Maximum PC May 2019

it's the stuff of dreams, but it caused a few nightmares…

AFTER A YEAR’S HIATUS, the Dream Machine returns. And what a return. Boasting not one, but two systems, both water-cooled, and fitted out with the latest and greatest hardware, it has drawn gasps even before the overall component price is revealed—at which point the gasps turn to shock, but that’s the nature of going above and beyond the norm. The Dream Machine is not reasonable, it’s excessive. This year, the Dream Machine hasn’t been without its issues, and while you could say that pretty much every year, sorting out two systems comes with its own special level of stress, and not just from trying to balance power between two very different form factors. Throw in a healthy amount of water cooling, the added fun of two separate power supplies, and trying…

google goes games

GOOGLE IS TO launch a game streaming service called Stadia, already dubbed “Netflix for games.” It promises to deliver more gaming power than Microsoft’s and Sony’s consoles combined, with 4K at 60fps possible on even the most modest of hardware. Games will run in Chrome browsers, Pixel devices, and TVs with Chromecast dongles. Other than this, it is platform independent; you can play any game on any device with a healthy Internet connection. According to Google, Stadia addresses all the limitations of traditional gaming systems, and brings “a game platform for everyone.” There will be just one bit of hardware, an optional controller, which includes buttons to activate Google Assistant, and to stream your efforts to YouTube. It will communicate directly to the Stadia game servers via your Wi-Fi to reduce…

facebook to launch its own currency

HOW DO YOU FEEL about trusting Facebook with your money? It’s developing its own blockchain-based cryptocurrency. There has been no official announcement as yet, although it has been working with distributed ledger technology for a while. Facebook has been on a hiring spree, too, and the DTL development team is headed by the former president of PayPal. It looks as if the initial plan is for people to be able to send money to their WhatsApp contacts without any agent in between, just Facebook, which would take a small slice. Sending money “home” to another country is a huge business, which can attract large fees. Eventually, the new system will be used to sell content through Facebook, from micro-payments for apps upward, turning Facebook into a marketplace. The company has already (reportedly)…

atari vcs delayed, but upgraded

LOOKING FORWARD to the new Atari VCS console? Then you will have to wait a little longer for this slice of nostalgia, as the launch has been put back (again) until the end of the year at the earliest. The delay is to allow for a hardware upgrade. The VCS is to get a Ryzen chip (we aren’t sure which yet), along with Vega-based graphics. This will give it distinctly un-retro abilities, such as 4K at 60fps. It’s an odd machine: part retro gaming console, part modern streaming content platform (it supports DRM video, so Netflix and HBO are possibilities). Its Linux “Sandbox” system can be customized, and it has the power to run modern games. The project got off the ground thanks to crowdfunding, and has gathered an enthusiastic…

windows to remove broken updates

THE NEXT UPDATE of Windows 10, the April 2019 Update, is nearly upon us, and among the slew of new features is the ability to uninstall updates if there are serious problems. This follows the troublesome October 2018 Update, which caused all sorts of problems, including the possible deletion of files from My Documents. The initial version was withdrawn, patched, and withdrawn again after new bugs emerged. The update was three months late. According to the support documents for the latest update build, if Windows can’t start properly, due to corrupt files, driver errors, errant Registry keys, or such, and a recent update is the suspect, Windows will remove it, and try again. If this works, it will block the update for 30 days, to give a chance for it to…

tech triumphs and tragedies

TRIUMPHS ✓ XBOX DITCHES DISC The new Xbox One S, due this year, will have no disc drive, and will be the cheapest yet. ✓ PS 5 BACKWARDLY COMPATIBLE? It’s not official yet, but the patents have been filed—you might not have to abandon all your games. ✓ FIREFOX STOPS AUTOPLAY Version 66 will automatically silence those annoying autoplaying videos. Thank you. TRAGEDIES ✗ GOODBYE GOOGLE+ From 100 million users to a wasteland, Google finally kills its attempt at social media. ✗ KOREAN SPIES 42 motel rooms in Korea were found to have had webcams in them for months, available online by subscription. ✗ MAN STEALS $122M A Lithuanian man scammed Google and Facebook with fake invoices, an old-school takedown of two tech giants.…