Hello, Everyone!  It’s Echo2Niner with some new knowledge I’d like share only after learning by many, many hours of trial and error.

So, I found myself playing around with different types of Check Point firewalls lately,  Specifically, a Check Point 730, a 3200 and a 4800.  I’m now definitely a huge fan.

The Checkpoint 730, is a smaller model for, in my opinion, SOHO/SMB to host 100 nodes or less .  It is managed by a web based only GUI which I find very easy to use.

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When I heard that Microsoft was going to enable the use of external hard drives with a minimum size of 256 gigabytes over USB 3.0, I was very excited.  I immediately started to research what external hard drives I would buy to facilitate this.  There was a 2 terabyte Seagate external hard drive.  There was a 2 terabyte Western Digital My Book.  If I really wanted to go portable, I could get a 2 terabyte Western Digital My Passport.

I then realized something when looking at their specs.  Most of those drives tout how fast they are with the perspective of USB 3.0 or how many movies, mp3’s, or documents the drives could hold.  There was really nothing about the drives.  That wasn’t going to work for me because in my experience, they normally put slower RPM drives in to those types of enclosures to minimize manufacturing costs as well as power drain, which provided increased portability and profit.  That’s not a bad thing if you’re the seller of these technologies.  But for me, I had to go a different route.

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This is reportedly a GameStop promotional poster dating Call of Duty: Ghosts’ first DLC installment, Onslaught for Jan. 28. It was tweeted out yesterday and picked up by theCall of Duty enthusiast site CharlieIntel.P

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It describes four new maps—Fog, Bayview, Containment and Ignitionand two bonus weapons. Episode one of the Extinction-mode narrative announced back in mid-Decemberalso is included.P

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Quick release may be aiming to move past Windows 8 flak

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Microsoft will cause a major surprise at its annual Build conference in April by revealing the Windows 9 operating system, according to reports this weekend.

Well-connected Microsoft blogger Paul Thurrott claims the company plans to release Windows 9 (codenamed Threshold) in April 2015, less than three years after outing its revolutionary Windows 8 OS.

The new OS will not be a huge overhaul, but the fast transition is aimed at leaving behind some of the criticisms associated with the Windows 8 moniker, allowing Microsoft to move forward with a clean slate.

“To distance itself from the Windows 8 debacle, Microsoft is currently planning to drop the Windows 8 name and brand this next release as Windows 9. That could change, but that’s the current thinking,” the report claimed.

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Anyone already in the Project Spark beta will be sent a second key.

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The Xbox One beta for game creation suite Project Spark will begin in February, Microsoft has announced. 

The full software is due out later this year, with a Windows 8 beta currently ongoing.

“Project Spark Xbox One closed beta begins in February,” wrote developer Team Dakota on the game’s Facebook page.

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Audio hardware maker Turtle Beach brought its first Xbox One-compatible headsets to CES 2014 this week, showing off three forthcoming models. But the company is still waiting on Microsoft to provide the adapters that will ultimately make those headsets work with the new console.

On display at Turtle Beach’s CES booth were the XO Four, the company’s $99.95, entry level Xbox One headset, and the XO Seven, a premium offering based on its tournament-level line, with memory foam ear cups, a mobile inline microphone and customizable earphone panels. It retails for $159.95. Those Earforce brand headsets will plug into the Xbox One controller, through the required hardware adapter, which the licensee is still waiting on.

That hardware adapter is due sometime this quarter, Turtle Beach said.

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“The feedback we’ve gotten is pretty valid,” says Xbox executive Marc Whitten.

 

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Sorting out Xbox One’s tricksy social functions will be the priority focus of the console’s first major update, Microsoft has revealed.

Speaking to Engadget at CES 2014, Xbox executive Marc Whitten explained the incoming update. “The feedback we’ve gotten is pretty valid; some of the social stuff is hidden or harder to use than it was on the Xbox 360. So you’re gonna see us come out with an update where, well, we’re going to fix those things.”

Many of the Xbox One’s social functions–Achievements, friends lists, and, crucially, the party system–have all been split into separate applications on the new console, as opposed to the being baked in to the OS as they had been previously with the Xbox 360. While this allows for a clean and elegant interface, many users have reported that it makes using the social features cumbersome and fiddly.

“As a person who’s been pretty involved in building Xbox Live for the last decade, I take it pretty seriously when people say it’s harder to get into a party, and the defaults aren’t right, and I don’t like the model,” continued Whitten.

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New research reveals that people who play games for long periods of time may experience an altered perception of reality

Gamers who play for hours are prone to hallucinations and seeing distorted versions of reality, according to a new study.

Respondents reported seeing “distorted versions of real world surroundings” and “misinterpreted real life objects” after they had stopped playing. Others said that game menus appear in front of their eyes during conversations.

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LAS VEGAS— We now know what the full potential of a Steam Machine looks like, courtesy of an announcement by Valve and Dell’s Alienware division at CES Monday.

“Full potential.” Those are the words Valve founder Gabe Newell used today in a statement provided to PCWorld.

The full quote:

“We have been working with Alienware since we began defining our vision of the Steam Machine. Alienware’s historic commitment to gaming, their design and engineering capabilities and their global reach made them an ideal partner for us on our Steam Machine project. The result of our collaboration is the Alienware Steam Machine, a console that encapsulates the full potential of what a Steam Machine should be.”

So what does the full potential look like?

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Software-based “Virtual Joey” client connects to DISH Hopper, making live TV and recordings accessible on PlayStation® platforms

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LAS VEGAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–DISH Network L.L.C., a subsidiary of DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ:DISH), today announced that it will be launching an application that gives customers control of the Hopper® Whole-Home HD DVR on Sony Computer Entertainment’s PlayStation®3 (PS3™) and PlayStation®4 (PS4™) systems starting Spring 2014. DISH’s Virtual Joey provides a nearly identical experience to the Hopper Whole-Home HD DVR’s hardware-based Joey®, making live TV and recordings accessible on PlayStation platforms.

“We strive to provide consumers with the best TV experience and ‘Virtual Joey’ means DISH is delivering even more choices in how and where consumers enjoy their Hopper.”

With millions of PS3 and PS4 systems in U.S. homes, PlayStation owners with a DISH subscription will be able to stay connected with their Hopper system via a software-based Virtual Joey client. Using a customer’s home network, the Virtual Joey can connect wirelessly to the Hopper allowing for installation options where coaxial or Ethernet wiring may be difficult to access.

“DISH’s ‘Virtual Joey’ brings the industry’s most awarded DVR experience to millions of PS3 and PS4 systems already in American homes,” said Joseph P. Clayton, DISH president and CEO. “We strive to provide consumers with the best TV experience and ‘Virtual Joey’ means DISH is delivering even more choices in how and where consumers enjoy their Hopper.”

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