This is every Steam Machine coming in 2015

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><div xmlns='http://bit.ly/16Db7GR'><img alt="This is every Steam Machine coming in 2015" src="http://ift.tt/1kZjDnV"/><br/><br /><h3>Steam Machines at GDC 2015</h3><br /><br/><br /><p><img alt="Steam Machines - on the boil " src="http://ift.tt/1G5Ad0i" width="420"/> </p><br /><br/><br /><p><a href="http://ift.tt/1mPsZ4P">Steam Machine</a> (n.): The future of PC gaming in the living room.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>We've been waiting for a long time for them (over a year in fact ... not like we're counting), and with every little leak comes the heart-wrenching news that we're going to have to wait a bit longer. Take heart fellow PC gamers, there's light at the end of the tunnel.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>Steam Machines have finally started to appear.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>These living room PCs come from a variety of manufacturers, but they all share one thing: they use <a href="http://ift.tt/1cKUgxh">SteamOS</a> to give gamers a streamlined way to play PC games on the big screen. And at <a href="http://ift.tt/1wDXPD8">GDC 2015</a>, Steam Machines are stealing all the headlines, from individual announcements to big plans <a href="http://ift.tt/1DKALCH">from Valve itself</a>.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>The biggest news? That Steam Machines will start arriving this fall. Here are the ones we've seen and heard about so far this week.</p><br /><br/><br /><h3>Syber Steam Machine-X</h3><br /><br/><br /><p><img alt="Syber's Steam Machine-X" src="http://ift.tt/1B5IiNE" title="Syber's Steam Machine-X" width="420"/> </p><br /><br/><br /><p>Syber is a division of CyberPowerPC, one of the 13 <a href="http://ift.tt/K05V3O">Steam Machine partners</a> Valve announced back in January 2014.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>At GDC 2015 this week they finally showed off what they have in store, including a half dozen different varieties of Steam Machine.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>These include the Steam Machine-Mini, Steam Machine-Mercury and Steam Machine-Switch, all of which Syber is showing off at the show.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>On the low end of the six is the $450 (about £290, AU$575) Syber Steam Machine-E, with a quad-core AMD processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX graphics. The high end is occupied by the $1,400 (about £910, AU$1,780) Steam Machine-X, the orange beast pictured here.</p><br /><br/><br /><h3>Asus GR8S</h3><br /><br/><br /><p><img alt="Asus GR8S" src="http://ift.tt/18RFXgo" title="The slightly renamed Asus GR8S" width="420"/> </p><br /><br/><br /><p>Asus's interesting-looking Steam Machine first appeared last summer, but at the time the company said it wouldn't be <a href="http://ift.tt/1kT83dj">fully ready</a> until 2015.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>Well guess what year it is, and what Asus has been showing off at GDC 2015.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>The slightly renamed Asus GR8S Steam Machine sports Intel i5 or i7 processors, GeForce 9-series graphics, between 4 and 6GB of DDR3 memory, and either 500GB-1TB of HDD space or 128GB-512GB of solid state storage.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>It's launching at $700 (about £460, AU$900) and up.</p><br /><br/><br /><h3>iBuyPower SBX Steam Machine</h3><br /><br/><br /><p><img alt="iBuyPower Steam Machine" src="http://ift.tt/1GVe0za" title="The low end isn't so bad" width="420"/> </p><br /><br/><br /><p>iBuyPower was <a href="http://ift.tt/1b8uiCl">really early</a> to reveal its Steam Machine, showing off a concept all the way back in November 2013.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>At the time we noted that it would cost the same as an <a href="http://ift.tt/10fKbsb">Xbox One</a> - this was, obviously, before the Xbox One's price drops, since at the time it iBuyPower said its SBX Steam Machine would cost $500 (about £330, AU$640).</p><br /><br/><br /><h3>Zotac SN970</h3><br /><br/><br /><p><img alt="Zotac SN970" src="http://ift.tt/1NhpX6V" title="The Zotac SN970" width="420"/> </p><br /><br/><br /><p>Zotac announced a single Steam Machine at GDC: the ZOTAC SN970.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>It's an evolution of the ZBOX E-Series EN760 gaming PC, which the company points out already made a decent DIY Steam Machine for users who didn't mind installing SteamOS manually.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>But for those who prefer the out-of-the-box experience, the SN970 Steam Machine will come with discrete NVIDIA GTX 970M graphics, a 6th-gen Intel chip and a Steam Controller this fall.</p><br /><br/><br /><h3>Maingear DRIFT</h3><br /><br/><br /><p><img alt="Maingear DRIFT in orange" src="http://ift.tt/1B7ALhs" title="Maingear's DRIFT in orange" width="420"/> </p><br /><br/><br /><p>Maingear skipped GDC and took its new Steam Machine, the simply named DRIFT, to PAX East, the Boston fan convention also taking place this week.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>The Maingear DRIFT packs an Intel Core i7-4790K CPU and a choice between NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 or AMD Radeon R9 290X graphics, plus up to 16GB of DDR memory and 2 1TB solid state drives or a single 6TB HDD.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>It's also "whisper quiet," according to Maingear's announcement, and 4K gaming-capable - although the best part might be Maingear's "true automotive paint finish" that's apparently available in any color.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>Some versions of the DRIFT are available now, but the SteamOS-equipped DRIFT Super Stock edition will launch in November.</p><br /><br/><br /><h3>Digital Storm Eclipse</h3><br /><br/><br /><p><img alt="Digital Storm Eclipse" src="http://ift.tt/18RFXgi" title="The Digital Storm Eclipse" width="420"/> </p><br /><br/><br /><p>When Digital Storm launched its Eclipse gaming PC last year, it was another DIY Steam Machine, but now it's joined the official ranks.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>The Digital Storm Eclipse Steam Machine shown off at GDC has an Intel Pentium G3220 processor, Nvidia GTX 960 2GB graphics, 8GB of DDR3 memory, and a 1TB HDD.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>It's launching in the fall for $700 (about £460, AU$890).</p><br /><br/><br /><h3>Materiel from Material.net</h3><br /><br/><br /><p><img alt="Materiel.net Steam Machine" src="http://ift.tt/18RFXgk" title="Materiel.net Steam Machine" width="420"/> </p><br /><br/><br /><p>French retailer Materiel.net revealed its own Fractal Design-housed Steam Machine first during CES in January, and it showed it off again at GDC this week.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>The Materiel Steam Machine i working with an Intel Core i5 4440 chip, Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 OC graphics and a 1TB SSHD.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>It's launching at $899 (about £590, AU$1,150).</p><br /><br/><br /><h3>Alternate GmbH</h3><br /><br/><br /><p><img alt="Steam Machines" src="http://ift.tt/1Io4FQx" title="The Alternate Steam Machine looks quite like a console already" width="420"/> </p><br /><br/><br /><p>Representing Germany in Valve's master plans is online retailer Alternate with the simply-named Alternate Steam Machine, first revealed during CES 2014 but significantly changed since then. The box now is the chic but costly Silverstone Raven case, which looks a lot like an Xbox 360.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>If you couldn't already tell, Alternate has decided to go after the high end of the market, with a machine starting at $1,099 (about £721, AU$1,414) – far beyond the consoles' price range. For that, you're looking at an Intel Core i3 chip (Haswell), Nvidia's low-power GeForce GTX 750 Ti, 8GB of RAM and 500GB of spinning storage.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>The company will offer three more configurations of increasing power and price, going as far as offering up an Nvidia GTX 980 graphics card. You can expect to see this rig later this fall.</p><br /><br/><br /><h3>Scan Computers 3XS ST</h3><br /><br/><br /><p><img alt="Scan Computers' customizable Steam Machine" src="http://ift.tt/1GVe0iO" title="Scan Computers' customizable Steam Machine" width="420"/> </p><br /><br/><br /><p>Scan Computers' 3XS ST Steam Machine can come in a few different loadouts, with an Intel Core i3 or i5 CPU, Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti, 960 or 970 graphics, and between 8 and 16 GB of DDR3 memory.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>It also comes with a minimum of 120GB of SSD space, though you'll be able to opt for more - and it's unclear what the upper limit will be.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>Scan Computers' Steam Machine will run between $1,000 (about £650, AU$1,280) and $1,300 (about £850, AU$1,660).</p><br /><br/><br /><h3>Webhallen S15-01</h3><br /><br/><br /><p><img alt="Webhallen's Steam Machine" src="http://ift.tt/18RFYAR" title="Webhallen's Steam Machine" width="420"/> </p><br /><br/><br /><p>Another Steam Machine that was revealed first at CES, Webhallen's Steam OS-running S15-01 comes with an Intel Core i5-4460, Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 graphics, 8GB of DDR3 memory, and a 1TB SSHD.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>If these are all starting to sound the same to you, that's because they are very, very similar to one another.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>Then again, a year ago we didn't even know what a Steam Machine was, so it could definitely be worse.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>The Webhallen S15-01 will launch at $950 (about £620, AU$1,200).</p><br /><br/><br /><h3>Next Spa NextBox</h3><br /><br/><br /><p><img alt="Steam Machines" src="http://ift.tt/1G5AeBf" title="NextBox is going for that monolith from 2001 vibe" width="420"/> </p><br /><br/><br /><p>Next Spa, a boutique PC hardware vendor in Italy, also first unveiled its Steam Machine during CES 2014. But, like many of the Steam Machines, NextBox has undergone some clear changes as well. The NextBox now comes in a Cooler Master Elite 110 case for an even more cubic design ID.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>Neither quite as competitive as, say, Alienware with the consoles nor directly targeting the high end in terms of pricing, the NextBox will start at $799 (about £524, AU$1,028) when it lands this November. That nets players an Intel Core i3 CPU from the Haswell generation, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 750, 8GB of RAM and a spacious 1TB of mechanical storage.</p><br /><br/><br /><h3>Gigabyte BRIX Pro</h3><br /><br/><br /><p><img alt="Gigabyte BRIX" src="http://ift.tt/1hIf66o" title="The Gigabyte BRIX Pro" width="420"/> </p><br /><br/><br /><p>With an Intel Iris Pro 5200 GPU instead of the Nvidia or AMD graphics most of its competitors are rocking, the Gigabyte BRIX Pro Steam Machine stands a little bit apart.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>The practical difference is that it's on the low end of the price spectrum at $600 (about £390, AU$770).</p><br /><br/><br /><p>The BRIX also rocks an Intel Core i7 chip, two SO-DIMM DDR3L memory slots, and a 2.5-inch hard drive of your choice.</p><br /><br/><br /><h3>Falcon Northwest Tiki</h3><br /><br/><br /><p><img alt="Falcon's expensive Steam Machine" src="http://ift.tt/18RFYAV" title="Falcon's expensive Steam Machine" width="420"/> </p><br /><br/><br /><p>The FalconNW Tiki Steam Machine takes the cake easily as the most expensive Steam Machine we know of.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>It starts - <em>starts</em> - at $2,000 (about £1,300, AU$2,550), and the highest-end version costs a full $5,000 (about £3,275, AU$6,390).</p><br /><br/><br /><p>For that you get an Intel Core i7-4790K, multiple options from Nvidia's GeForce 900 series including Titan and Titan-Z class GPUs, up to 16GB of DDR3 memory, and up to 8TB of solid state/HDD drive space.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>Seems like $5K might be a lot to spend for that, but that's why there will be plenty of options come this fall.</p><br /><br/><br /><h3>Alienware Steam Machine</h3><br /><br/><br /><p><img alt="ALienware Steam Machine" src="http://ift.tt/1mzHhDy" title="Alienware Steam Machine" width="420"/> </p><br /><br/><br /><p>Don't call it the Alpha - the Alienware Steam Machine the company is showing off at GDC looks similar, but lacks the Alpha branding.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>It's full-fledged, people!</p><br /><br/><br /><p>Starting at $480 (about £315, AU$610), the new Alienware Steam Machine will launch with an Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 processor, Nvidia GeForce GTX GPU, 4 to 8GB of DDR3 memory, and between 500GB and 2TB of storage.</p><br /><br/><br /><h3>Origin Omega</h3><br /><br/><br /><p><img alt="Origin Omega" src="http://ift.tt/18RFXwG" title="Is this the most expensive Steam Machine?" width="420"/> </p><br /><br/><br /><p>Origin, too, is showing off a Steam Machine at GDC, although this isn't one that we'd <a href="http://ift.tt/1GVe0zf">heard about</a> until very recently.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>The high performance PC maker said in February that it would support SteamOS on an Omega PC when the operating system launches, and at the show this week it showed it's willing to follow through on that.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>The Origin Omega Steam Machine starts at $900 (about £590, AU$1,150) and goes up to $5,000 (about £3,275, AU$6,390) - and beyond, according to Origin.</p><br /><br/><br /><img border="0" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1G5AeBh" width="1"/><br clear='all'/><br /><br/><br /><br/><br /><br/><br /><br/><br /><br/><br /><a href="http://ift.tt/1Io4FQL" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ift.tt/1G5AeBj"/> </a><br/><br /><br/><br /><a href="http://ift.tt/1Io4G6Z" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ift.tt/1G5AdgE"/> </a><br/><br /><br/><br /><a href="http://ift.tt/1Io4G77" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ift.tt/1G5AeBn"/> </a><br/><br /><br/><br /><br/><br /><br/><br /><a href="http://ift.tt/1Io4G79"><img border="0" src="http://ift.tt/1G5AdgK"/> </a> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1Io4G7b" width="1"/><img alt="" height="1" src="//feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/allnews/~4/-lQxElVKJ5s" width="1"/><br/><br /><br/><br /><br/> </div><br /><br/><br /><br/><br />from http://bit.ly/1I5VjMP<br/></div>

This is every Steam Machine coming in 2015

Steam Machines at GDC 2015 Steam Machine (n.): The future of PC gaming in the living room. We've been waiting for a long time for them...

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Facebook Riff guarantees way more videos clogging up your Timeline

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><div xmlns='http://bit.ly/16Db7GR'><img alt="Facebook Riff guarantees way more videos clogging up your Timeline" src="http://ift.tt/1InRDmh"/><br/><br /><p>You record a clip and give it a topic, then your friends can add their own clips to your new collaborative video.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>That's what's behind Facebook's newest app, Riff, announced on April Fool's day but definitely (probably) not a joke.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>Riff is a collaborative video app that Facebook hopes will inspire ever-widening circles of friends to contribute to lengthy highlight reels that can then be posted to Facebook.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>Once your friends have added to your original video, their friends can then add to it to, and "the potential pool of creative collaborators can grow exponentially," Facebook says.</p><br /><br/><br /><h3>All that potential</h3><br /><br/><br /><p>Riff marks another way an existing tech company is trying to get its users to engage in new methods of sharing, like Twitter's Vine and even <a href="http://ift.tt/1InRFdG">HTC's Zoe</a>.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>We'll see whether it catches on, though, as Riffs also have the potential to become chaotic messes of videos made by a bunch of people you don't even know.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>Download Facebook Riff on iOS or Android to start making clips to share with friends and check out the videos that your friends have already started working on.</p><br /><br/><br /><ul><br /><li style='list-style: none'><br/> </li><br /><li>The <a href="http://ift.tt/1G6VfLG">HTC One M9</a> is masterfully designed</li><br /><li style='list-style: none'><br/> </li><br /></ul><br /><br/><br /><img border="0" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1G5AcJJ" width="1"/><br clear='all'/><br /><br/><br /><br/><br /><br/><br /><br/><br /><br/><br /><a href="http://ift.tt/1Io4CEy" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ift.tt/1Io4CUP"/> </a><br/><br /><br/><br /><a href="http://ift.tt/1G5AcJO" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ift.tt/1G5AekP"/> </a><br/><br /><br/><br /><a href="http://ift.tt/1Io4CUU" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ift.tt/1G5Ad04"/> </a><br/><br /><br/><br /><br/><br /><br/><br /><a href="http://ift.tt/1Io4F2Z"><img border="0" src="http://ift.tt/1Io4CV2"/> </a> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1G5Ad07" width="1"/><img alt="" height="1" src="//feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/allnews/~4/TSOpfQk8r4o" width="1"/><br/><br /><br/><br /><br/> </div><br /><br/><br /><br/><br />from http://bit.ly/19H6NHI<br/></div>

Facebook Riff guarantees way more videos clogging up your Timeline

You record a clip and give it a topic, then your friends can add their own clips to your new collaborative video. That's what's behi...

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Obama: cyberattacks to be treated as acts of war

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><div xmlns='http://bit.ly/16Db7GR'><img alt="Obama: cyberattacks to be treated as acts of war" src="http://ift.tt/131yfFr"/><br/><br /><p>President Barack Obama issued an executive order that would allow the government to impose financial sanctions against cyberattackers, treating malicious cyberattacks in a similar way as physical attacks. Under the order, the US Treasury Department could impose financial and travel sanctions against hackers who threaten national security.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>"This Executive Order authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, to impose sanctions on individuals or entities that engage in malicious cyber-enabled activities that create a significant threat to the national security, foreign policy, or economic health or financial stability of the United States," Obama said in a statement.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>According to <a href="http://ift.tt/1Dp66Au">Reuters</a>, the order gives Obama the same tools to address cyber threats as other threats, "including crises in the Middle East and Russia's aggression in Ukraine."</p><br /><br/><br /><p>The sanctions target cyberattacks that originate from outside the country. The <a href="http://ift.tt/1MzGIwh">New York Times</a> reports that actions that "target critical infrastructure; steal money, trade secrets or personal information; or disrupt computer networks through what are called denial-of-service attacks" would fall under the scope of cyberattacks covered under the executive order. Additionally, foreign companies that knowingly use trade secrets to harm the US economy would also be targeted.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>"From now on, we have the power to freeze their assets, make it harder for them to do business with US companies, and limit their ability to profit from their misdeeds," Obama said of the order.</p><br /><br/><br /><h3>More power for retaliation</h3><br /><br/><br /><p>The executive order comes just after the Obama administration blamed North Korea in December for a cyberattack discovered in the previous month that crippled Sony Pictures. The attack is believed to be in response to Sony's involvement in "The Interview," a film mocking North Korea leader Kim Jong-un. In January, Obama imposed economic sanctions against North Korea.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>The new executive order would give the president additional powers for retaliation in an event of a cyberattack. Rather than focusing on specific countries, the executive order allows the US to focus its efforts on the malicious activity and the individuals, regardless of where the attack originated.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>"This allows us to have an executive order that focuses directly on the activities of concern whether they arise in North Korea or another jurisdiction," said White House Cybersecurity coordinator Michael Daniel in a report on <a href="http://ift.tt/1IQoIrT">CNN</a>. "Obviously cyber incidents tend to flow very easily across international boundaries, so trying to tie that to a particular location just didn't make sense."</p><br /><br/><br /><p>Daniel said that the program fills the cybersecurity gap where current means are insufficient, noting that the order will serve as both punishment and deterrent.</p><br /><br/><br /><p>The publication reported that Obama will also leverage existing authorities, "including diplomatic engagement, trade policy tools, and law enforcement mechanisms" to fight threats.</p><br /><br/><br /><ul><br /><li style='list-style: none'><br/> </li><br /><li>Read our report on what <a href="http://ift.tt/1G5vkEq">businesses could learn</a> from major data breaches</li><br /><li style='list-style: none'><br/> </li><br /></ul><br /><br/><br /><img border="0" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1Io4BAp" width="1"/><br clear='all'/><br /><br/><br /><br/><br /><br/><br /><br/><br /><br/><br /><a href="http://ift.tt/1G5Actd" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ift.tt/1Io4BAr"/> </a><br/><br /><br/><br /><a href="http://ift.tt/1G5Acth" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ift.tt/1Io4zs8"/> </a><br/><br /><br/><br /><a href="http://ift.tt/1G5Actj" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ift.tt/1Io4BAt"/> </a><br/><br /><br/><br /><br/><br /><br/><br /><a href="http://ift.tt/1G5AcJz"><img border="0" src="http://ift.tt/1Io4BAv"/> </a> <img border="0" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1G5Ae4p" width="1"/><img alt="" height="1" src="//feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/allnews/~4/eWE1ommM8Cc" width="1"/><br/><br /><br/><br /><br/> </div><br /><br/><br /><br/><br />from http://bit.ly/19H6Nrk<br/></div>

Obama: cyberattacks to be treated as acts of war

President Barack Obama issued an executive order that would allow the government to impose financial sanctions against cyberattackers, treat...

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