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AMD Seattle is due to arrive next year, but not look like a lightbulb.

With its 2013-2014 server roadmap, AMD has revealed that its first 64-bit ARM-based server chips, codenamed Seattle, are set to be sampled in Q1 2014 and ready for production in the second half of 2014.

While the chips were first announced last year, the roadmap has shed light on previously unknown details about them. Seattle will be based on ARM’s Cortex-A57 cores and a 28nm manufacturing process, and will be made available first as an 8-core CPU and secondly as a 16-core one. As AMD is keen to emphasise, upon its release, Seattle will be the industry’s first such server system on chip. It will also be the first AMD processor to utilise its Freedom Fabric technology, acquired in its buyout of SeaMicro last year.

AMD expects its new chip family to ‘provide category-leading throughput as well as setting the bar in performance-per-watt’ and to ‘set the bar in power-efficient server compute’. It also claims that it will outperform the recently announced AMD Opteron X-Series of processors, based on AMD’s own Jaguar cores, by between two and four times, and expects Seattle to reach speeds of at least 2GHz.

As well as 128GB DRAM support, Seattle will deliver ‘extensive offload engines for better power efficiency and reduced CPU loading, server calibre encryption, and compression and legacy networking including integrated 10GbE.’

Details were also unveiled new about the company’s Berlin and Warsaw processors. The former will be available as both a CPU and APU and based on a set of four of AMD’s upcoming 28nm Steamroller cores. Berlin is designed to offer almost eight times the gigaflops per-watt of the Opteron 6386SE processor and consequently offer a large rack density. It will also be the first server APU built on AMD’s Heterogeneous System Architecture, which AMD claims ‘makes [GPGPU] programming as easy as C++.’

Finally, Warsaw is AMD’s next-generation offering in its two and four socket enterprise platforms, and as such is optimised for heavily virtualised enterprise workloads. Set to supercede the Opteron 6300 family, the Warsaw CPUs will be based on 12 or 16 of AMD’s existing 32nm Piledriver cores and provide ‘significantly improved performance-per-watt’ over said family while also providing an apparently seamless migration path from one to the other.

Both Berlin and Warsaw are expected to be available in the first half of 2014.

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Jen-Hsun Huang, Nvidia CEO – Photo: Reuters/Stephen Lam

Nvidia has announced it will begin licensing its graphics technologies to other companies, allowing for the likes of Apple and Samsung to incorporate previously protected technologies into their products.

The move is a new approach for the company as it tries to further take advantage of the burgeoning mobile market, following its modest success with its Tegra line of mobile processors.

“The bottom line is the world has changed and we’re expanding our business model to serve markets that we historically could not serve by selling chips alone,” Nvidia CEO, Jen-Hsun Huang said.

Although Nvidia has already made an entrance to the mobile processor space, the new licensing deal will enable the company to gain revenue from other mobile processor manufacturers such as Apple, Qualcomm and Samsung. While this route would produce much lower return per chip, it is likely to be a more stable business model.

The move will, however, put Nvidia into direct competition with a couple of established players: ARM and Imagination Technologies. Both British-based outfits already license mobile-oriented graphics technologies to most of the key players in the market, with Imagination Technologies also having backing from Apple and Intel who hold significant stakes in the company.

ARM of course licenses its mobile CPU technology to Nvidia – and every others significant mobile processor manufacturer – so it will be interesting to see if the two continue to work together in the longer term.

For the time being Nvidia has recently launched Tegra 4, which is debuting in the company’s mobile game console, Shield. Longer term it will also be integrating LTE features on upcoming versions of Tegra, making them compatible with so-called 4G networks. Currently their lack of LTE technology is harming Nvidia, Intel and other chipmakers as they try to secure design wins. In the 4G space, Qualcomm is dominating the market.

Despite the positive long term prospects for going the licensing route, Huang said that Nvidia’s revenue from licensing would trail that from chip sales for a long time, but that gross margins would improve as the company wins more royalties.

Source: Reuters

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Editor’s note: Bruce Schneier is a security technologist and author of “Liars and Outliers: Enabling the Trust Society Needs to Survive.”

(CNN) — Today, the United States is conducting offensive cyberwar actions around the world.

More than passively eavesdropping, we’re penetrating and damaging foreign networks for both espionage and to ready them for attack. We’re creating custom-designed Internet weapons, pre-targeted and ready to be “fired” against some piece of another country’s electronic infrastructure on a moment’s notice.

This is much worse than what we’re accusing China of doing to us. We’re pursuing policies that are both expensive and destabilizing and aren’t making the Internet any safer. We’re reacting from fear, and causing other countries to counter-react from fear. We’re ignoring resilience in favor of offense.

Welcome to the cyberwar arms race, an arms race that will define the Internet in the 21st century.

Presidential Policy Directive 20, issued last October and released by Edward Snowden, outlines U.S. cyberwar policy. Most of it isn’t very interesting, but there are two paragraphs about “Offensive Cyber Effect Operations,” or OCEO, that are intriguing:

“OECO can offer unique and unconventional capabilities to advance U.S. national objectives around the world with little or no warning to the adversary or target and with potential effects ranging from subtle to severely damaging. The development and sustainment of OCEO capabilities, however, may require considerable time and effort if access and tools for a specific target do not already exist.

“The United States Government shall identify potential targets of national importance where OCEO can offer a favorable balance of effectiveness and risk as compared with other instruments of national power, establish and maintain OCEO capabilities integrated as appropriate with other U.S. offensive capabilities, and execute those capabilities in a manner consistent with the provisions of this directive.”

Opinion: Cyber arms control? Forget about it

That’s what Obama directed the U.S. Cyber Command to do. We can see glimpses in how effective we are in Snowden’s allegations that the NSA is currently penetrating foreign networks around the world: “We hack network backbones — like huge Internet routers, basically — that give us access to the communications of hundreds of thousands of computers without having to hack every single one.”

The NSA and the U.S. Cyber Command are basically the same thing. They’re both at Fort Meade in Maryland, and they’re both led by Gen. Keith Alexander. The same people who hack network backbones are also building weapons to destroy those backbones. At a March Senate briefing, Alexander boasted of creating more than a dozen offensive cyber units.

Longtime NSA watcher James Bamford reached the same conclusion in his recent profile of Alexander and the U.S. Cyber Command (written before the Snowden revelations). He discussed some of the many cyberweapons the U.S. purchases:

“According to Defense News’ C4ISR Journal and Bloomberg Businessweek, Endgame also offers its intelligence clients — agencies like Cyber Command, the NSA, the CIA, and British intelligence — a unique map showing them exactly where their targets are located. Dubbed Bonesaw, the map displays the geolocation and digital address of basically every device connected to the Internet around the world, providing what’s called network situational awareness. The client locates a region on the password-protected web-based map, then picks a country and city — say, Beijing, China. Next the client types in the name of the target organization, such as the Ministry of Public Security’s No. 3 Research Institute, which is responsible for computer security — or simply enters its address, 6 Zhengyi Road. The map will then display what software is running on the computers inside the facility, what types of malware some may contain, and a menu of custom-designed exploits that can be used to secretly gain entry. It can also pinpoint those devices infected with malware, such as the Conficker worm, as well as networks turned into botnets and zombies — the equivalent of a back door left open…

“The buying and using of such a subscription by nation-states could be seen as an act of war. ‘If you are engaged in reconnaissance on an adversary’s systems, you are laying the electronic battlefield and preparing to use it’ wrote Mike Jacobs, a former NSA director for information assurance, in a McAfee report on cyberwarfare. ‘In my opinion, these activities constitute acts of war, or at least a prelude to future acts of war.’ The question is, who else is on the secretive company’s client list? Because there is as of yet no oversight or regulation of the cyberweapons trade, companies in the cyber-industrial complex are free to sell to whomever they wish. “It should be illegal,’ said the former senior intelligence official involved in cyberwarfare. ‘I knew about Endgame when I was in intelligence. The intelligence community didn’t like it, but they’re the largest consumer of that business.’”

That’s the key question: How much of what the United States is currently doing is an act of war by international definitions? Already we’re accusing China of penetrating our systems in order to map “military capabilities that could be exploited during a crisis.” What PPD-20 and Snowden describe is much worse, and certainly China, and other countries, are doing the same.

All of this mapping of vulnerabilities and keeping them secret for offensive use makes the Internet less secure, and these pre-targeted, ready-to-unleash cyberweapons are destabalizing forces on international relationships. Rooting around other countries’ networks, analyzing vulnerabilities, creating back doors, and leaving logic bombs could easily be construed as an act of war. And all it takes is one over-achieving national leader for this all to tumble into actual war.

It’s time to stop the madness. Yes, our military needs to invest in cyberwar capabilities, but we also need international rules of cyberwar, more transparency from our own government on what we are and are not doing, international cooperation between governments and viable cyberweapons treaties. Yes, these are difficult. Yes, it’s a long slow process. Yes, there won’t be international consensus, certainly not in the beginning. But even with all of those problems, it’s a better path to go down than the one we’re on now.

We can start by taking most of the money we’re investing in offensive cyberwar capabilities and spend them on national cyberspace resilience. MAD, mutually assured destruction, made sense because there were two superpowers opposing each other. On the Internet there are all sorts of different powers, from nation-states to much less organized groups. An arsenal of cyberweapons begs to be used, and, as we learned from Stuxnet, there’s always collateral damage to innocents when they are. We’re much safer with a strong defense than with a counterbalancing offense.

Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter.

Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bruce Schneier.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/18/opinion/schneier-cyberwar-policy/index.html?eref=edition

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/QBs6tF1QnlQ/has-u-s-started-internet-war

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Palestinian children play football in front of the Israeli security fence in the West Bank village of Abu Dis, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Organizations such as Mifalot help bring Palestinian and Israeli kids together through the power of football.

Mifalot is a non-government organization in Israel which brings together children from all sections of society and provides education and training through football.

Mifalot operates over 300 programs across the world working with Israelis and Palestinians as well as leading projects in Cameroon, Rwanda, Angola, Benin, Germany, India and Haiti.

Mifalot works with local schools and youth clubs to provide facilities and finance for local children to get degrees in sports coaching and helps them find work after finishing their education.

Children with mental and physical difficulties are given the care and support they need to succeed in sport. Several have gone on to become qualified coaches and lead sessions for the next set of kids coming through.

The charity prides itself on integrating children, youth and young adults with special needs into wider society.

Last January, Mifalot held its first joint Palestinian-Israeli tournament under the banner of “Neighbors United” — a venture backed by the European Union Partnership for Peace Program. Five teams took part, with two of those made up of Israeli and Palestinian girls only.

Last year, a team of nine Palestinians and nine Israelis traveled to Los Angeles where they met players of Spanish club Real Madrid and L.A. Galaxy. The children played in front of 27,000 fans during the halftime interval as part of the Children United Initiative.

Kids work their way through the years until they’re 18, when most Jewish youths go into the Israeli Army. The scheme offers a voluntary civil service for Israeli-Arabs, ultra-orthodox Jews and those who are unsuitable for the army, which is a two-year course helping them attain employment.

Abbas Suan, one of the finest Israeli Arab players to have played for the country, believes his dramatic late goal in the 2006 World Cup qualifier against Ireland helped change perceptions within Israeli society.

Israel’s Jewish player Eran Zahavi (L) and Muslim player Beram Kayal (R) pray before the start of a Euro 2012 qualifier in 2011. The Under-21 squad which competed in this year’s European Championship Finals included five Israel-Arabs, two Ethiopians and a Bedouin.

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“It’s why I do what I do. It’s why Mifalot is here.”

Action

Mifalot, an initiative backed by one of the biggest club sides in Israel, Hapoel Tel Aviv, brings together children from all backgrounds — not just across Israel and the Palestinian territories, but from countries across the world.

The non-governmental organization, which has a center at Hapoel’s training ground, runs over 300 projects across the globe including Angola, Benin, India, Rwanda, Cameroon and Haiti.

Backed by Avraham Burg, former speaker of the Israeli parliament, and funded by a host of charities from around the world, Mifalot uses the power of football to educate the next generation.

It offers a civil service program for those who are not able — or allowed — to enter the Israeli Army at the age of 18, instead giving them the opportunity to earn a qualification as a sports coach and secure employment.

Arabs, Jews, Bedouins, Druze all take part, while there is a program dedicated to those members with special needs.

The scheme has won great acclaim and has given hope to those who grew up when the idea of such a scheme would have seemed like a far-fetched dream.

Time for change

“I think the younger generation wants to make a change,” Lee-Weiss said.

Another group bringing communities together is the New Israel Fund (NIF), which works alongside the Israeli Football Association (IFA).

Founded in 2003, the NIF’s Kick Racism and Violence out of Soccer scheme has flourished, with the charity supporting civil society organizations working towards social justice, women’s rights and environmentalism.

Back in 2007, a survey it carried out concluded that 60% of Israelis believed more needed to be done to tackle racism in football, while 37% said they would attend more games if the situation improved.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/18/sport/football/football-israel-palestine-peace/index.html?eref=edition

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/G3aIGDkjokw/israeli-palestinian-peace-by-soccer

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.cnnVerticalGalleryPhoto{margin:0 auto;padding-right:68px;width:270px}
]]

Palestinian children play football in front of the Israeli security fence in the West Bank village of Abu Dis, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Organizations such as Mifalot help bring Palestinian and Israeli kids together through the power of football.

Mifalot is a non-government organization in Israel which brings together children from all sections of society and provides education and training through football.

Mifalot operates over 300 programs across the world working with Israelis and Palestinians as well as leading projects in Cameroon, Rwanda, Angola, Benin, Germany, India and Haiti.

Mifalot works with local schools and youth clubs to provide facilities and finance for local children to get degrees in sports coaching and helps them find work after finishing their education.

Children with mental and physical difficulties are given the care and support they need to succeed in sport. Several have gone on to become qualified coaches and lead sessions for the next set of kids coming through.

The charity prides itself on integrating children, youth and young adults with special needs into wider society.

Last January, Mifalot held its first joint Palestinian-Israeli tournament under the banner of “Neighbors United” — a venture backed by the European Union Partnership for Peace Program. Five teams took part, with two of those made up of Israeli and Palestinian girls only.

Last year, a team of nine Palestinians and nine Israelis traveled to Los Angeles where they met players of Spanish club Real Madrid and L.A. Galaxy. The children played in front of 27,000 fans during the halftime interval as part of the Children United Initiative.

Kids work their way through the years until they’re 18, when most Jewish youths go into the Israeli Army. The scheme offers a voluntary civil service for Israeli-Arabs, ultra-orthodox Jews and those who are unsuitable for the army, which is a two-year course helping them attain employment.

Abbas Suan, one of the finest Israeli Arab players to have played for the country, believes his dramatic late goal in the 2006 World Cup qualifier against Ireland helped change perceptions within Israeli society.

Israel’s Jewish player Eran Zahavi (L) and Muslim player Beram Kayal (R) pray before the start of a Euro 2012 qualifier in 2011. The Under-21 squad which competed in this year’s European Championship Finals included five Israel-Arabs, two Ethiopians and a Bedouin.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

“It’s why I do what I do. It’s why Mifalot is here.”

Action

Mifalot, an initiative backed by one of the biggest club sides in Israel, Hapoel Tel Aviv, brings together children from all backgrounds — not just across Israel and the Palestinian territories, but from countries across the world.

The non-governmental organization, which has a center at Hapoel’s training ground, runs over 300 projects across the globe including Angola, Benin, India, Rwanda, Cameroon and Haiti.

Backed by Avraham Burg, former speaker of the Israeli parliament, and funded by a host of charities from around the world, Mifalot uses the power of football to educate the next generation.

It offers a civil service program for those who are not able — or allowed — to enter the Israeli Army at the age of 18, instead giving them the opportunity to earn a qualification as a sports coach and secure employment.

Arabs, Jews, Bedouins, Druze all take part, while there is a program dedicated to those members with special needs.

The scheme has won great acclaim and has given hope to those who grew up when the idea of such a scheme would have seemed like a far-fetched dream.

Time for change

“I think the younger generation wants to make a change,” Lee-Weiss said.

Another group bringing communities together is the New Israel Fund (NIF), which works alongside the Israeli Football Association (IFA).

Founded in 2003, the NIF’s Kick Racism and Violence out of Soccer scheme has flourished, with the charity supporting civil society organizations working towards social justice, women’s rights and environmentalism.

Back in 2007, a survey it carried out concluded that 60% of Israelis believed more needed to be done to tackle racism in football, while 37% said they would attend more games if the situation improved.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/18/sport/football/football-israel-palestine-peace/index.html?eref=edition

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/G3aIGDkjokw/israeli-palestinian-peace-by-soccer

Resident Evil: Revelations Review

Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platform(s): 3DS, PC, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360
UK Price: £20
US Price: $35

Typical criticisms don’t seem apt when levied onto Resident Evil: Revelations. There are more than a few instances where what would be unacceptable faults elsewhere seem almost integral to the experience here. Well placed intent doesn’t forgive poor design, but it does suggest that any criticism doesn’t matter. Capcom have created the game they intended to make and many changes for the sake of perfection would likely detract from the overall impact.

Revelations is a classic Resident Evil game, which is something that should conjure up knowledge that it controls terribly, is filled with laboured backtracking and nonsensical objective design, contains cutscenes that are camp to the point of unashamed ridiculousness and has limited connective tissue in the plot solid enough for any of it to make much sense at all. It’s carried through by ridiculous voice acting and dialogue, deus ex machina moments and huge logic holes. You also get the impression that all of this is functioning as intended.

The single concession that’s been made to live up to modern standards is, like in RE6, you’re able to walk while aiming now. Unlike RE6 it’s far shorter, much less concerned with spectacle over substance and mostly contained in one location, save for a few short playable vignettes elsewhere.

In this instance, Series Mainstay Jill and partner Parker are sent to the Queen Zenobia, a cruise ship that’s also host to an outbreak of a human mutation virus that turns people into varieties of shambling grey things. Along the way you’ll also play as Other Series Mainstay Chris and a variety of other newer cast members. Jill’s sections are the main course containing all the exploration, key finding and item management as is expected.

The inventory management here isn’t the traditional space-finding Tetris-mechanic. Here it’s filled by a weapon customisation system that swaps out attachments for others. Some have standard uses like increasing clip size or fire rate, others make the weapons more interesting, like firing two bullets with each trigger pull or charging before each attack for more damage at a slower pace

Interestingly, though Revelations does take place largely in recycled locations you’ll wander through over and over, mid-way through the story a great portion becomes flooded and you’ll have to swim through previously accessed areas. It adds a slight bit of variety in a game that’s largely about revisiting the same locations over and over.

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bit-tech/gaming/~3/lpcF_E4A0Zk/1

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GamingRipplesWeb/~3/_AZGofWrtXk/

Resident Evil: Revelations Review

Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platform(s): 3DS, PC, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360
UK Price: £20
US Price: $35

Typical criticisms don’t seem apt when levied onto Resident Evil: Revelations. There are more than a few instances where what would be unacceptable faults elsewhere seem almost integral to the experience here. Well placed intent doesn’t forgive poor design, but it does suggest that any criticism doesn’t matter. Capcom have created the game they intended to make and many changes for the sake of perfection would likely detract from the overall impact.

Revelations is a classic Resident Evil game, which is something that should conjure up knowledge that it controls terribly, is filled with laboured backtracking and nonsensical objective design, contains cutscenes that are camp to the point of unashamed ridiculousness and has limited connective tissue in the plot solid enough for any of it to make much sense at all. It’s carried through by ridiculous voice acting and dialogue, deus ex machina moments and huge logic holes. You also get the impression that all of this is functioning as intended.

The single concession that’s been made to live up to modern standards is, like in RE6, you’re able to walk while aiming now. Unlike RE6 it’s far shorter, much less concerned with spectacle over substance and mostly contained in one location, save for a few short playable vignettes elsewhere.

In this instance, Series Mainstay Jill and partner Parker are sent to the Queen Zenobia, a cruise ship that’s also host to an outbreak of a human mutation virus that turns people into varieties of shambling grey things. Along the way you’ll also play as Other Series Mainstay Chris and a variety of other newer cast members. Jill’s sections are the main course containing all the exploration, key finding and item management as is expected.

The inventory management here isn’t the traditional space-finding Tetris-mechanic. Here it’s filled by a weapon customisation system that swaps out attachments for others. Some have standard uses like increasing clip size or fire rate, others make the weapons more interesting, like firing two bullets with each trigger pull or charging before each attack for more damage at a slower pace

Interestingly, though Revelations does take place largely in recycled locations you’ll wander through over and over, mid-way through the story a great portion becomes flooded and you’ll have to swim through previously accessed areas. It adds a slight bit of variety in a game that’s largely about revisiting the same locations over and over.

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bit-tech/gaming/~3/lpcF_E4A0Zk/1

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GamingRipplesWeb/~3/_AZGofWrtXk/

Gambling revenues in the city surpassed Las Vegas in 2006 and are now six times greater. But the former Portuguese colony’s dramatic rise has come at a cost, with many in Macau questioning whether growth has been too fast and furious.

“You really don’t know whether society as a whole has benefited,” said Samuel Huang, an associate professor in gambling studies at the Macau Polytechnic Institute.

Portuguese lawyer Jorge Menezes, 47, has experienced first hand the city’s more brutal side.

Last month, he was attacked in broad daylight by two men as he walked his five-year-old son to pre-school in what he believes was an intimidation attempt linked to his work as a lawyer.

“I was walking with my son and suddenly I felt a huge blow on the back of my head,” he told CNN from his office just a block away from where the attack took place.

“I turned around, already bleeding, and he threw another blow toward my head and then a second guy came at me from behind.

“I couldn’t run away because my son was there. I needed to protect him.”

Menezes, who injured his wrist and required stitches to his head, said the two assailants each had a brick tied to one of their hands.

“I was told it’s a technique used by mafioso in mainland China, because they can carry it without being seen as a weapon.”

A spokesman for Macau’s Public Security Police, confirmed that the lawyer was attacked by two Chinese men brandishing hard objects who later fled. They added the case was under investigation.

In the run-up to the city’s return to China, gang violence was commonplace, claiming the lives of some 37 people in 1999 alone — though violent crime became rarer as the city’s gaming market boomed.

However, some recent cases have unsettled residents. In 2012, a longtime operator of VIP casino junkets, Ng Man-sun, was beaten by six men in his hotel in what was reportedly a dispute with his ex-lover.

The city also feared a return to violence after the release of a notorious gangster known as Wan Kuok-kio or “Broken Tooth” in December after 15 years in prison.

WATCH: ‘Broken Tooth’ released from prison

Menezes says he rarely goes out to socialize and he cannot think of a personal motive for the attack: “I have no doubt that it’s linked to work. It is definitely an attempt to intimidate me or put me out of action for a few months.

“I was working on cases that could bring direct or collateral damage — collateral in the sense that there are third parties that are affected by what I am doing,” he said, declining to say who he thought was behind the attack.

As a precaution, he has recruited a security guard cum secretary, but Menezes says he intends to stay put and continue representing his clients.

Steve Vickers, a former intelligence officer with the Hong Kong police and a specialist in triad activities, claimed Macau’s gaming sector retains deep ties to organized crime.

“The scene has changed over the past 10 years as the pie has vastly increased,” said Vickers, who now runs a specialist risk mitigation and corporate intelligence consultancy SVA. “It’s not the cowboy town it was when Broken Tooth was running around.

“The big boys have moved in … and they do not want visible street fights, with people being beaten up because it’s bad for business and brings attention.”

By and large, Macau remains a safe place with 182 violent crimes reported in the first three months of this year, up one from the same period a year earlier, according to figures from the Secretary for Security. The city is home to 500,000 people, while Macau’s three dozen casinos attract more than 28 million visitors a year.

Vickers says that while the city’s big casinos, some owned by U.S. tycoons Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson, operate correctly and legally, they work in a “messy environment.”

They are reliant on income from high rollers and these VIPs are usually brought in from China by junket operators.

“The junkets are an integral part of the gaming scene and they facilitate the transfer of funds, the finding of the high rollers and they facilitate the breaching of Chinese capital controls.

“You won’t find their names on the front (door) but the hard reality is that Chinese junkets are largely controlled by triad societies.”

China tightly controls the amount of money individuals can take out of the country, with a limit of 20,000 yuan ($3,262) per day and citizens traveling to Macau, which is considered a special administrative region, are subject to these limits.

However, China has turned a blind eye to the abuse of capital controls, said Vickers although he added, this could change as the country’s new leaders look to crack down on corruption amid worries about officials funneling money through the city.

Macau government officials did not immediately respond to a request from CNN for comment.

READ: Insider Guide: Best of Macau

The triads are also said to be involved in prostitution rings, another bone of contention for local Macau residents — although prostitution is not illegal.

Macau is on a U.S. State Department watch list for human trafficking and according to the 2012 report, criminal syndicates are involved in recruitment.

It says many women fall prey to false advertisements for casino jobs but upon arrival are forced into prostitution.

Many of the city’s sidewalks and underpasses are littered with prostitutes’ calling cards and fliers for saunas and pole dancing clubs.

“I don’t know how to explain this to my children,” said Huang at the Macau Polytechnic Institute.

Authorities are keen to diversify Macau’s appeal and turn the city into a broader entertainment destination that attracts families and not just casino goers.

New resorts boast attractions like wave pools, fake beaches and high-class dining but there’s little evidence that sales of spa treatments and slap-up meals will ever begin to approach revenue from the gambling tables.

“I don’t think promoting a more family-friendly environment will be easy,” said Huang.

Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/17/world/asia/macau-dark-side/index.html?eref=edition

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/qX6b2_QCavw/the-dark-side-of-chinas-las-vegas

Cooltek Antiphon Review

Manufacturer: Cooltek
UK price (as reviewed): £59.40 (inc VAT)
US price (as reviewed): Currently unavailable

It’s rare to see cases where low noise is a genuine priority and a guiding design principle in the lower end of the market. In most such cases, the sheer cost of the extra materials (foam, rubber, thicker steel etc.) compared to ‘normal’ cases puts them at or around the £80 price point, as is the situation with Fractal’s Define R4 and Nanoxia’s Deep Silence duo, or even over £100 when you up the dimensions and material requirements, as we recently saw with Fractal’s Define XL R2 and the NZXT H630. We were intrigued and a little excited, therefore, to receive the Cooltek Antiphon, a sub-£60 ATX chassis with silence as its key focus.

As a small German company, Cooltek has very little presence on these shores. Currently, there’s only a few UK retailers that stock its products, and the Antiphon is the first of its range that we’ve come across too (although its all-aluminium cuboid CoolCube range of mini-ITX and micro-ATX cases also looks interesting).

Click to enlarge – The Antiphon’s exterior design is the definition of minimalism
First impressions of the Antiphon are that it’s heavy for a budget chassis, which is reassuring, although it’s definitely lighter than costlier cases from Nanoxia and Fractal.
A few years ago, the super sleek, minimalist design the Antiphon boasts would have been jaw-dropping, but by now the existence of numerous similarly styled cases makes it less of a showstopper, although that’s not to say it isn’t attractive, and three other colours are available.

Impressively for a £60 case, the coating on the front door is constructed from real aluminium, rather than dressed up plastic, and this creates a lovely finish that many more expensive cases fail to match. The Antiphon is also solidly built with no issues of sturdiness, balance or loose panels. The foam lining on the feet will anchor the case to most surfaces, but don’t provide as much grip as rubber alternatives.

The front door also has a smooth action thanks to its use of magnets, and the inside of it is fully lined with foam. Behind the door are four clip out plastic grilles; three for the trio of optical drive bays and a large one for the pair of 120mm fan mounts. Each of the grilles is backed by dust filtering material too, but the clips holding them in place require a little bit more pressure to release than we’d like. Both of the fan mounts are filled with Cooltek’s CT-120 models, which draw air in from the ventilation along either side of the front panel.

Click to enlarge – The aluminium front door is line with foam and hides the optical bays, fan cover and fan controller at the bottom
Cooltek has even included an integrated fan controller with the Antiphon. While this is always good to see in cheaper cases, its position at the bottom of the case behind the front door is hardly the most accessible location, but users shouldn’t need to reach for it too often. It can power up to three fans, running them at high or low speed or switching them off altogether. The plastic slider is a little flimsy, but the actuation points for the three modes are clearly defined and easy to feel without looking.

The I/O panel is well located and smartly designed, and the power button is particularly well built. We would have preferred a second USB 3.0 port over the USB 2.0 one, but the essentials are all there. Moving away from the front of the case, the steel roof and sides are all flat and featureless, with no extra fan mounts to speak of. While this does limit both your CPU and GPU cooling capabilities, it’s understandable that Cooltek has opted not to include extra fan mounts in a budget case that prioritises low noise over high airflow, with solutions like Fractal’s ModuVent blanking plates likely to drive costs upwards.

Click to enlarge – The Antiphon features a smartly designed I/O panel and dust filtering material beneath it
A third CT-120 fan is found in the rear 120mm exhaust position, and having a trio of fans is always nice in a £60 chassis. Two small holes covered by secure rubber grommets can be used for external water-cooling too. A fourth, unfilled 120mm fan mount can also be found on the bottom of the case, and this along with the PSU intake area is protected by a thin sheet of dust filtering material that will require you to get underneath the case to remove or clean, but at least it’s there.

Specifications

• Dimensions (mm) 195 x 500 x 445 (W x D x H)
• Material Steel, aluminium, plastic
• Available colours Black (reviewed), anthracite, silver, white
• Weight 8kg
• Front panel Power, reset, 1 x USB 2, 1 x USB 3, stereo, microphone
• Drive bays 3 x external 5.25in, 4 x internal 3.5in, 5 x internal 2.5in
• Form factor(s) ATX, micro-ATX, mini-ITX
• Cooling 2 x 120mm front fan mounts (fans included), 1 x 120mm rear fan mount (fan included), 1 x 120mm bottom fan mounts (fan not included)
• CPU cooler clearance 160mm
• Maximum graphics card length 320mm
• Extras Removable dust filters, dual speed fan controller

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(CNN) — Faced with a sex scandal in his ranks, the chief of Australia’s army delivered a blunt message to his troops: Treat your female comrades properly or “get out.”

Lt. Gen. David Morrison announced last week that three soldiers had been suspended and he was weighing action against five others implicated in the distribution of videos he called ”demeaning, explicit and profane.” In a follow-up statement posted on the service’s YouTube page, Morrison told soldiers that female troops “are vital to us maintaining our capability now and into the future.”

“If that does not suit you, then get out,” he said. “You may find another employer where your attitude and behavior is acceptable, but I doubt it. The same goes for those who think that toughness is built on humiliating others.”

Australian women began serving in auxiliary units and as nurses in the early 20th century and were integrated into the armed services in noncombat units in the 1970s and ’80s. They were allowed to join combat units in 2011, and female troops “have proven themselves worthy of the best traditions of the Australian army,” Morrison said.

“No one has every explained to me how the exploitation or degradation of others enhances capability or honors the traditions of the Australian army,” he said in his message to the troops. “I will be ruthless in ridding the army of people who cannot live up to its values, and I need every one of you to support me in achieving this.”

Australian news outlets reported last week that at least 17 soldiers circulated video of themselves having sex with women. The videos were shared without the women’s knowledge. Some of the material was distributed over military computer networks, and those under investigation include a lieutenant colonel and a major, Morrison told reporters on Thursday.

The distribution dates back to 2010, and another 90 people “may have been on the periphery” of the group’s e-mail exchanges, he said. Military investigators and the New South Wales state police are conducting the probe, and Morrison said he had apologized to some of the women involved.

Daughters and moms now consider rape before applying to military

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