September 30th, 2010 at 11:55pm Under Computers
Customizing your computer’s appearance is never easy, but not many users can resist it. For people that stay in front of a desktop up to 12 hours a day, a fancy wallpaper, funny icons or original themes are meant to take some of the pressure off, while others just enjoy themselves trying to transfer some of their personality to the device.
Of course the race for the pe… (read more)
By Moris Add comment
September 30th, 2010 at 11:55pm Under Computers
Having one antivirus to check your files is one thing, but pleading more than 40 antivirus engines to give their opinion on the threat level of a file is a totally different game. VirusTotal Uploader is a nifty and lightweight application for VirusTotal online service that analyzes suspicious files and URLs, which allows you to send files and running processes to be s… (read more)
By Moris Add comment
September 30th, 2010 at 11:55pm Under Computers
“Remember Reach”, says the tagline for the promotional campaign for Halo: Reach. The imperative statement was pretty hard to follow before the launch of the game considering the rather limited knowledge of what happened on Reach that the gaming community had. Sure, we knew it was a significant step in the Covenant’s assault on human space and that the destruction o… (read more)
By Moris Add comment
September 30th, 2010 at 11:55pm Under Motorbikes
Since picking up my replacement Multistrada Sport arrived (the first one was written off by a colleague) its done some gentle running-in, a few trips out with the mrs, had a first service and been round Cadwell Park. Ducati claimed…
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September 30th, 2010 at 11:55pm Under Motorbikes
Kawasaki is harking back to the useable superbikes like the GPZ900 and ZZR1100 with a faired Z1000S version of the 1043cc Z1000 naked bike for 2011. Find a Kawasaki for sale The bike is based around the Z1000 but has…
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September 30th, 2010 at 11:55pm Under Motorbikes
MCN has got its hands on the new Kawasaki ZX-10R’s specifications. We’ve picked out the main elements and compared them with the current bike’s details. We estimated the power at 185bhp based on what the project leader told MCN last…
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September 30th, 2010 at 11:55pm Under Motorbikes
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Sue is a 62 year old grandmother who is selling her house in order to pay for an epic trip around the world on her Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Sue only started riding at the age of 50, owned her first bike at 55, and has clocked over 100,000 miles on her current Harley.
She’s planning to travel the world until the money runs out.
…
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September 30th, 2010 at 11:55pm Under Motorbikes
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Ten tips for riding your motorcycle at night by our guest blogger from Bikesure in the UK, David Wilson.
Riding motorcycle at night is more dangerous than during daytime, so it always helps to remind yourself of those little things that can save your life.
…
By admin Add comment
September 30th, 2010 at 11:55pm Under Racing
“F1 2010″ by Codemasters was reviewed here last week in its Xbox 360 and PS3 incarnations.
Since then there have been some complaints about the game which Codemasters are set to address by issuing a patch for the game. They have denied claims the AI of rival cars is faked during races.
Here’s a look at the PC version of “F1 2010″ and some information on what will be in the patch for all formats.
The PC version of “F1 2010″ is pretty much a straight port of the console version of the game.
At present the game only supports older generation DirectX 9 graphics cards which mimic the capabilities of the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
However Codemaster say the advanced capabilities of DirectX 11 graphics cards will be exploited in future patches – though not the first one. This will mean players of the PC version will eventually be able to enjoy a better-looking version of the game.
Already some enthusiastic PC game-players have enabled some DirectX modes by hacking their copies of the game. However this also causes some graphical glitches so it’s best to be patient and wait for the official patch.
This being a PC version you can play it on the keyboard if you really want to, though it’s even more frustrating than using a gamepad. You can customise controls to your heart’s content and fine-tune a steering wheel and pedals if you have one.
Beyond that, the PC version plays as well as the console versions and gets the same score. If you’re playing the PC version, look me up on Games for Windows Live using the user name ‘keithcollantine’. See here for a list of other F1 Fanatic Users’ Gamertags for all three formats.
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Some “F1 2010″ players have voiced concerns that, because rival cars away from the player cannot be viewed in replay mode, they aren’t actually there, and the player is in fact racing phantom cars. Discrepancies in lap times seem to support this view.
Codemasters say the AI is not ‘faked’ during races. They say the other cars are there, and the reason you cannot view them in replay mode is because cars out of your field of vision are being rendered at a much lower level of quality to allow the cars and the part of the track you can see to be shown at the highest possible quality level.
I can’t help but think that many PC players with graphical performance in their systems to spare will be disappointed that compromise was made.
However Codemasters confirmed that during the practice and qualifying sessions the other cars aren’t on the track when you can’t see them.
They say this is because of the desire to have a “fast forward” button allowing you to skip through the session quickly. As that creates the impression of accelerating time up to 30-fold, the complexities involved in having the cars lapping at over 6,000mph were too great to overcome.
Interestingly, Codemasters referred to the forthcoming update as the “first” patch, suggesting there are more in the pipeline.
Among the changes in the first patch are various modifications to the artificial intelligence of rival cars.
These are likely to include changes to the racing lines, such as the problem with turn 19 at Valencia which was noted in the review. The team say they have a “list of corners” where the rival cars are too slow.
Improvements to the rival cars’ behaviour in the pits are expected – including fixing one bug where rival drivers fail to pit and another where the player’s car is held in the pits too long.
Codemasters added the time spent working on patching “F1 2010″ will not affect the time spent developing next year’s version of the game.
Update: Codematers’ statement on “F1 2010″ bugs and patch
The videos and screenshots below were created using a Geforce GTX 480 supplied by NVidia:
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“F1 2010″ by Codemasters
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By Mikel Add comment
September 30th, 2010 at 11:55pm Under Racing
Red Bull did not have the size of performance advantage the were expected to in Singapore.
They still look like the team to beat over the final four races but Ferrari are coming on strong and McLaren can’t be ruled out yet either.
Their performance data for the past 15 races is analysed below to predict about how they will fare in the final rounds Suzuka, Korea, Interlagos and Yas Marina.
McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari’s best lap times compared (%)
Since we last looked at the performance of the top teams Ferrari have come on strong. The exhaust-blown diffuser added to the F10 in Valencia clearly worked and the team have cut the deficit to Red Bull significantly since then.
McLaren took longer to get to grips with their exhaust-blown diffuser, which arrived at Silverstone but wasn’t raced. They were off the pace in Germany and Hungary, but came back after the four-week break in a stronger position.
These general trends are skewed by swings in performance at some specialist tracks. The RB6s were enormously quick at the Hungaroring, prompting speculation about flexing front wings and floors which led to a tightening of the stress tests in these areas of the cars.
Monza was the opposite – the RB6′s weakest track this year, where an F10 or an MP4-25 was the thing to have.
The performance traits of McLaren’s and Red Bull’s cars are unmissable: the Red Bull thrives in medium-to-high speed corners but is exposed on long straights, the McLaren is lightning in a straight line but not fond of bumps. But what are the F10′s strengths and weaknesses?
This car seems to work best at circuits where low-speed traction and braking are a priority. It favours the softer tyre compounds – Felipe Massa in particular has had problems with the harder tyres.
Predictions for the next four tracks
The first sector at Suzuka (where soft and hard tyres will be used) was made for the RB6, but the MP4-25 could be the second-fastest car here. Jenson Button believes the team’s new front wing will be a particular boost on faster circuits.
If the teams make it to Korea (also soft/hard), its middle sector looks like another happy hunting ground for Red Bull (fire it up in “F1 2010″ and compare it to the middle sector in Hungary, where their cars were rampant).
The long uphill drag at Interlagos (medium/super-soft) look like McLaren’s best chance of a strong result over the last four Grands Prix. Abu Dhabi (medium/super-soft) shares those traits, but this braking-heavy circuit with many slow, fiddly corners should suit the F10 better.
Mercedes, Williams, Renault and Force India’s best lap times compared to overall best (%)
The battle behind the big three is being fought just as hard and has seen just as many swings in performance.
The advantage Mercedes enjoyed in the opening races has been completely obliterated and they’re now fighting hard with Williams, Renault and Force India for every last points.
Williams didn’t start the season very strongly and early development didn’t seem to go too well. But since the middle of the season they’ve made progress.
One of the most impressive teams this year in terms of development are Renault, who recently enjoyed an especially strong showing at Belgium. This is the team that is most likely to trouble the championship contenders over the final races.
However Force India had a dreadful weekend in Singapore culminating in their worst qualifying performance of the year (where crashes and penalties weren’t involved).
Their difficulties getting the most out of their tyres at Singapore exaggerate their performance deficit on the graph above but even so their position compared to the other midfield teams is getting weaker. That’s no great surprise considering their technical team has lost Mark Smith to Lotus and James Key to Sauber within the last seven months.
Best lap time compared to average for all teams (%)
Sauber and Toro Rosso appear to be falling back from the bulk of the midfield, which goes some way towards explaining why Toro Rosso haven’t scored since the European Grand Prix.
There are limitations to the data above which are important to bear in mind. It mainly reflects single-lap important which is very important – it basically decides the starting grid – but it not the whole picture.
McLaren may have been 0.181s slower than Red Bull in qualifying at Singapore but by lap 16 they were over a second a lap off the pace.
The data can also be skewed by weather and driver error. For example, a wet track in FP1 and FP3 at Singapore combined with Alonso’s mistake in FP2 and Vettel’s in Q3 means Red Bull’s performance advantage there is slightly underestimated.
What’s your view of which teams have the strongest cars ahead of the final four races? Have your say in the comments.
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