like this.

 Now, there is a way to actually change the color of your Facebook though. In order to do this, you will need Google Chrome and a Facebook account. While on Chrome, access the Web Store to install extensions and apps. Extensions are computer programs that extend the functionality of a web browser in some way. The extension we are looking for is located right here: Color My Facebook.
             Install the extension, and now you can change the color of your Facebook layout! I prefer this color changer extension over others due to its working color picker which other lack. I hope you take my advice and I hope you learned from this entry, thank you for reading.

~George

iPhone 5: Is it worth it?

Apple just released the iPhone 5 two days ago on September 21st. But what makes this the "Biggest thing to happen to iPhone since iPhone", as Apple claims on their website? Well, the biggest difference between this model and previous installations is the size of the Retina Display. The screen size on the iPhone 5 is 4 inches long. All the previous iPhones before the 5 had only 3.5 inch displays. This increase in size allows the iPhone to maintain a 16:9 aspect ratio, which allows users to watch videos in widescreen HD. Also, due to the increase of the screen size, the iPhone 5 is able to fit another row of apps, creating more space on the screen and lowering the amount of pages used due to the extra space.

            According to Apple, the iPhone 5’s camera is 8 megapixels. This was not upgraded from the iPhone 4s, since it also has this. The flash is, however, placed farther from the lens, which helps to reduce the amount of redeye that can show up in low light photos. Another feature carried over from the 4s is the “Intelligent Assistant” Siri. Siri will continue to provide useful tools such as being able to send text messages verbally, being able to look up information with a simple question, and having the ability to use the iPhone hands-free.

            Along with all these features is arguably the most important one: LTE. LTE is the data service that stands for Long Term Evolution. LTE is on the 4g network. According to the AT&T website, it is 10 times faster than 3g, and allows for superfast connections to the internet. LTE is available on every iPhone 5, regardless of the service carrier. The implication of LTE allows the iPhone 5 to connect to the internet faster than some ground connections can. LTE will allow the iPhone 5 to perform tasks such as streaming HD videos, downloading large files, and updating applications faster than ever before.

The iPhone 5 also has a new processor. The A6 chip inside the 5 is twice as fast as the iPhone 4s' A5 chip. Along with this powerful chip, the iPhone 5 also sports 1 gigabyte of RAM, which helps to improve multitasking. To put this in perspective, the iPhone 4s has only 512 megabytes of RAM. There is one cause for concern though: The typical 30-pin dock port that is usually found on the bottom of iPhone and iPods has been replaced by the much smaller, reversible lightning port. This change stops the use of iPhone 5's on older products such as iPod car chargers, docks, and other 30-pin devices. Apple has the solution for this though, as they are also selling a lightning-to-30-pin-connector adapter so that these devices could still be used. Overall, the pros of the iPhone 5 seem to outweigh the cons; whether or not one chooses to buy it is up to personal preference though. The cheapest model starts at $200 with a contract to either AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint and is available in white or black.

               ~George

Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Is the Hype Good For it?

9/9/12

The Call of Duty franchise is considered to be one of the most successful video game franchises of all time. Each year, a new game sporting the Call of Duty name is released by Activision under the developement of Infinity Ward (Now Sledgehammer Games) or Treyarch. Each year, millions of copies of the games are purchased, which often leads to each title earning, or coming close to winning the title of "Game of the Year" or "Best Shooter". This year, it may not be surprising to see Call of Duty: Black Ops II to be one of the best selling games.However, all the hype surrounding the game may be somewhat far-fetched.

The developer Treyarch, and the publisher Activision claim that the game will sport multiple endings. This has never been seen in a Call of Duty game before, so there is no way to say if it will be done correctly. It will have to be very detailed story wise, or fans expecting an rpg-like ending will be disappointed. An example of this was seen when Mass Effect 3 was released. The fans of the trilogy expected a well thought out ending that answered all of their questions about the game's story line. However, there was insufficient details to please the masses, so the Developer, Bioware, was pressured to create free DLC that would add an extended cut to the ending, which ended up pleasing the fans.

Another crucial detail to add to the hype was seen in the "Villain Trailer" released by Activision on June 10th, 2012. In the video, there was a quote by Forbes stating that Call of Duty: Black Ops II has "Brilliant Visuals and Adrenaline Inducing Gameplay". There is nothing wrong with saying that the game induces adrenaline rushes, however, the comment about the brilliant visuals can not be backed up with solid evidence. If you look at the details and textures in the Black Ops II multiplayer gameplay footage released by Activision, then watched a gameplay video of a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer match, you could see stark similarities. Modern Warfare 2 was released on November 10th, 2009. Black Ops II's release date is November 13th, 2012. Now, there is no reason to not like a game due to its graphics. As long as the gameplay itself is enjoyable, then the game is a success (Look at Minecraft, Terraria, Oblivion, etc.).  However, the claims on the trailer, which Activision chose to to be included in the video, are somewhat unbelievable. Claims about graphics should not be done if the installment looks somewhat similar to a previous game in the series that is almost 3 years old. Fans of the series should not expect a game with graphics of those similar to power-hungry and  intensive games like Crysis, Battlefield 3, and Forza 4.

In conclusion, I believe that Call of Duty: Black Ops II will be another successful game released by Activision. However, I think that it will not live up to all of the hype that it is creating. Fans will, no doubt, enjoy it regardless though.

~George