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If this is all hidden hype for a Portal 2, huge kudos to valve and steam…

Shack News reports:

“Today, Valve Software published an update to Portal through Steam. The only patch note:

“Changed radio transmission frequency to comply with federal and state spectrum management regulations”

Along with this cryptic change, is a new achievement, titled “Transmission Received”, which Shacker ghost in my shell reported unlocking after he “put the radio on the red button on the first stage.” At this point it “started spitting out Morse code.”

We’re still unsure what is actually going on here, but mysterious things appear to be afoot. At the very least, I’d recommend getting this achievement.

Steam users have begun finding images hidden in the updated game files. All of these images clearly show the Aperture Science logo from the game.

I’ve reached out to Valve Software for comment and I’ll keep you updated of any new information.”

More updates have been done, check out this link

DHS GIVEAWAY
The first person to use the coupon code “zapitover” is receiving a free “Teleport It” upgrade to any DogHouse desktop! ($300 Value)

Technical Corner

We go over two questions from listeners in this extended Technical Corner.

Contests

We have 3 active contests going now!

- iPad Thumbs Up or Down Contest. We are going to announce a winner for the iPad contest in episode 19. You still have time to enter this contest. Email us at podcast@doghousesystems.com with iPad in the subject line. We want to hear why you are (or aren’t) excited about the upcoming iPad. We will pick a winning entry and they will get 2,000 J!NX gold!

- Dirt 2 Contest. As we discuss in the PC Gaming segment, we are giving away a free copy of Dirt 2 to a lucky winner! All you need to do is email us at podcast@doghousesystems.com with Dirt 2 in the subject line. We will pick a random winner in episode 20. The winner will have a chance to take on John, Sina, Keith, and Scott in a best of 5 race!

- Name the New Segment Contest. Cornelious is joining us each week to discuss overclocking PCs. We would like your input on what we should name this new segment! Email us your entry with “Overclocking” in the subject line. The winner will get 2,000 J!NX gold AND Left 4 Dead 2! We will announce the winner in episode 20.

Contact Information

We welcome your feedback, comments, and suggestions! If you would like to submit a question for a future podcast you can leave a message for us at 214-705-3788 . Try and keep your message under a minute so we can play it back on the next show. We can also be reached by email: podcast@doghousesystems.com

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How big is wow?

This is what I found to best answer the question. Not sure how much of it is 100% true but it sure seems close.

Question of the day: How long have you been playing WoW? Are you still playing the same character you originally made?

PC Gaming

Scott Johnson joins us in PC Gaming and we review Torchlight. Scott gives a Part 1 review of Mass Effect 2. John and Sina have played Dirt 2 and they go over the new DirectX 11 title.

Technical Corner

Keith answers a question from a listener that a question about possible power supply issues.

Overclocking

We are excited to introduce Cornelious to The DogHouse! He is going to be discussing overclocking to our listeners in the upcoming weeks. We encourage anyone with questions to email or voicemail us with your overclocking questions!

Contests

We have 3 active contests going now!

- iPad Thumbs Up or Down Contest. We are going to announce a winner for the iPad contest in episode 19. You still have time to enter this contest. Email us at podcast@doghousesystems.com with iPad in the subject line. We want to hear why you are (or aren’t) excited about the upcoming iPad. We will pick a winning entry and they will get 2,000 J!NX gold!

- Dirt 2 Contest. As we discuss in the PC Gaming segment, we are giving away a free copy of Dirt 2 to a lucky winner! All you need to do is email us at podcast@doghousesystems.com with Dirt 2 in the subject line. We will pick a random winner in episode 20. The winner will have a chance to take on John, Sina, Keith, and Scott in a best of 5 race!

- Name the New Segment Contest. Cornelious is joining us each week to discuss overclocking PCs. We would like your input on what we should name this new segment! Email us your entry with “Overclocking” in the subject line. The winner will get 2,000 J!NX gold AND Left 4 Dead 2! We will announce the winner in episode 20.

Contact Information

We welcome your feedback, comments, and suggestions! If you would like to submit a question for a future podcast you can leave a message for us at 214-705-3788 . Try and keep your message under a minute so we can play it back on the next show. We can also be reached by email: podcast@doghousesystems.com

Download MP3

iTunes Subscription

RSS Feed

“Flyfire, a project initiated by the SENSEable City Laboratory in collaboration with ARES Lab (Aerospace Robotics and Embedded Systems Laboratory) aims to transform any ordinary space into a highly immersive and interactive display environment.

In its first implementation, the Flyfire project sets out to explore the capabilities of this display system by using a large number of self-organizing micro helicopters. Each helicopter contains small LEDs and acts as a smart pixel. Through precisely controlled movements, the helicopters perform elaborate and synchronized motions and form an elastic display surface for any desired scenario.

With the self-stabilizing and precise controlling technology from the ARES Lab, the motion of the pixels is adaptable in real time. The Flyfire canvas can transform itself from one shape to another or morph a two-dimensional photographic image into an articulated shape. The pixels are physically engaged in transitioning images from one state to another, which allows the Flyfire canvas to demonstrate a spatially animated viewing experience.

Flyfire serves as an initial step to explore and imagine the possibilities of this free-form display: a swarm of pixels in a space.

For more information, please contact:
senseable-fly@mit.edu “

So, your computer just blew up and you have a raid on Tuesday that you CAN’T miss. You asked for it, now you have it – DogHouse Systems is now offering build priority options in addition to our guaranteed 2-3 week lead time. You can customize a system online and have it at your doorstep in less than a week!

These options include:
Build It. – Standard 2-3 week build that includes a 48 hour test and burn in stage. (Included)
Rush It! – Your system will leave our docks in fewer than 7 business days. (Optional)
Teleport It!! – Your System will leave our docks within 3 business days. (Optional)

Build priority options are guaranteed or a refund for the up-charge will be credited back to you. Money order payments are not eligible for the “Rush It!” or “Teleport It!!” upgrades. All orders are subject to review and you will be notified if ship date cannot be met.

We hit 250 fans!
Congratulations to Andy Rutledge for winning the 250 fan prize, Tom Clancy’s Hawx for PC.

Please give us a call at 877-347-3472 or email me at sina@doghousesystems.com.

Next prize will be at 500 fans!

Current Prize List:
250 Fans - Tom Clancy’s Hawx
500 Fans - Dirt II + Tom Clancy’s Hawx
1,000 Fans - G5 Laser Mouse + Dirt II + Tom Clancy’s Hawx
2,500 Fans - 1 Year of WoW Time Cards or $100 J!NX Card

“SSDs haven’t found their way into the mass market yet, but a team of Japanese researchers is already trying to make them more worthwhile. The team claims it has developed a technology that helps to shrink the size of SSDs by no less than 90%, makes them cheaper and boosts energy efficiency by 70%.

The research group is comprised of people from a handful of different institutions, i. e. Toshiba or Keio University in Tokyo (where Professor Tadahiro Kuroda is the main person responsible).

The new technology makes it possible to produce 1TB SSDs that are as small as a postage stamp. The current prototype (pictured) is sized just like that and made of 128 NAND flash memory chips and one controller chip. It boasts a data transfer speed of 2Gbps and is based on radio communication, which (according to the researchers) leads to lower production costs.

A practical version is expected to be ready by 2012.”

Nikkie via Crunch gear

Episode #17 is (finally) available for download!  If you subscribe via iTunes, it’s available now, otherwise, it will show up in a couple of hours.  It’s also available for immediate download on our podcast page (http://podcast.doghousesystems.com).   The show notes are posted on the podcast page, too.

Couple of side notes:  we are going to be giving away a Core i7 Armor TL in the near future.  Check out the podcast for more details.

Also, we are almost up to 250 fans on Facebook!  We will be doing a giveaway once we hit that number, so keep checking back and let your friends know about our fan page!

Lich King World First Kill by Ensidia
“A couple of minutes ago, Ensidia became the first guild to defeat the Lich King in 25-Man mode. They are the first guild to unlock the hard modes in Icecrown Citadel-25 and the real challenge will start next week for them and probably a few other guilds. Congratulations to them!” -Mmo-champ

Congrats also to my old guild on Illidan, Blood Legion for taking down the Lich kings in 10 man, those guys are hardcore!

Here is the fight from Blood Legion.
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