June 26, 2015 - The WAN Show Document

[LinusTech]

 

Soundcloud Link: https://soundcloud.com/thewanshow/the-wan-show-windows-10-free-to-insiders-r9-fury-x-sold-out-june-26-2015

 

Main News Topics

R9 Fury X sold out

Source 1: linustechtips.com/r9-fury-x-sold-out OP: marldorthegreat

Source 2: wccftech.com/amds/radeon/r9-fury-sold…

• within 24 hours every SKU on the market was sold out

• Amazon & Newegg, as well as other large retailers, are currently listed as out of stock

• tough to say whether AMD forecasted too low or the yields were just too low for the demand

• unlikely that they under-forecasted due to the hype, but it is a possibility

AMD Says Grenada PRO and XT Are Not Rebrands of Hawaii, and They're Right... Sort Of.

Source 1: linustechtips.com - amd says grenada pro and xt ar OP: Spaghetticarbonara

Source 2: vrworld.com - amd moves to justify radeon 300 series rebrand

• Manufacturing process optimizations engine clock + 50 on both 390 and 390X  same power envelope

• faster memory performance and more bandwidth

• Memory clock increased from 1250MHz to 1500MHz on both 390 and 390X

• Memory bandwidth increased from 320GB/s to 384GB/s

• 8GB frame buffer is standard on ALL cards, not just the OC versions

• Complete re-write of the GPUs power management micro-architecture

• Worst case power situations.. 390(x) equals 290x

• typical gaming load power is expected to be lower with increased performance

Batman: Arkham Knight PC sales suspended

Source 1: linustechtips.com/official-batman-arkham-knight-pc… OP: zMeul

Source 2: community.wbgames.com/support-for-pc/june-24…

• official statement on the WB games community forum

• “We want to apologize to those of you who are experiencing performance issues with Batman: Arkham Knight on PC.”

• suspending future game sales of the PC version while they address these issues to “satisfy our quality standards.”

• this is in response to a lot of negative press they received throughout the week

• game is capped to 30fps and can only be unlocked by editing the .ini file

• WB Games responded that they would not be unlocking the framerate (earlier in the week, that may have changed) and that the recommended specs were intended to mirror the gameplay experience of a console

• before the game was released WB Games announced that AMD owners would experience performance issues, but it turns out that Nvidia GPUs are also experiencing issues

• some textures (eg. ambient occlusion and rain) that the Nvidia Gameworks video showed off are completely missing on PC, but present on PS4…

• Steam ratings were sitting at around 35% positive, and WB Games listened

Fallout 3/4 “Bottlecap saga”

Source 1: reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/update_on_the…

Source 2: imgur.com/gallery/tYZPO

Source 3: twitter.com/bethblog/status…

• huge Fallout 3 fan saved his bottlecaps from over 7.5 years of college drinking (undergrad and masters)

• ended up with 11.2 pounds of bottlecaps

• sent them to Bethesda with a note that said they were his “life savings,” along with his Steam ID and email, asking to use them as compensation for a copy of Fallout 4

• estimated that he sent 2,240 caps

• Bethesda rep said that since he was the first person to do this he would be receiving a copy of the game in November

• also mentioned that he would be running the caps over to deposit them at the People’s Bank of Point Lookout (a bank from Fallout 3)

• in the reddit thread he mentioned the caps cost him about $25 to ship - nearly half the cost of the pre-order

It is now illegal to rip CDs you already on in the UK

Source 1: linustechtips.com/it-is-now-illegal-to-rip… OP: ahhming

Source 2: eff.org/european-copyright-madness-court…

• the High Court of the UK struck down the UK government’s decision to allow users to lawfully make copies of content they have purchased for personal use

• the government must now either make personal copying illegal again or supply evidence that copyright owners suffer no or minimal harm from personal copying, or impose a new tax on users to compensate the industry for that “harm”

• musicians groups in the UK claim that since content that can be copied has more value than content that can’t, the rightsholder should be able to capture that value

• the government argues that that value is already being captured and is built in to the purchase price of the original works, resulting in no or minimal loss to rightsholders

• the issue is that the government did not provide any evidence or studies to back their side up, while the musicians groups did (though theirs were “long on economic theory and short on common sense”)

• the court accepted that the EU Copyright Directive does not require “that sellers must be able to extract the very last gram of value from the copyright,” the personal copying exception may have resulted in loss of sales (eg. a consumer may have refrained from buying an extra copy of their favorite CD for their car)

• the government failed to provide any evidence that those lost sales were zero or minimal

• represents just how detached copyright law has become from the real world

• the irony is that, for many digital works, it is impossible to make use of copyrighted works at all without making copies

• the blame may not all be on the court, or the government - the EU Copyright Directive seems to lack much consideration of the consumer in general

• hasn’t kept up with how distribution of copyrighted materials has evolved in the digital age

Taylor Swift calls Apple Music free trial “shocking, disappointing” in open letter - now resolved

Source 1: linustechtips.com/taylor-swift-calls… OP: itsmefurqan

Source 2: theverge.com/taylor-swift-apple-music…

Source 3: digitaltrends.com/apple-music-002-cents…

Source 4: metro.co.uk/photographer-accuses-taylor...

• Apple’s original policy on Apple Music free trials was that artists would not be paid for any stream taking place with a 3-month free trial account

• “Three months is along time to go unpaid, and it is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing.” - Taylor Swift

• Apple claims that this would be largely offset by higher payments down the road

• Apple’s payments to labels are “a few percentage points higher than the industry standard”

• other artists had not spoken out about this because of Apple’s history as a superpower in the music industry over the last 10 or so years

• since that letter, Apple has responded through a Tweet from Eddy Cue “We hear you Taylor Swift and indie artists. Love, Apple”

• DigitalTrends reported yesterday that Apple will be paying artists 0.247 cents per stream during the free trial period (on par with industry standards)

• 71.5% of revenue from paid accounts will go to artists

• sidenote: days later, an industry photographer released an open letter to Swift about her own (probably, in fairness, her label’s) policies in regards to photographers

• they are forced to sign off the rights to their photos in perpetuity to artists while only maintaining the ability to publish them and be paid for them once

• stuff like this exists in many industries, it’s just interesting to see a similar implementation in two very closely tied layers

Disney theme parks ban selfie sticks

Source 1: linustechtips.com/disney-theme-parks-bans… OP: GoodBytes

Source 2: theverge.com/disney-world-bans-selfie…

• will be enforced at bag checks when entering the park

• tried to implement the policy through verbal warnings from employees and signs

• this strategy did not work

• visitors who carry one will have two options - leave it at the entrance and pick it up on your way out, or don’t bring it to begin with

• goes into effect at both Disney World and Disneyland on Tuesday

• expands to Hong Kong and Paris parks July 1

• spreading the word through announcements at its own hotels and audio messages in the parking lots

• initially tried to accommodate the smartphone accessory by forbidding them on rides, but allowing them elsewhere on park grounds

• people continued to bring them on rides like Big Thunder Mountain

• this week a roller coaster at Disneyland was put out of commission for an hour because of a guest using a selfie stick at the ride’s highest point

• this was the last in a long series of delays caused by selfie sticks

• Disney joins some museums and the Cannes film festival, which have already banned the accessory

Assassin's Creed: Syndicate creative director promises the PC version will "shine"

Source 1: linustechtips.com - assassins creed syndicate creativ OP: Twisteddictator

Source 2: pcgamer.com

• Assassins' Creed: Syndicate is coming to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on October 23, and to the PC at some point after that.

• Creative Director Marc-Alexis Côté told PCGamer at E3:

• "We've got an internal team that's dedicated to the PC version, and one of the things that I'm happy about is that we're really taking our time with the PC version to really make it shine," "We want the game to really work well on the PC on day one, which is why it's not the same launch [date] as the Xbox One and the PS4 versions. It will come a bit later in the fall, but I think it will be worth the wait."

• "We're working really hard on optimizing the game, making it run smoother on a wider range of PCs,

• "We're really dedicating a team to working on this and making sure it shines."

Microsoft just made millions from Windows XP

Source 1: linustechtips.com/microsoft-just-made… OP: jos

Source 2: computerworld.com/us-navy-paid-millions…

• Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, the Navy’s communications and information networks

• contract is worth 9.1 million USD to maintain security patches for Windows XP, Office 2003, Exchange 2003, and Windows Server 2003

• contract could be extended into 2017 and could be worth up to 30.8 million USD

• they began to transition away from XP in 2013, but still have 100,000 workstations running XP and other old software

• current data puts XP’s current market share at just over 14 percent worldwide, just above that of OSX

Windows 10 Insider will remain free and genuine

Source 1: linustechtips.com - windows 10 insider will remain free and g OP: Kodiack

Source 2: arstechnica.com - microsoft clarification kinda clears up free windo

• Two options:

  • Remain in the Windows Insider program.

    • The Insider program will continue after July 29, and Microsoft will continue to use it for beta testing and soliciting end-user feedback.

    • Anyone who sticks with the program will continue to receive a steady series of activated, genuine operating system releases.

    • As with any other Microsoft beta, these updates will be timebombed; after several months, they'll expire.

    • New versions will be provided long before those timers ever hit.

  • Opt out of the Insider program:

    • Will need a valid Windows 7, 8, or 10 license.

    • Without a suitable license, the operating system will eventually expire.

    • If the Insider builds were installed as an upgrade to Windows 7 or 8, they'll remain activated once they switch to RTM.

    • Microsoft hasn't said what the story is if a clean installation of Windows 10 is performed.

South Korean government has required teenagers install a spy app on their smartphones

Source 1: linustechtips.com/the-south-korean-government… OP: jos

Source 2: bbc.com/technology…

• ruled that people under 19 who buy a smartphone must install an app that monitors their web activity

• parents will be able to see what kids are doing online and block access to “undesirable” sites

• the phone will not work if the app isn’t installed

• the main topic of discussion is whether 19 is too old

• the government has one such app (Smart Sheriff), but alternatives exist on the market

• there is a loophole - apparently Apple devices can get around this rule, though the Communications Commission assumes that everyone there prefers Android to Apple (Samsung is the market leader by a longshot)

• the government’s argument is that young people should be protected from the “nastiness on the web”

• opposition’s argument is that this overrides basic personal freedoms, and that children should be taught to use the web naturally rather than hidden from its dangers

• some apps monitor words and phrases, alerting parents when they are entered into search engines (eg. threat, run away from home, pregnancy, and crazy)

• some Korean privacy advocates are saying it’s the same as installing a surveillance camera on teenagers’ smartphones

• teenagers aged 18 and under “resented being made to install Smart Sheriff or its alternatives”

• still a growing issue - will be interesting to see how it takes shape over the next few weeks/months

iPhone to remove home button by 2017

Source 1: linustechtips.com/iphone-to-remove-home… OP: ClownFace1511

Source 2: new.com.au/the-home-button-may-be-ditched…

• new chips are being developed to take fingerprint scans through a touch screen (or some other means)

• these would “fit into future iPhone designs - models with ultra-thin and ultra-narrow displays, and with a whole-plane design eliminating the home button”

• in theory this could mean edge-to-edge displays on a new iPhone

• also could enable thinner devices

• report came from Taiwan-based DigiTimes, which is unconfirmed

• this publication has had a “spotty record” when it comes to predicting Apple’s product cycle, but the direction makes sense based on Steve Jobs’ vision and Apple’s overall vision

PCIe 4.0 to be finalized in 2017, with new connector and 16 GT/s data-rates

Source 1: linustechtips.com - pcie 40 to be finalized in 2017 with new c OP: Bouzoo

Source 2: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express#PCI_Express_4.0

Source 3: kitguru.net - pci express 4 0 with 16gts data rates and new connecto

• PCI SIG claims that the fourth generation PCI Express specification will be finalized in 2017 and will materialize this decade.

• The new tech will use a new connector and will be the last copper version of PCI Express.

• Still need to agree on:

  • Interconnect attributes

  • Fabric management

  • Programming interface required to design and build systems/peripherals.

• PCI Express 4.0 will utilize a new connector, but the specification will be backward compatible mechanically and electrically with PCI Express 3.0.

• It will be possible to use today’s add-in-cards in PCIe 4.0-based systems, but future AICs will not work with PCIe 3.0.

• 16GT/s base transfer rate will allow PCI Express 4.0 x1 interconnection to transfer up to 2GB of data per second, whereas the PCIe 4.0 x16 slots used for graphics cards and ultra-high-end solid-state drives will provide up to 32GB/s of bandwidth.

• Al Yanes, president of the PCI SIG, believes that fifth-generation PCI Express will have to rely on optical, not copper links.

 

Rapid Fire News Topics

Xbox Boss Phil Spencer: I Want To Give People A Choice

Source 1: linustechtips.com - xbox boss phil spencer i want to OP: Twisteddictator

Source 2: youtu.be/Pjh1Uo_xaSQ?t=3h25m56s

Source 3: acutegaming.net - xbox boss phil spencer i want to give people a cho

• wants Xbox to be the best TV gaming platform, but alos give users the choice to play games when they’re not around the TV

• “As a gamer I play games on PC… I want to be able to play the games where I want to play them… I want to give people a choice.”

• “There’s this kind of back channel frankly I don’t really subscribe to of you need to keep people from playing in certain places, somehow that’s the answer… I want to give people choice and with Xbox I want it to be the best TV gaming experience you can have but frankly if I’m not on my TV and I’m on my laptop, and want to play killer instinct, I want to play gear, I want to play fable, I should be able to do that and to try force people to buy something by excluding their choice.”

Edmonton, Alberta to be first Candian Gigabit scociety thanks to $1B Investment

Source 1: linustechtips.com - edmonton alberta to be first candian OP: Xtankslayerx

Source 2: edmontonjournal.com - billion+fibre+optic+investment+will+make+Edmon

• Telus is managing the $1-billion fibre-optic Internet build

• give the city a “technological and economic upper hand that will boost innovation, education and streamline health care”

• delivering speeds of 150 megabits per second to more than 300,000 homes and businesses as well as medical, educational, and community facilities

• intended to “future-proof Edmonton’s growing digital demands for decades to come”

[Syntaxvgm]

"I wish you were sleeping forever. It's ok if you consumer oxygen, I just never want you to talk or move. " - Linus 2015

[Cyrus49]

Squarespace: Luke's mom uses it

 

10 seconds later: Not anymore!

[Deletive]

I'm going to sit back and watch this for awhile.  

[QueenDemetria]

I was so busy that I forgot about the WAN Show, I feel slightly terrible.

[Fred Castellum]

@LinusTech Yo Linus some sections of the post aren't night theme user friendly, can you edit it please?

[thorpj]

Does anyone know why the video is private?

 

EDIT: It's up on Vessel. Cool

[Bandit5317]

Linus please make sure you're on the latest drivers when you review the Fury X. There are a lot of rumors that some reviewers aren't, which is leading to clear performance discrepancies between one review site (guru3D) and another (Anandtech). 

[xuebao61]

Made this while watching WAN Show. It's 4:30 in the morning so I'm not making it any better at the moment x3

[Effect++]

to get an ifixit pro tech toolkit its - $10 for wan show and + $12 for shipping, but if you go to amazon its nothing off with free shipping... so its always  $2 less then 14 day the wan show 'deal'

[Hebdomad]

[LinFan15]

Why does Linus keep saying AMD doesn't have a PCIe 3.0 compatible chipset?

The A88X chipset has it..

[popman]

Does anyone know why the video is private?

 

Their default upload setting is private. It's so they don't accidentally leak a video or break NDA on something.

 

Why does Linus keep saying AMD doesn't have a PCIe 3.0 compatible chipset?

The A88X chipset has it..

Wasn't that the one where PCI-e 3 was implemented on the board, rather than on the CPU? Then, nobody bought it so it wasn't attempted again.

 

 

to get an ifixit pro tech toolkit its - $10 for wan show and + $12 for shipping, but if you go to amazon its nothing off with free shipping... so its always  $2 less then 14 day the wan show 'deal'

also,

an unbranded OEM version of the same parts is like $30 (probably without the pouch)

 

 

 

Can I get more info on that blank media tax? Does the law specifically say certain groups (record companies/unions) get paid based on blank media sales, or is anyone who can show that their music is getting pirated able to avail of this cashola?

If it's the latter, I think I might enter the music industry.

[thorpj]

Their default upload setting is private. It's so they don't accidentally leak a video or break NDA on something.

 

Right thanks

[Bsmith]

i find the idea of bringing the "keep on digging" shirts not such a bad idea, but i want the "sleep is for pussies" t-shirt back too, IIRC there was a poll about it on general a few days ago.

[Trik'Stari]

Did we ever figure out why the box was wet?

[Master Disaster]

Epic show as usual.

Fyi guys, MS announced Fable Legends, KI & Gears Ultimate for PC at E3. Also Gears 1 is out on PC already.

[Joonikko]

Used LTT colors to create couple "Vote for Turnip" designs.

T-shirt designs

[elfensky]

For those who are interested: the rating systems works with points, every category having a certain amount of allocated points, which is then combined to calculate the final score (200 maximum).
With that final score, a PCGMR rank is given, depending on it. eg peasantry is 0 - 40 I think, something like that.

• The original post
• A topic discussing possible imporovements to the original system
• A website that automatically calculates it for you. Just select the features of a game.

[Wooth]

Pancake/Hotcake clarification

 

Crepes - Really thin.

 

 

Pancakes - About twice the thickness of a Crepe.

 

 

Hotcakes - Have raising agent and are really thick and fluffy. These are what most people know as 'Pancakes'.

 

The words hotcake and pancake have slowly become interchangeable even though they are different.

[Razor512]

I wonder, wiy doesn't AMD/ATI have a mascot for their videocards?

 

They should come out with a new version of the fury x, and call it the furry x. and then give it a new memory design.

 

For example, 4GB of HBM, and 8GB of GDDR5 (as a form of 512bit GDDR5 level 2 RAM)? That will at leasst help in cases where 4GB of VRAM is not enough (there are current games that need more than 4GB of VRAM). The main slowdown when you do not have enough VRAM, is when the card begin to use system memory. Regardless of the system memory, you are using the very limited bandwidth of the pci express bus, and you are then having that port pull double duty and handle the RAM style data, in addition to the other data and instrutions that the system uses to tell the card what to do with the data stored in its RAM.

 

They can then do a mascot along the lines of this, but have it installing a videocard.

 

[Jumper118]

wow this wan show.

[Wooth]

Turnip

[NumLock21]

We need turnip flavor hotcakes (pancakes)!

[as96]

We need to solve the mistery of the wet box