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Turns out smartphones aren't making millennials grow horns after all
Demonizing smartphones and millennials is a favorite past time among certain segments of the population, and earlier this year there was an excellent opportunity for both when a science journal published a dubious article claiming that using smartphones or tablets led to forward head posture which caused a bony protuberance to grow at the back of the skull. This was quickly picked up and reported as 'smartphones causing young people to grow horns'.
The prison-building simulator that makes you part of the problem
It wasn't supposed to be this way. I started off with altruistic intentions. I was going to create a spacious, roomy penitentiary. I was going to double the minimum size of cells. There was going to be a big yard, with a pool table and TVs. This was going to be a decent prison; a social service. But then I ended up blowing the upfront from my grants on all that square footage – plus, I needed guards, a warden; then, when the money started to tighten, an accountant to find tax loopholes – and the next thing I knew I was in the red. Look, there's Andrew Brown, in for 23 years for arson. He has four sons. And now he has no choice but to to use an open-air toilet in the center of a holding cell because I'm too cheap to build walls around it. I've stripped this little avatar of his dignity. I'm starting to feel ashamed. Then it dawned on me: This isn't a resort; this is a prison. It's big business and I'm its architect, and I'm losing because I took my eye off the prize. I need to be focused on selling my prison for profit, not getting bogged down in frivolous niceties. And, I suspect, that's exactly what Prison Architect, a PC strategy game from Introversion Software, wanted me to feel.
The Elder Scrolls Online gets some myths dispelled
Are you looking forward to seeing what happens when the developers at Bethesda finish working on The Elder Scrolls Online? Are you unsure how the game's Skyrim-based combat will work when accounting for lag in your aim? Do you have a fear of having everyone grouped on a single server? If you answered yes to any of those questions, it's probably a good idea for you to take a gander at the video below the cut, because all of those questions are based on misconceptions that the video aims to correct. The fansite Tamriel Foundry has put together a short video hitting several of the most common misconceptions about The Elder Scrolls Online, explaining both the inaccurate belief and the truth of the matter. This covers everything from the actual developers (Zenimax Online) to the changes to the combat system (you won't be actively aiming, with the game instead establishing a soft target lock on your selected target). Even if you think you know all there is to know about the game already, it couldn't hurt to sit and watch -- and maybe have a few mistaken ideas cleared out.
Dell says XPS 700 will NOT ship overclocked
We can't blame TG Daily for reporting that the Core 2 Extreme-powered version of Dell's XPS 700 gaming desktop will ship with a factory overclocked processor; after all, the placard in front of that demo machine at the World Series of Video Games did indeed mention an overclocked Conroe, with the promise that "system specs like this [will be] available within the next 30 days at [Dell's website]." After Cnet received a review unit of the new configuration that had not been overclocked, however, they called up Dell to set the record straight once and for all. According to company spokesperson Liem Nguyen, although "Dell has unlocked the BIOS so that customers can overclock the processor themselves...at this time Dell is not factory overclocking the system." So there you have it, straight from the horse's mouth: Dell's not actually doing the dirty work here, but it is giving customers the opportunity to tweak and possibly fry their machines themselves.
