Category Archives: pcmag

Nov 6 2012

Top 10 Best Gaming Laptops

The 10 Best Gaming Laptops (Update)

When it comes to gaming, the platform of choice goes to the consoles. Well, at least as far as the average consumer goes. But enthusiasts know that if you want to experience the true quality that a game has to offer, then PC gaming is the way to go. Desktops will give you that extra oomph, but sometimes portability is a necessary factor for LAN party-goers or traveling pros. For those looking to take their game mobile without sacrificing too many frame rates, PCMag has rounded up the best gaming laptops.

As with desktops, the best gaming laptops tend to be configured specifically for gaming performance. That means the best gaming graphics card out there (in this case, either an Nvidia GeForce GTX 660M or AMD Radeon HD 6990M), and at least an Ivy Brdge Intel Core i5 or i7 CPU. The screen size for gaming laptops tends to be big (think 15 to 18 inches), though there are one or two ultraportable gaming laptops on the market today. And given that high-end components tend to drain battery life, don’t expect these gaming rigs to stray too far from a wall socket very often. Lastly, be prepared to brownbag it for your workweek lunches for a while, as all this performance (especially in a portable package) doesn’t come cheap.

But maybe you’re not looking to burn up the gaming grid. Maybe you want a laptop that offers smooth gameplay on the lighter end of the 3D graphics spectrum without sacrificing your rent check. In that case, there are laptops available with lower-end GPUs that cost a little less than the higher-end stuff out there and still let you hold your head up when competing in World of Warcraft or Torchlight, or older titles like Team Fortress 2.

Below are 10 of our best gaming laptops, which range from the luxury to the more moderate purchase that can still keep you competitive on the gaming grid. Continue reading →

Nov 6 2012

Apple Sells 3 Million iPad Minis, Fourth-Gen iPads

Apple iPad Mini

Apple today announced that it sold 3 million iPads in the three days since the launch of the iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad.

Cupertino did not break out how many iPad minis and how many fourth-gen iPads it sold. It touted the fact that the numbers were double the 1.5 million Wi-Fi-only models it sold for the third-generation iPad back in March, but overall, Apple sold 3 million new iPads between March 16-19.

“Customers around the world love the new iPad mini and fourth generation iPad,” Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said in a statement. “We set a new launch weekend record and practically sold out of iPad minis. We’re working hard to build more quickly to meet the incredible demand.”

The revamped iPads are currently available in 34 countries including the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and the U.K., and will be available in more countries later this year, including mainland China.

The Wi-Fi version of the new iPads have already shipped and the Wi-Fi plus cellular option is expected in the next few weeks.

Apple acknowledged that “demand for iPad mini exceeded the initial supply and while many of the pre-orders have been shipped to customers, some are scheduled to be shipped later this month.”

The iPad mini launch was somewhat subdued here in New York in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, though people were still lining up here and around the world for the new gadget.

For more, see PCMag’s hands on with the iPad mini (slideshow above) and the fourth-generation iPad.

Nov 5 2012

Nov. 5 Hacks Target PayPal, Symantec, More

Anonymous

It’s Nov. 5. Is your website still standing? According to reports, the websites of PayPal, Symantec, NBC, and more have come under fire, with many looking toward hacker collective Anonymous. But there are conflicting reports about who actually perpetrated the hacks – if at all.

November 5 is Guy Fawkes Day, named for the man who unsuccessfully tried to blow up Parliament in 1605. Alan Moore’s graphic novel, V for Vendetta turned Fawkes into an anarchist anti-hero, and the Fawkes mask has become synonymous with the Anonymous hacker collective. As such, Nov. 5 now brings with it a number of high-profile hacks.

Late last night, several Anonymous-related Twitter feeds tweeted: “Paypal hacked by Anonymous as part of our November 5th protest.” The tweets included a link to privatepaste.com, which reportedly included the private details of 28,000 PayPal users. At this point, however, that link is dead.

Anuj Nayarm, PayPal’s head of PR, tweeted today that the company is investigating, but has thus far “been unable to find any evidence that validates this claim.”

Later this afternoon, the official PayPal Twitter account tweeted: “Please know @paypal was not attacked by #Anonymous.”

A spokesman further clarified via email that “it appears that the exploit was not directed at PayPal after all, it was directed at a company called ZPanel,” he said. “The original story that started this and was retweeted by some of the Anonymous Twitter handles has now been updated.”

Anonymous and PayPal have tangled before. In the wake of payment services like PayPal, Visa, and MasterCard withdrawing their support for Wikileaks, Anonymous organized a distributed denial of service attack against all three firms. The attacks led to temporary outages or website slowdowns, but did not do significant damage.

Hackers are also reportedly targeting Symantec. Security Week reported that hackers dumped database and marketing details from the security firm via a zine that also went after image hosting site ImageShack.

“Symantec is investigating the recent claims made online regarding the security of our networks. We have found no evidence that customer information was exposed or impacted,” a Symantec spokeswoman said. “We will continue to monitor the situation and aggressively investigate these and any related claims. Beyond that, we have no additional information to share and are not going to speculate on any further elements of the story.”

According to the Twitter account @doxbin, the Symantec hack was not carried out by Anonymous, but by a group known as Hack the Planet (HTP). “Anon didn’t do Symantec. HTP is not affiliated with Anonymous. Do some basic fact checking,” doxbin tweeted at a reporter today.

Of course, given the nature of Anonymous, anyone can actually become a member of the group simpy by saying they belong.

Over the weekend, meanwhile, NBC suffered a hacking attack by an individual (or group of individuals) running under the name Pyknic. Anonymous denied any involvement with that attack, too.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 2 p.m. Eastern with additional comment from PayPal and again at 3:30 p.m.

Nov 5 2012

Samsung Sells 30 Million Galaxy S III Smartphones

Samsung Galaxy S III (U.S. Cellular)

Samsung announced today that it has sold more than 30 million of its Galaxy S III smartphones in just five months.

In a blog post, Samsung said the phone’s predecessor, the Galaxy S II, sold 10 million devices during a similar time period last year.

“The Galaxy S III continues to be a runaway favorite with customers around the world,” JK Shin, president and head of Samsung’s IT and mobile communications division, said in a statement. “Meeting this sales milestone in five months sets another record for Samsung, and we are extremely proud and yet motivated to continue to provide our customers with products that they love. On behalf of Samsung Mobile, I appreciate millions of customers around the world that have chosen the Samsung Galaxy S III.”

Samsung first unveiled the Galaxy S III during a London press event in May. It landed in Europe later that month, and made its debut in the U.S. in June on all major carriers.

At the time, Samsung said it expected to sell 10 million Galaxy S III smartphones by July. By September, the phone maker said it had sold 20 million Galaxy S III units in just over three months.

Sprint last month became the first U.S. carrier to start rolling out Android 4.1 Jelly Bean to the ICS-based Galaxy S III. Other carriers are expected to follow suit shortly.

Last month, Samsung unveiled the 4-inch Galaxy S III mini, but only for Europe.

More recently, Samsung released the Galaxy Note II, which boasts a huge 5.5-inch screen to the Galaxy S III’s 4.8-inch display. The Note II hit 3 million in sales in just one month, Samsung revealed last week.

For more, see PCMag’s review of the Galaxy S III (for Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, and U.S. Cellular) and the slideshow above, and the Galaxy Note II (Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile).

For more from Chloe, follow her on Twitter @ChloeAlbanesius.

Galaxy S III 30 million